Wow. Sounds like some test engineers out there with sucky jobs.
My last job was as a development engineer. We tested our own code while in development, then turned it over (along with any relevant and useful test cases) to the QA team.
I recently took a position as a Software Test Engineer at a different company. Our philosophy here is that we own the quality of the product. Granted, it takes a little more creativity to write tests to break an OS than an application, but my job here is quite challenging, with very little of the "run script, make checkmark" drudgery so many others seem to endure.
To the OP: ask lots of questions about what you'll be expected to test and how. Nobody likes drudgery, and being given a certain amount of leeway and ownership makes the job much better.