Software tester: the job, tasks, salary and how to become one in 2026

What is a software tester?

A software tester is the person in charge of checking that software works as intended, detecting defects before release to production and documenting what has been verified. They start from the requirement (specifications, user stories), ask themselves what could go wrong, then prove it through tests.

The job goes by several names: IT tester, software tester, QA tester (for Quality Assurance), test analyst, acceptance tester or acceptance testing consultant. France Travail, the French public employment service, files it under the title "Spécialiste test et validation logiciel ou application" (software test and validation specialist), ROME code M1815 (source: France Travail, MétierScope, consulted on 30 September 2026).

What does a software tester do day to day?

A software tester spends their days understanding what a feature must do, designing the test cases that verify it, running them, then following defects through to their fix. They work closely with developers, the product owner or the project manager.

What are their tasks?

• Analyse the requirement: read the specifications or acceptance criteria, and ask the questions that remove ambiguity.
• Prepare the test campaign: write the test plan, the test cases and the test data, often gathered in an acceptance test book.
• Execute: run the tests by hand or launch the automated tests, then record the results.
• Report: write reproducible defect reports (steps, expected result, actual result, screenshot or trace) in a tracking tool such as Jira.
• Verify fixes: retest the fixed bug (confirmation test) and rerun the regression tests to make sure nothing else has broken.

The France Travail job sheet summarises these tasks as follows: designing and implementing test plans, running manual and automated tests, working with developers, documenting results and improving test processes (source: France Travail, consulted on 30 September 2026).

What does a typical day look like?

• Morning: short team meeting, reading the new user stories, questions to developers and the product owner.
• Midday: designing test cases, running the campaign on the latest delivered version, writing defect reports.
• Afternoon: analysing the automated tests that failed in continuous integration, reviewing a colleague's tests, talking to the developer who is fixing a bug.
• End of day: summary of the state of quality for the go-live decision.

What are the main types of tests?

• Functional tests: does the software do what is asked? This is the core of the job.
• Regression tests: has a change broken something that used to work? These are the first to be automated, because they are replayed at every delivery.
• API tests: do the services exchange the right data? Faster and more stable than interface tests.
• Non-functional tests: performance and load, security, accessibility, compatibility across browsers and devices.
• Acceptance testing: is the software ready to be used by the business? This is the "recette" in the classic sense.

Manual tester or automation tester: what is the difference?

Criterion	Manual / functional tester	Automation tester (QA Automation)
Main activity	Designing and running tests by hand, exploratory testing, business acceptance testing	Writing scripts that replay the tests (interface, API), integrating them into CI
Key skills	Analysis, rigour, business knowledge, communication	The same, plus a programming language, a test framework, Git and CI/CD
Strength	Spots what no script would have looked for	Checks hundreds of scenarios in minutes at every delivery

In practice, the two profiles overlap: a tester is expected to be able to design a relevant test, then automate it when it is useful. Automating a bad test only produces a bad test that runs faster.

What skills do you need to be a software tester?

You need to combine three families of skills: analysis (understanding a requirement and deriving test cases from it), technical skills (a language, an automation tool, APIs, Git) and interpersonal skills (reporting a problem without antagonising anyone, defending an opinion). None of them is enough on its own.

Methodological skills

• Questioning a specification: spotting edge cases, invalid data and undescribed behaviours.
• Designing test cases: equivalence partitioning, boundary values, decision tables, state transitions. These are the techniques of the ISTQB Foundation syllabus (source: ISTQB, consulted on 27 September 2026).
• Prioritising by risk: not everything can be tested; the tester decides where to concentrate the effort.
• Working in Agile: testing sprint by sprint rather than at the end of the project.

Technical skills

• A language: TypeScript or JavaScript, Python, Java or C#. HelloWork lists Python, Java, JavaScript and C# (source: HelloWork, consulted on 27 September 2026).
• The basics of the web and APIs: HTTP, JSON, status codes, a little SQL to check data.
• Technical English: tool documentation is in English; France Travail lists it among the job's knowledge areas.

What tools does a tester use?

• Tracking tests and defects: Jira, often complemented by a test management tool such as TestRail or Xray.
• Web automation: Playwright for a new project, Selenium or Cypress in existing ones. Our comparisons: Playwright vs Selenium and Playwright vs Cypress.
• API testing: Postman, or directly in code (see our guide to API testing).
• Performance: JMeter or k6.
• Version control and continuous integration: Git and GitHub Actions or GitLab CI, so that the tests run on every code change.

Personal qualities

HelloWork sums up the expected qualities as "interpersonal ease, rigour and curiosity" (source: HelloWork, consulted on 27 September 2026). In concrete terms: telling a developer their code does not work without antagonising them, defending a "no-go" in front of a hurried project manager, and keeping the desire to understand the product.

What qualifications do you need to become a software tester?

No qualification is legally required, but recruiters increasingly expect a level between bac+2 and bac+5 (two to five years of higher education). Onisep, the French national education and careers information service, sums it up this way: "Long open to self-taught people, this profession is increasingly qualified. While no diploma is yet required, recruitment today is at a level ranging from bac + 2 to bac + 5" (source: Onisep, consulted on 30 September 2026). France Travail places entry between bac+3 and bac+5.

What are the classic qualifications?

• Bac+2: BTS SIO (SLAM option) or DEUST, possibly followed by a professional bachelor's degree (licence professionnelle).
• Bac+3: BUT in computer science; licence professionnelle in "IT professions: software design, development and testing".
• Bac+5: master's degree in computer science or engineering degree, specialising in software engineering.

Study paths described by Onisep and qualifications listed by France Travail (sources consulted on 30 September 2026).

Is there an RNCP title or a tester certification?

Yes. The "Testeur logiciel" title (RNCP39976, level 6, equivalent to bac+3) is registered in the French national directory of professional certifications (RNCP) until 18 December 2029, with M2I as the certifying body (source: France compétences, consulted on 30 September 2026). Alongside diplomas, the international ISTQB Foundation (CTFL) certification is the benchmark for the profession: it has no prerequisites and you can test yourself with our free ISTQB mock exam.

Can you become a tester without a degree?

Yes, but it is harder than it used to be, and you need to make up for it with evidence. Without a computing degree, three signals replace the diploma in a recruiter's eyes: a recognised certification (ISTQB CTFL), an automated testing project visible on GitHub and running in continuous integration, and previous professional experience that you know how to showcase. Successful career changers often come from rigour-based professions (accounting, quality control, logistics), from customer support, or from a sector whose software they know (banking, insurance, healthcare). Our page Software tester career change (FR) details this path.

What is a software tester's salary?

A junior software tester most often earns between €25,000 and €30,000 gross per year; with a few years of experience, sources put the salary at around €38,000 to €40,000. The differences come from what each source measures.

What do public sources say?

Source	What is measured	Published value
Onisep (consulted on 30/09/2026)	Junior salary	From €2,300 gross per month
HelloWork (consulted on 27/09/2026)	Junior	Between €25,000 and €28,000 gross per year
HelloWork (same source)	Median salary	About €2,700 gross per month, or about €32,500 per year
HelloWork (same source)	Experienced (3 to 4 years)	Up to about €38,500 gross per year
Indeed (updated on 21/09/2026, consulted on 30/09/2026)	Average of the salaries shown in 645 job ads published over 36 months	€39,707 per year (range €29,912 – €52,710)

Why do the figures vary from one source to another?

Because they do not measure the same thing. Indeed calculates an average of the salaries offered in job ads, across all levels of experience: senior roles and roles in the Paris region pull it upwards. HelloWork publishes a median and benchmarks by seniority. Onisep gives an entry-level floor. For a first job, use the low range; for a projection at 3 to 5 years, the Indeed average is a realistic order of magnitude.

What makes the salary go up?

• Automation: a tester who writes and maintains Playwright tests, API tests and a CI pipeline aims for QA Automation Engineer or SDET roles, which pay better than purely manual testing. Details in our article on QA automation salary (FR).
• Location and sector: the Paris region, large cities, finance, industry and software vendors generally pay better.
• Certifications and specialisation: ISTQB CTFL for the foundation, then performance, security or AI applied to testing.

Where do software testers work, and is the profession hiring?

Yes, the profession is hiring, and employers struggle to find profiles. France Travail received 730 job offers for this job over 12 months, for 150 jobseekers looking for it; recruitment difficulty is rated "high", and 75% of hires are on permanent contracts (CDI) (source: France Travail, MétierScope, Q2 2026 data for job offers, France Travail and Dares 2025 for difficulty, Acoss and MSA Q3 2025 for contracts, consulted on 30 September 2026). The same sheet states that the job has "cadre" (managerial-grade) status.

What do our own findings show?

Two readings made by ADC from public data. First, the ratio of offers to candidates: 730 offers posted for 150 jobseekers looking for this job, i.e. nearly 5 offers per jobseeker over the same period (ADC calculation from MétierScope; not all offers go through France Travail, so the ratio indicates a trend, not a placement rate). Second, what people search for: in our extract from the Google Ads Keyword Planner (France, September 2025 to August 2026), "istqb" is searched 1,000 to 10,000 times a month, against 100 to 1,000 for "testeur logiciel". The certification therefore interests more people than the job title itself.

Who employs testers?

ESNs (IT services companies), which place testers with their clients; software vendors; digital agencies and e-commerce sites; video game studios; and the IT departments of banks, insurers, manufacturers and public administrations. Onisep notes that the profession, "for a time confined to industrial IT", has spread to all these sectors.

Can you be a tester working remotely or as a freelancer?

Remote work is possible according to France Travail, often in hybrid mode. Freelancing also exists, especially after a few years of experience and for automation profiles: assignments then come through ESNs or matching platforms.

What career paths are there for a software tester?

A software tester can move towards technical expertise, management or neighbouring professions. Onisep describes a typical progression: simple projects, then complex projects, then positions of responsibility such as "quality and methods manager, project manager, even technical director".

• Technical expertise: automation tester, QA Automation Engineer, SDET, performance or security specialist.
• Management: test lead, test manager, quality manager.
• Neighbouring professions: France Travail notably lists functional acceptance tester, functional consultant, business software integrator and project manager (maîtrise d'œuvre). Some testers also move into development.

What are the pros and cons of the job?

Pros	Cons
A profession open to career changers, where previous professional experience is an asset	A first job that is hard to land without experience or a project to show
Strong demand and "high" recruitment difficulty according to France Travail	An irregular rhythm, with peaks of activity before go-lives (France Travail)
Varied work, between analysis, technical work and exchanges with the teams	A role sometimes seen as the one who "blocks" delivery: you need to know how to defend your findings
Many paths towards automation or management	Purely manual testing hits a salary ceiling quickly: automation makes the difference

Will AI replace software testers?

No, but it is changing the job. AI speeds up certain tasks (suggesting test case ideas, generating a first draft of a script, summarising a failure trace), and the more code it writes, the more that code needs to be verified. What is declining is repetitive manual execution; what is gaining value is judgement about risk, test design and checking what the AI produces.

A language model can invent a feature that does not exist, propose an assertion that always passes or forget the edge case that matters. The ISTQB CT-GenAI syllabus stresses these risks of hallucination, bias, confidentiality and security (source: ISTQB, consulted on 27 September 2026). Responsibility for what is verified remains human. To go further: AI in software testing and the ISTQB CT-GenAI certification.

How to become a software tester in 5 steps (even through a career change)

First check that you enjoy the job, learn to design tests, automate a real project, pass the ISTQB CTFL, then apply with this portfolio.

1. Step 1: try the job before committing

   Take ADC's free mini-course (FR) (7 Playwright lessons) to see concretely what an automated test is. If writing a scenario, watching it run and understanding why it fails interests you, you are in the right place.

2. Step 2: learn to design tests

   Before any code: design techniques (partitions, boundary values, decision tables), test levels and types, the life cycle of a defect. This is the foundation of the ISTQB Foundation syllabus.

3. Step 3: automate a real project

   Choose a public demo application, write a Playwright suite (interface and API), version it on GitHub and run it in GitHub Actions. Add a README explaining your strategy: it is your first portfolio piece.

4. Step 4: get certified

   Take the ISTQB CTFL v4.0: 40 questions, 60 minutes, 26 correct answers out of 40 to pass, no prerequisites (source: ISTQB, consulted on 27 September 2026). Practise first with our free mock exam.

5. Step 5: apply methodically

   Target functional tester or junior QA Automation roles, notably in ESNs. Highlight your professional experience, your GitHub repository and your certifications, and be ready to explain a test you wrote and a bug you found.

Train with ADC

If you prefer to be supported, the QA Automation & AI Tester course covers these five steps in 399 hours over 12 weeks, 100% online and with no technical prerequisite, ISTQB CTFL and CT-GenAI exams included. It is taken as evening classes with a mentor (€1,500 in 1 to 4 interest-free instalments for individuals) or full-time (€7,500 incl. VAT for companies). Follow-up starts with an individual interview and continues after the course, up to the job search; the final project is a real company project. It does not award an RNCP title. All funding options are on the Funding page.

Frequently asked questions about the software tester profession

What is a software tester, in one sentence?

A software tester checks that an application works as intended, detects and documents defects before release to production, and checks that fixes are effective, by hand or through automated tests.

What is a software tester's salary in France?

A junior most often earns between €25,000 and €30,000 gross per year (HelloWork: €25,000 to €28,000; Onisep: from €2,300 gross per month). Indeed shows an average of €39,707 per year, calculated from 645 job ads published over 36 months, all levels combined (updated on 21 September 2026).

Can you become a software tester without a degree?

Yes, no degree is required, but the profession is increasingly qualified: according to Onisep, recruitment is now at bac+2 to bac+5. Without a computing degree, you need to make up for it with an ISTQB CTFL certification, an automated testing project visible on GitHub and well-showcased professional experience.

Software tester or developer: what is the difference?

The developer builds the software; the tester checks that it does what is expected and looks for what could break. The two professions are getting closer with automation: an automation tester writes code, but test code, and keeps an independent view of the product.

What is a "paid tester"?

This is crowdtesting: platforms pay individuals to test applications or websites, per assignment or per bug found. It is extra income, not a software tester job, but it can help you discover the testing approach.

How much does software tester training cost?

It ranges from free (self-taught) to several thousand euros for a school. At ADC, the QA Automation & AI Tester course (399 hours) costs €1,500 for individuals, payable in 1 to 4 interest-free instalments, and €7,500 incl. VAT for companies (paid by the employer), ISTQB CTFL and CT-GenAI exams included.

Can you be a software tester working remotely?

Yes: France Travail indicates that remote work is possible for this job, most often in hybrid mode. Freelancing also exists, especially after a few years of experience in automation.

How long does it take to become a software tester?

It depends on your starting point and your regularity. The ADC QA Automation & AI Tester course represents 399 hours over 12 weeks, as evening classes or full-time; if you are self-taught, the time varies greatly.

Does the ADC course award an RNCP title?

No. ADC awards the ADC Professional Certificate CP-QAI upon defence of the Capstone project and includes the internationally recognised ISTQB CTFL v4.0 and CT-GenAI v1.1 exams. If an RNCP title is essential, there is for example the Testeur logiciel title (RNCP39976).

All frequently asked questions: price, ISTQB, CPF, evening classes, AI Act (FR)