SQL, Automation Testing Or Coding?

Hi Kaustubh,
I got job through campus placement. I joined, in my current company, as a fresher. At first i was given some basic training about SQL programming for around 1 month, then as there was a vacancy for powershell, i was told to have a study on that. From there on SQL was lost and also the interest on SQL was lost which i gained during the training. This went on for some period, then i was told that testing is good for you, so there on i went with manual testing and till date am doing that. Then one of my colleagues suggested that i would rather go for development rather than testing. So to avoid this confusion i approached my manager, he suggested me not to follow anyone and move on with testing, which i pelied with the disinterest with manual testing. Then he suggested me to learn C# and move on with automation testing with tools such as Selenium, QTP etc...Still i have interest in SQL....and coming to C#, am not so strong in coding, but if proper training wud have been given, i wud have gained something. But now m reading it by myself and asking the douts to my colleagues. Kindly help me in judging what stream should i take...i mean...shal i go for SQL....or Automation testing or....any other in ur eyes which wud b better...Please help me out...m in a big turmoil.. Posted in: #Software Testing

@Ronit Sabat : If you working as Manual tester and getting chace to move to Automation testing. This is best for you. Don't worry about C# (I didn't know C# used in automation testing) complexity. It will not so hard and you will get use to.
Moving to automation testing would be best interest for you.
If you are interested in SQL you need to find some work in DB side and get certified from ORACLE.

Whatever you choose, don't change the type work so fast. For career perceptive It's better to perfect in one thing rather than knowing all the things. but, yes if you don't like your work you should find something else.

Anoop Kumar

@Ronit Sabat : If you working as Manual tester and getting chace to move to Automation testing. This is best for you. Don't worry about C# (I didn't know C# used in automation testing) complexity. It will not so hard and you will get use to.
Moving to automation testing would be best interest for you.
If you are interested in SQL you need to find some work in DB side and get certified from ORACLE.

Whatever you choose, don't change the type work so fast. For career perceptive It's better to perfect in one thing rather than knowing all the things. but, yes if you don't like your work you should find something else.

But @Anoop Kumar....what should i chose...SQL or C#.....there's a soft corner for both.....C# because though am weak in coding but still it will be useful in automation testing which, as u said has a bright future and also good for me.......SQL because of the some kind of interest....suggest me the better choice..@Anoop
Also one more question.....one of my colleague said that for automation testing u need to have SQL knowledge too..coz it will be useful for DB testing or imean to say backend testing...is it true....coz if it is true...then i will feel sumwat relieved...as i will get chance to learn both C# and SQL thereby being a part of automation testing...

It's entirely your decision, which to choose.
You will get the working knowledge of SQL and you have to have working knowledge.
Just trust your instinct and choose either side. All the best. 👍

Adding 2 cents,
Its never late to choose or learn something new in software.
Maybe you could be the guy who would write the best ORM or so.

Big companies usually don't care for each employee. They just want some resource(employee) to complete the project.

It is your duty/responsibility to think about your future and start learning towards that. One example is there are some companies which are still training freshers on siebel technology because they have very few projects which need to be completed and there are no experienced siebel developers available in the market. Salesforce has literally annihilated siebel and most of the siebel developers have shifted to other technologies.

So it is you, who have to take control of what you want to be in future. You can't just say that I was assigned testing but I was interested in coding. Exception is that there are few lucky people who get better technology when these batches are divided in big companies..

Coming to your question on SQL vs Automation testing vs coding.
Why do you think you are weak in coding? If you can think logically, you can do coding. If you solved mathematical problems in your 12th class you should be able to learn coding. Don't be scared of coding see this video to get inspiration

If none of this is inspiring for you how about money?? If you are into coding you can make more money than others..

Hope you will take control of your future..all the best

Hi All,
Ok lets forget what i have asked earlier, now please guide me about what shall i involve me into or what should i start learning, i mean what technology, so that i can have a interest on my work and also being better for my future. I am new to this IT sector so i have a hope that advises from experienced people like you can help me a lot. I know its entirely my decision to decide, but still please guide me.

Ronit Sabat

what shall i involve me into or what should i start learning, i mean what technology, so that i can have a interest on my work

Chicken-Egg problem, right? First find out what is it that you'd love to make your career into. If it's IT - you should typically start learning the art of programming. Start with C++, JavaScript, PHP or Ruby and understand the basics of OOP, programming etc.

If you develop real interest in coding, you should be able to make progress faster and that will also improve your chances of finding your dream job.

@Kaustubh Katdare........any other options sir.....coz learning all these will take another 6-8 months....and its not really possible as m in a company..no time to study all these...and its already 1 year in the job...so....

Ronit Sabat

coz learning all these will take another 6-8 months

Nope, at least 5 to 10 years depending upon your skills and grasping abilities.

...but all you need to do is 'start' learning one programming language if you want to make career in IT. Without having relevant skills-set; I don't see why would any company want to hire you.

You may join a relevant course at NIIT or any reputed institute and that should be a good start. You may also look at software testing courses from reputed institute. You need to build relevant skills-set before you can opt for your dream job.

@Kaustubh Katdare.....so u mean that the best wud be that being in manual testing i shud move to automation testing by learning a programming language ryt..???

Hey Kaustubh,
I will be starting the learning process for C# from scratch and try to grasp the OOP fundamental. In your view how much time it wud take generally to have a grip on it because as i have said earlier, i didnt have any prior knowledge of any proggramming language.....actually had some knowledge on C/C++ but it's all rubbed off. Kindly guide me sir...

Ronit Sabat

In your view how much time it wud take generally to have a grip on it because as i have said earlier, i didnt have any prior knowledge of any programming language

Can't answer. Depends upon your abilities to understand concepts. Start with a good book and try to work on a small project entirely on your own.

Let me throw a challenge at you to keep you motivated. Try to develop a small desktop client for Twitter using C#. The time limit for you is 10 days. Are you up for it?

Yes Kaustubh am up for it...but i need to learn the basics of C# to start working for the same......or u suggest me...that wat wud be my approach to start with...

Hey Kaustubh..our client has changed the resource pool, now there's a requirement in SQL(BI)..so i will be starting with fundamentals of SQL, MS SQL server...etc....am i on the right path sir..???

Ronit Sabat

Hey Kaustubh..our client has changed the resource pool, now there's a requirement in SQL(BI)..so i will be starting with fundamentals of SQL, MS SQL server...etc....am i on the right path sir..???

Looks like you haven't read my responses above. Please read them again and tell me what would be my response to above question.

Hey kasthuri can u read my post, I would really like your suggestions pls, thanks