How can I have better career growth in Software Testing?

Yes it will be a plus. So will be certification in JAVA. How about a couple of freelance projects to add on to your wing of experience? Listen, in this market of over abundance of skills, no amount of experience, knowledge, skills are enough. So if you feel like learning automation, by all means, go ahead. But.... Before you take a decision based on 'what you think' rather than 'what you know', let me ask you this.... Do you know what you are doing?? Are you sure..??? I mean....you are not like a medical student who hasn't even completed his MBBS and is wondering whether he should go on to be a heart transplant surgeon, are you? 14 months you say as a tester? I know people with 3 years of testing experience who are still clueless about what they are doing or why they are doing it. Buddy....you sure you have good knowledge of testing? Here is what you must do - Learn about software testing. Most people think that just because they belong in a testing team and know a few jargon, they know all about testing. Hey listen, I may know how to listen to heart beats with a stethoscope, but that does not make me a doctor, does it? Learn about software testing in detail. Try to be impeccable in your knowledge. Ask questions. Get good experience in manual testing for 3-4 years. Then start learning automation (if you want) Or continue to be a manual tester. I know your friends say that a manual tester has stagnant career growth. They are right. They just missed a word in that statement though -  a BAD manual tester has stagnant career growth. If you are a great manual tester, well then...you curve your career graph.

Setting the industry standards for software testing is my career goals. I will spend the next ten years or even twenty years to do that.

I am in the same boat as you my friend,however what i have heard in my feldgling career so far is that Manual Testing doesn't have much scope( scope is ironic since we are testers) . The things which have scope or should i say in scope ;) would be automation and performance testing. I also hear the market for ETL is quite hot. So if you want to make a career as a Software Test Engineer. I'd say you go all out, QTP,ETL,Sql,ALM,Selenium etc learn all you can and then who knows, Onsite maybe inscope for you ;)

be it manual or automation 0 ultimately you ll have to demonstrate skills some of the myths about manual testing is manual testing is easy and automation is challenging. . Manual testing - facts - most of the revenue comes from manual testing projects. manual testing has to be monitored on a daily basis, lot of planning estimation, client communication, risk identification , mitigation , monitoring is on a daily basis. understanding product , domain knowledge challenges, creative exploratory testing . Automation has its own benefits but at the end of the day automation is all about automating that is already tested, cutting down regression time, using a tool which has all the features where automation tester have to use it on an application. risks identified are very minimal.  however versatile is the key to successful career - one should continue to learn manual, domain, automation - down the line , everyone will hit crossroads, you ll find three roads -  to go for an ARCHITECT ROLE, BUINSESS ANALYST, or PROJECT MANAGEMENT.

Todays testing has become so complicated and  demand for early marketing the products is so high that industry has to  use Automation test tools, Performance, Load testing tools which provide  a great opportunity to do coding, scripting and writing programs. Sharp  and intelligent test engineers pick up these skills very fast. Market  demand for performance and Load testers for specific tools used in the  industry is very high. Its very difficult to get performance, automation  test engineers with right skills and expertise on specific tools and  hence are very well paid.

if a developer in his life learns creating web apps web services eCommerce to an ERP then why cant a tester start from manual and explore automation performance load security etc disciplines of testing after all this all things belong to ST why should we discourage a tester from exploring new domains never limit your knowledge guys don't be just limited to a certain circle gaining knowledge is never ending story more you will gain knowledge more you will have respect . Manual testing is also a knowledge but don't call it end of world explore new worlds Regards , Test engineer

Learn Automation Testing. There is a huge demand for it today. Do certifications related to Automation or Manual Testing. This will improve your skills and your confidence. Talk to your manager about the same and discuss about your progress.

In my opinion, no one can plan their career in any organization if they are being assessed by someone else based on their biases and individual ideas.Find out what technology your company requires and develop your testing capability in that.

Firstly - This will be a very good career in future. Any business now a days should go on-line and every one who goes on-line need testing. The role or job nature of software tester might change but software testing as a concept remains as it is. Tester might need to keep on building his skill set like programming , analysis, representation etc. And there are every chances that Quality Assurance now more focuses on Defect Prevention rather than Defect Detection. But even a tester can play his role in defect prevention as well with his increased skill set like I mentioned above. Good Luck and all the best!