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Role path · Beginner to Intermediate

QA/Test Engineer

Ensure software quality through testing and automation

5-9 months $70K - $130K 16 topics

Career guide

Become a hireable engineer in this role

QA/Test Engineers ensure software quality and reliability by designing test strategies, executing manual scenarios, and building automated test suites to catch bugs before production.

Suggested paceDedicate 10-15 hours per week over 5-9 months, splitting time evenly between learning testing theory, writing code for automation scripts, and building a portfolio project.

What this role actually is

Design, write, and execute comprehensive test plans and test cases.
Develop and maintain automated regression test suites using tools like Selenium or Playwright.
Perform API testing using Postman or RestAssured.
Identify, document, and track software defects using bug tracking tools like Jira.
Collaborate with developers and product managers to define acceptance criteria.
Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines to ensure continuous quality.

Good fit if you

Detail-oriented problem solvers who enjoy breaking software to make it better.
Developers transitioning into testing who want a strong focus on automation and code quality.
Technically curious individuals who enjoy investigating complex system behaviors.

Before you start

Basic computer literacy and understanding of software development life cycles (SDLC).
Familiarity with command-line interfaces and basic networking concepts (HTTP/HTTPS).
Basic logic and problem-solving skills.

How to get hired

Build a robust GitHub portfolio featuring a complete test automation framework with clear README instructions.
Highlight experience with both manual QA methodologies and modern automation tools on your resume.
Contribute to open-source projects by fixing bugs or writing missing test coverage.
Prepare for interviews by practicing system testing scenarios and live automation coding challenges.
Obtain foundational certifications like ISTQB or cloud-specific testing badges to stand out.

Portfolio milestones — build your way to hired-ready

1Manual Testing & Bug Reporting

Perform exploratory and structured testing on a web application, documenting test cases and filing detailed bug reports.

Done when

Written test plan covering at least 20 distinct user scenarios.

Minimum 5 well-documented bug reports submitted in an issue tracker.

Traceability matrix mapping requirements to test cases.

2API & Automated Regression Suite

Build an automated API and UI test suite for a sample e-commerce application using a modern testing framework.

Done when

Postman collection covering CRUD operations with automated assertions.

End-to-end UI automation script using Playwright or Selenium.

Test execution integrated into a basic CI pipeline (e.g., GitHub Actions).

Worth exploring next

Backend Developer DevOps Engineer Git & GitHub

Keep going

Build a custom path next

Turn your own plan into an interactive graph with the custom builder.

Open the builder

Role path · Beginner to Intermediate

QA/Test Engineer

Ensure software quality through testing and automation

5-9 months $70K - $130K 16 topics

Career guide

Become a hireable engineer in this role

QA/Test Engineers ensure software quality and reliability by designing test strategies, executing manual scenarios, and building automated test suites to catch bugs before production.

Suggested paceDedicate 10-15 hours per week over 5-9 months, splitting time evenly between learning testing theory, writing code for automation scripts, and building a portfolio project.

What this role actually is

Design, write, and execute comprehensive test plans and test cases.
Develop and maintain automated regression test suites using tools like Selenium or Playwright.
Perform API testing using Postman or RestAssured.
Identify, document, and track software defects using bug tracking tools like Jira.
Collaborate with developers and product managers to define acceptance criteria.
Integrate automated tests into CI/CD pipelines to ensure continuous quality.

Good fit if you

Detail-oriented problem solvers who enjoy breaking software to make it better.
Developers transitioning into testing who want a strong focus on automation and code quality.
Technically curious individuals who enjoy investigating complex system behaviors.

Before you start

Basic computer literacy and understanding of software development life cycles (SDLC).
Familiarity with command-line interfaces and basic networking concepts (HTTP/HTTPS).
Basic logic and problem-solving skills.

How to get hired

Build a robust GitHub portfolio featuring a complete test automation framework with clear README instructions.
Highlight experience with both manual QA methodologies and modern automation tools on your resume.
Contribute to open-source projects by fixing bugs or writing missing test coverage.
Prepare for interviews by practicing system testing scenarios and live automation coding challenges.
Obtain foundational certifications like ISTQB or cloud-specific testing badges to stand out.

Portfolio milestones — build your way to hired-ready

1Manual Testing & Bug Reporting

Perform exploratory and structured testing on a web application, documenting test cases and filing detailed bug reports.

Done when

Written test plan covering at least 20 distinct user scenarios.

Minimum 5 well-documented bug reports submitted in an issue tracker.

Traceability matrix mapping requirements to test cases.

2API & Automated Regression Suite

Build an automated API and UI test suite for a sample e-commerce application using a modern testing framework.

Done when

Postman collection covering CRUD operations with automated assertions.

End-to-end UI automation script using Playwright or Selenium.

Test execution integrated into a basic CI pipeline (e.g., GitHub Actions).

Worth exploring next

Backend Developer DevOps Engineer Git & GitHub

Keep going

Build a custom path next

Turn your own plan into an interactive graph with the custom builder.

Open the builder

QA/Test Engineer Career Roadmap

QA/Test Engineer

Become a hireable engineer in this role

Build a custom path next

QA/Test Engineer Career Roadmap

QA/Test Engineer

Become a hireable engineer in this role

Build a custom path next