Overview
All ICT Support and Test Engineers
-
$2,019 Weekly Pay
-
Very strong Future Growth
-
12,100 workers Employment Size
-
Very high skill Skill level rating
-
91% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
41 hours Average full-time
-
36 years Average age
-
24% female Gender Share
ICT Support and Test Engineers develop procedures and strategies to support, create, maintain and manage technical quality assurance processes and guidelines and systems infrastructure, investigate, analyse and resolve system problems and performance issues, and test the behaviour, functionality and integrity of systems.
You usually need a bachelor or postgraduate degree in a related information technology field (such as computer science or software engineering) to work as an ICT Support or Test Engineer. Some workers have Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications. There are also a wide range of vendor and industry certifications available that may substitute for formal qualifications.
Tasks
- scheduling and conducting quality audit inspections, and analysing and reviewing systems, data and documentation
- identifying variations and potential high risk areas in securing adherence to standards and procedures
- recommending corrective action plans and improvements in the resolution of non-compliance with standards detected through monitoring and auditing of processes and procedures
- communicating, educating and liaising with users and management to ensure awareness and adherence to standards, procedures and quality control issues and activities
- assisting in troubleshooting, diagnosing, testing and resolving system problems and issues
- developing, conducting and providing technical guidance and training in application software and operational procedures
- analysing, evaluating and diagnosing technical problems and issues such as installation, maintenance, repair, upgrade and configuration and troubleshooting of desktops, software, hardware, printers, Internet, email, databases, operating systems and security policies and procedures to ensure optimal database and system integrity, security, backup, reliability and performance
- testing, identifying and diagnosing functionality errors and faults in systems, and programming code within established testing protocols, guidelines and quality standards to ensure systems perform to specification
- performing organisational systems architecture reviews and assessments, and recommending current and future hardware and software strategies and directions
- creating and reviewing technical documentation such as procedural, instructional and operational guides and manuals, technical reports and specifications and maintenance inventory systems
Prospects
There were 12,100 ICT Support and Test Engineers in 2020. The number of workers:
- grew very strongly over the past 5 years
- is expected to grow very strongly over the next five years
- is likely to reach 16,300 by 2025.
Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, seasonally adjusted data to November 2020 and National Skills Commission Employment Projections to 2025. The number employed includes people who work in this occupation as their main job. People who work in more than one job are counted against the occupation they work the most hours in.
Employment Snapshot
- Size: This is a medium sized occupation.
- Location: ICT Support and Test Engineers work in many parts of Australia. New South Wales and Victoria have a large share of workers.
- Industries: Most work in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services; Financial and Insurance Services; and Information Media and Telecommunications.
- Earnings: Full-time workers on an adult wage earn around $2,019 per week (higher than the average of $1,460). Earnings tend to be lower when starting out and higher as experience grows.
- Full-time: Most work full-time (91%, much higher than the average of 66%).
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 41 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 36 years (compared to the average of 40 years).
- Gender: 24% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Employment Outlook
Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2020 and National Skills Commission Employment Projections to 2025.
Weekly Earnings
Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (cat. no. 6306.0), May 2018, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Pathways
You usually need a bachelor or postgraduate degree in a related information technology field (such as computer science or software engineering) to work as an ICT Support or Test Engineer. Some workers have Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications. There are also a wide range of vendor and industry certifications available that may substitute for formal qualifications.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
- ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
- AAPathways website to explore Information and Communications Technology VET training pathways.
Skills & Knowledge
Employers look for ICT Support and Test Engineers who can communicate clearly, work well in a team and have strong computer skills.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
Engineering and technology
Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Technical design
Design techniques, tools, and principles used to make detailed technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Psychology
Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.
-
Telecommunications
Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
-
Production and processing
Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.
-
Sociology and anthropology
Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
-
Economics and accounting
Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Foreign language
Foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Physics
The physical laws of matter, motion and energy, and how they interact through space and time.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Systems evaluation
Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Quality control analysis
Doing tests and checking products, services, or processes to make sure they are working properly.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Programming
Writing computer programs.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Operations analysis
Understanding needs and product requirements to create a design.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
-
Systems analysis
Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Instructing
Teaching people how to do something.
-
Learning strategies
Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Inductive reasoning
Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Written expression
Write in a way that people can understand.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Categorising
Come up with different ways of grouping things.
-
Brainstorming
Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.
-
Originality
Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Selective attention
Pay attention to something without being distracted.
-
Speech clarity
Speak clearly so others can understand you.
-
Mathematics
Choose the right maths method or formula to solve a problem.
-
Visualization
Imagine how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
-
Perceptual speed
Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
-
Multitasking
Do two or more things at the same time.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Making sense of information and ideas
Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Thinking creatively
Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.
-
Working with computers
Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Checking compliance with standards
Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
-
Documenting or recording information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
-
Scheduling work and activities
Working out the timing of events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
-
Coordinating the work of a team
Getting members of a group to work together to finish a task.
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Assessing and evaluating things
Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.
-
Explaining things to people
Helping people to understand and use information.
-
Leading and encouraging a team
Encouraging and building trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
-
Coming up with systems and processes
Deciding on goals and figuring out what you need to do to achieve them.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 15-1199.01 - Software Quality Assurance Engineers and Testers.
Work Environment
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Electronic mail
Use electronic mail.
-
Spend time sitting
Spend time sitting at work.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
-
Indoors, heat controlled
Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
-
Time pressure
Work to strict deadlines.
-
Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
-
Lead or coordinate a team
Lead others to do work activities.
-
Repeating same tasks
Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.
-
Competition
Compete with others, or be aware of competitive pressures.
-
Making repetitive motions
Spend time making repetitive motions.
-
Conflict situations
Deal with conflict or disagreements.
-
Frequent decision making
Frequently make decisions that impact other people.
-
Physically close to people
Work physically close to other people.
-
Using your hands to handle, control, or feel
Spend time using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
-
Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
-
Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
-
Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
-
Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
-
Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
-
Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
-
Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
-
Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
-
Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.
-
Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
-
Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 15-1199.01 - Software Quality Assurance Engineers and Testers.
All ICT Support and Test Engineers
-
$2,019 Weekly Pay
-
Very strong Future Growth
-
12,100 workers Employment Size
-
Very high skill Skill level rating
-
91% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
41 hours Average full-time
-
36 years Average age
-
24% female Gender Share
ICT Support and Test Engineers develop procedures and strategies to support, create, maintain and manage technical quality assurance processes and guidelines and systems infrastructure, investigate, analyse and resolve system problems and performance issues, and test the behaviour, functionality and integrity of systems.
You usually need a bachelor or postgraduate degree in a related information technology field (such as computer science or software engineering) to work as an ICT Support or Test Engineer. Some workers have Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications. There are also a wide range of vendor and industry certifications available that may substitute for formal qualifications.
Tasks
- scheduling and conducting quality audit inspections, and analysing and reviewing systems, data and documentation
- identifying variations and potential high risk areas in securing adherence to standards and procedures
- recommending corrective action plans and improvements in the resolution of non-compliance with standards detected through monitoring and auditing of processes and procedures
- communicating, educating and liaising with users and management to ensure awareness and adherence to standards, procedures and quality control issues and activities
- assisting in troubleshooting, diagnosing, testing and resolving system problems and issues
- developing, conducting and providing technical guidance and training in application software and operational procedures
- analysing, evaluating and diagnosing technical problems and issues such as installation, maintenance, repair, upgrade and configuration and troubleshooting of desktops, software, hardware, printers, Internet, email, databases, operating systems and security policies and procedures to ensure optimal database and system integrity, security, backup, reliability and performance
- testing, identifying and diagnosing functionality errors and faults in systems, and programming code within established testing protocols, guidelines and quality standards to ensure systems perform to specification
- performing organisational systems architecture reviews and assessments, and recommending current and future hardware and software strategies and directions
- creating and reviewing technical documentation such as procedural, instructional and operational guides and manuals, technical reports and specifications and maintenance inventory systems
There were 12,100 ICT Support and Test Engineers in 2020. The number of workers:
- grew very strongly over the past 5 years
- is expected to grow very strongly over the next five years
- is likely to reach 16,300 by 2025.
Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, seasonally adjusted data to November 2020 and National Skills Commission Employment Projections to 2025. The number employed includes people who work in this occupation as their main job. People who work in more than one job are counted against the occupation they work the most hours in.
Employment Snapshot
- Size: This is a medium sized occupation.
- Location: ICT Support and Test Engineers work in many parts of Australia. New South Wales and Victoria have a large share of workers.
- Industries: Most work in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services; Financial and Insurance Services; and Information Media and Telecommunications.
- Earnings: Full-time workers on an adult wage earn around $2,019 per week (higher than the average of $1,460). Earnings tend to be lower when starting out and higher as experience grows.
- Full-time: Most work full-time (91%, much higher than the average of 66%).
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 41 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 36 years (compared to the average of 40 years).
- Gender: 24% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Employment Outlook
Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2020 and National Skills Commission Employment Projections to 2025.
Weekly Earnings
Source: Based on ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (cat. no. 6306.0), May 2018, Customised Report. Median weekly total cash earnings for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed. Earnings can vary greatly depending on the skills and experience of the worker and the demands of the role. These figures should be used as a guide only, not to determine a wage rate.
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
You usually need a bachelor or postgraduate degree in a related information technology field (such as computer science or software engineering) to work as an ICT Support or Test Engineer. Some workers have Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications. There are also a wide range of vendor and industry certifications available that may substitute for formal qualifications.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
- ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
- AAPathways website to explore Information and Communications Technology VET training pathways.
Employers look for ICT Support and Test Engineers who can communicate clearly, work well in a team and have strong computer skills.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
Engineering and technology
Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Technical design
Design techniques, tools, and principles used to make detailed technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Communications and media
Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.
-
Psychology
Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.
-
Telecommunications
Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
-
Production and processing
Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.
-
Sociology and anthropology
Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
-
Economics and accounting
Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Foreign language
Foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Physics
The physical laws of matter, motion and energy, and how they interact through space and time.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Systems evaluation
Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Quality control analysis
Doing tests and checking products, services, or processes to make sure they are working properly.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Programming
Writing computer programs.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Operations analysis
Understanding needs and product requirements to create a design.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
-
Systems analysis
Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Instructing
Teaching people how to do something.
-
Learning strategies
Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Inductive reasoning
Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Oral comprehension
Listen to and understand what people say.
-
Oral expression
Communicate by speaking.
-
Written expression
Write in a way that people can understand.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Categorising
Come up with different ways of grouping things.
-
Brainstorming
Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.
-
Originality
Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Selective attention
Pay attention to something without being distracted.
-
Speech clarity
Speak clearly so others can understand you.
-
Mathematics
Choose the right maths method or formula to solve a problem.
-
Visualization
Imagine how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
-
Perceptual speed
Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
-
Multitasking
Do two or more things at the same time.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Making sense of information and ideas
Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Thinking creatively
Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.
-
Working with computers
Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Checking compliance with standards
Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
-
Documenting or recording information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
-
Scheduling work and activities
Working out the timing of events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
-
Coordinating the work of a team
Getting members of a group to work together to finish a task.
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Assessing and evaluating things
Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.
-
Explaining things to people
Helping people to understand and use information.
-
Leading and encouraging a team
Encouraging and building trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
-
Coming up with systems and processes
Deciding on goals and figuring out what you need to do to achieve them.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 15-1199.01 - Software Quality Assurance Engineers and Testers.
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Electronic mail
Use electronic mail.
-
Spend time sitting
Spend time sitting at work.
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Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
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Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
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Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
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Indoors, heat controlled
Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.
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Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
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Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
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Time pressure
Work to strict deadlines.
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Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
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Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
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Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
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Lead or coordinate a team
Lead others to do work activities.
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Repeating same tasks
Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.
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Competition
Compete with others, or be aware of competitive pressures.
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Making repetitive motions
Spend time making repetitive motions.
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Conflict situations
Deal with conflict or disagreements.
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Frequent decision making
Frequently make decisions that impact other people.
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Physically close to people
Work physically close to other people.
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Using your hands to handle, control, or feel
Spend time using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
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Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
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Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
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Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
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Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
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Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
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Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
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Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
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Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
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Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
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Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.
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Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
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Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 15-1199.01 - Software Quality Assurance Engineers and Testers.