Software QA Engineers: “One of the Happiest Jobs in the USA”

I am happy that I switched my role from a Software Engineer to a Software Engineer in Test, 12 years ago.

Medal Image Credit: http://www.printables.se/en/other/other-pritables/gold-silver-and-bronze-medals-with-the-numbers-1-2-3

The title of this article might surprise many people, especially software programmers. It is not just my opinion, also the authoritative Forbes list.

Table of Contents:
· The Forbes list: Happiest Jobs in the USA
· My Career Change: Senior Software Engineer → Test Automation Engineer
· Story: “Smiling Tester”
· My Current Situation

The Forbes list: Happiest Jobs in the USA

Software Quality Assurance Engineer (Tester) is on Forbes’ Happiest Jobs List three years in a row. Not just made to the list; in fact, it is #1 or #2 on the list.

2012:
1. Software Quality Assurance Engineer (score: 4.24)
2. Executive Chef, Property Manager (tie, score: 4.15)

2013 (also reported on BusinessWire):
1. Real Estate Agent (score: 4.26)
2. Senior Quality Assurance Engineer (score: 4.23)

2014:
1. Database Administrator
2. Quality Assurance Engineer