Software Testing or C/C++/Java Programming?

I m 24 %26amp; a Engineering Graduate, looking for a career change to software, after 4 yrs in industry. I was suggested my friend to take up software testing so that i could get the job easily. But i m interested in programming, i know c %26amp; c++, Planning to learn JAVA,J2ME, so that i could join software company in 5 months time, but people say i m too ambitious to achieve that goal. So guys please suggest is my goals are just dreams and not reality, what should i do to enter software company at the earliest with decent salary package,

Software Testing or C/C++/Java Programming?
im a software tester at the moment, earning about 10 grand a year (but i am 18 so pay is low). the older testers with more experience got paid about 30 grand a year - which is good. i think you can earn a decent salary as a tester and testing is a growing industry, meaning more jobs should be opening up (although some companies are reluctant to employ testers at the moment.) seeing as you have no experience in computing, testing would be a good way of getting into the industry i think. lots of people i work with dont have a computing degree so youll be fine with regards to that. why not apply to do a programming job? it depends largely on the culture of the company - whether theyre happy to employ some one without much experience if they interview well etc. i would say that testing is REALLY BORING! so unless youve done it and like it stay away.. its very repetitive. the software engineers hate it when they have to do any testing. apply for some software jobs and see what happens - if you dont get one hopefully you should at least get some useful advice. knowing C++ is obviously a big advantage. java, pearl and python are also popular in my company. some of the engineers have learnt these languages on the job. if you cant get a software engineering job, then look into testing. good luck
Reply:I too am a programmer (24) and my primary job is testing. I recommend learning unit testing as it combines testing software with programming, and is a hot skill to have. You'll probably make $30 - $40 grand to start. Eventually they'll let you move up and do more programming, but all the beginning programmers are going to get low level work, it's just the way it is.
Reply:Go for your dreams now, otherwise they will become regrets. Java is Open Source now, so easy to get access to for learning. Get on a Linux box or add Linux to that one and start learning again.


Do not get Micro Linux. That is moving backwards. Get an Open Source project that is supported, like Ubuntu Linux. The way it looks, Microsoft owns 10% of Apple and is now buying into Linux and made a move on SAP this week, so learn while you still allowed or permitted to.
Reply:Learn to program. Then even if you get started with a job in testing, you'll have the options to expand. While testers might eventually earn $40k/year, developers can double that with a bit of experience.





Don't worry about J2ME at all to start with. Once you learn the standard stuff, moving to ME is easy. Also, take your C++ experience and add both Java and C#.NET to. The more versitile you are, the more valuable.
Reply:If you know C and C++, why on earth would you want to learn Java? You can get much better work programming in C++, and produce software of a much higher quality...