I am in a team where I have recently joined 6 months back. Hence, I am still new to the domain and a newbie automation tester. We have had new additions to the team recently such that now we have 7-8 dev and 4 QA. Each of the other QA are unique - 1 is a domain expert, 1 is an automation tester expert in a particular stack of our application, and the newest person is an expert in the other application stack's automation(she is a transfer from another internal team). I am not an expert at this point - neither in the domain nor the automation. Also, the amount of work among 4 of us won't be much. Even today, 3 QA are more than enough. I am worried what this all means to my position in the company - all other QA other than me are unique in their abilities. My only unique thing is that I consolidate the efforts, communicate the results and other info to the team and bring in better processes to the team - which to the team, is of no use, in my opinion, i.e. they don't appreciate much. In such a situation, what must I do to help myself and the team such that both can benefit from the situation? Or is this a 'warning' sign for me to start looking for another job as what I bring to the table is not that unique nor that valued?
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has anyone else expressed concern at your abilities?– KilisiCommented Dec 17, 2015 at 7:16
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@Kilisi - no. not really. but when i was laid off before, no one had expressed any concern then either.– shylaCommented Dec 17, 2015 at 7:41
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3not much point looking for a new job just because of that, you'[ll have the same issue in a new job. Better to make yourself a valuable team member as much as possible and learn as much as you can. It's only been 6 months. Don't tell anyone that you think you're a useless addition either...– KilisiCommented Dec 17, 2015 at 7:44
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2There are multiple factors that lead to lay-off decisions. Yes, if everybody else has well-defined roles, that puts you at risk somewhat. However, if your salary is relatively low and you're truly a "jack of all trades" you might be a very good choice to keep. Just do your best and start looking if you continue to feel like there's an axe over you-- there's no prize for staying until a lay-off :-)– teego1967Commented Dec 17, 2015 at 11:35
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You are a newbie automation tester yet you know there isn't enough work for more than 3 people? I'd look more for the question of how well is the business doing as if it is growing there may be more work coming that you don't see right now.– JB KingCommented Dec 17, 2015 at 15:32
2 Answers
I completely agree with Joe's answer. My own take is from experience.
Your value on a team is directly correlated by how well you push the team's goals along.
There are often times when someone is very good in one area and without knowledge in other areas they are a source for miscommunication. I have dealt with domain experts that are given a task a little different and they totally go off on a tangent. On the same point these domain experts often have issues communicating in a way that others can fully understand what they are doing.
Often the jack-of-all-trades help fill the communication gaps. Without these people projects really struggle. Not everyone can talk from the engineer standpoint and the marketing team standpoint. This is often a skill that will get you further than being a domain expert.
So I don't see any issue with being a jack-of-all-trades unless you have trouble picking up domain knowledge when you are being trained to do so. We often had jack-of-all-trades climb fast through the ranks. If we tried to train them in one or two domains and they couldn't pick it up then they moved to a non-tech role or left.
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Thanks @blankip - can you elaborate a little more on our last 3 sentences? Sometimes i too feel that leaving the tech side and joining the non-tech role is more suited for my personality and abilities.....– shylaCommented Dec 17, 2015 at 17:24
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Well there are people on the tech side that aren't ultra technical but do a great job of communicating across several groups. These people are always in high demand and hardly ever get cut but also there isn't a lot of room for promotions in the tech world. So most of the semi-technical people that have great comm skills end up doing some sort of management or project management. If learning these domains don't interest you I think the risk isn't losing your job, it is being pigeon holed into the person who just does comms/meetings but not paid great.– blankipCommented Dec 17, 2015 at 18:54
In such a situation, what must I do to help myself and the team such that both can benefit from the situation? Or is this a 'warning' sign for me to start looking for another job as what I bring to the table is not that unique nor that valued?
Remember that uniqueness does not imply value. And uniqueness doesn't imply protection against layoffs.
If you are truly a jack-of-all-trades, that means you might be able to fill in for anyone - and that has a ton of value by itself.
I once worked at a startup that grew to almost 300 people before going public. As soon as they went public, things started going south, and a series of layoffs began.
The layoffs did not leave the "unique" individuals untouched. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Those who were basically only good at one thing were the first to go. The jack-of-all-trades types were around until quite near the end, handling multiple responsibilities.
Unfortunately, there are no sure fire ways to avoid ever being laid off. The best you can do is provide as much value as you can in whatever areas you can. Be positive, upbeat, work hard, and pitch in to help whoever and whenever you can. Then, don't make too much money and get lucky. There's only so much you can control.
