  Software testing is one of the crucial supporting processes of software life
cycle. Unfortunately for the software industry, the role is stigmatized, partly
due to misperception and partly due to treatment of the role in the software
industry. The present study aims to analyse this situation to explore what
inhibit an individual from taking up a software testing career. In order to
investigate this issue, we surveyed 82 senior students taking a degree in
information technology, information and communication technology, and computer
science at two Malaysian universities. The subjects were asked the PROs and
CONs of taking up a career in software testing and what were the chances that
they would do so. The study identified 7 main PROs and 9 main CONSs for
starting a testing career, and indicated that the role of software tester has
been perceived as a social role, with more soft skills connotations than
technical implications. The results also show that Malaysian students have a
more positive attitude towards software testing than their counterparts where
similar investigations have been carried out.
