I've been at this thing we call Software Testing for over 22 years now, and at times the more things change the more they stay the same.  In the grand scheme of things you have to ask yourself at times "what the hell am I doing and how did I get here".  In my years of experience I have seen some thing just not change when it comes to the "profession" of software testing.

First and foremost, we are still the "red headed bastard step-child" to Development.  Short and sweet, we are still to this day fighting to gain credibility and respect for our work.  When in fact we are the other side of the coin from Development.  Again though, for those of you who remember the 45 record, who played the B-side song.  Analogy aside, it is this second-class citizen relationship that to this day prevails.

Second, the attitude of executive management that "anyone can be a tester" and that "testing is not a technical discipline like development".  Sofware / IT seems to be the only industry that has this mentality.  Go to other industries like Computer Hardware, Electronics (other than computers), Automotive, Aerospace, General Engineering and Manufacturing and you will see the importance and support of testing by the executives.  Because they know, and have learned, that in order to have a solid and sellable product it needs to be reliable and usable (tested).  In these industries the Test Engineers are some of the best people around.  They get support (funding) from management and are seen as adding value to the product and not as just a "cost center".  Must be nice eh?

Third, increased commoditization of the work.  Meaning Outsourcing, and specifically Offshoring.  I know this is a can of worms.  But you get what you pay for.  Twenty years back companies only outsourced what they could not do themselves.  Work was predominately done in-house, and this was because the cost of doing it by an outside group was not cost effective.  Now as this has started to shift there have been increases in the outsourcing/offshoring of the testing work.  Recently it has been done to a fault and predominately based on labor costs alone.  Some companies are finding out this is a mistake, and that they need a better balance in the equation. In my opinion letting the bean counters make these types of decisions for technology is asking for a world of hurt.  And I've seen alot of pain recently.

Fourth, lack of education and educational resources for University/College students on the topic of Software Testing and Quality Assurance.  When I first started out in Testing I came over from the Development ranks (I was a good developer, just better at testing).  My background in software in college was in programming and testing was part of my classes only at the level of 'debugging' my code.  There wasn't any classes specifically about Software Testing and Quality Assurance.  What I learned early on was either through reading, OJT or week long seminar classes (and even these were few and far between).  I got my "testing" education through the "School of Hard Knocks".  But recently there is more formal education popping up; either by colleges or professional agencies, and these have helped to improve the profession.

Fifth, majority of people (inside and outside of the ranks) are still calling software testing "Quality Assurance".  If all you are doing is testing the sofware then that is what you are, a "Tester".  Software Quality Assurance is so much more than testing alone.  Testing is a component piece, and a key on at that, in the overall scheme of Quality Assurance.  Testing is more akin to Quality Control.  It's true, don't fight it.  Other disciplines within Quality Assurance are: Audit, Inspection & Review, Software Configuration Mangement, Metrics, Process Improvment, Risk Management, Project Management (this really should fall under QA), and Standards & Procedures to name a few.  And we, testers, are the worst at this misnaming/misrepresentation of our work.  Why, because 'QA' seems to have a better connotation than 'Test', thus we would have a higher standing in the company.  And also because a lot of people outside of the testing ranks think that by just doing testing you are going to ensure 'quality' is going into the product.  Guess they need to better understand the saying "you cannot test quality into a product", and so do we.

Now how does all this relate to my subject?  Because I have been through all of this during my career I know that when I come on to a project there is quit a bit of education and enlightenging I have to do with other people so that later on I can actually do my job effectively. 

As a Tester my job is to create and execute tests so as to gather information on the reliability and stability of the product.  Is this thing ready for prime time?  It is also to make sure that due diligence is done by other groups.  To make sure they do their part of the 'quality' process.  My job is to make sure the right people get this information so they can make an informed decision on whether or not to release the product for general use. 

Because I take pride in my work and give a damn.  That is how I got here, and why I stay.