Hi everyone,
I recently moved to the Netherlands and have been job hunting for the past few months. I have a Master’s in Computer Science and around 4 years of experience as a QA Automation Engineer. Before moving, I was fairly confident I’d be able to find opportunities in tech, especially with my background, but the reality has been much harder than I expected.
A large number of roles seem to prefer or require Dutch, and I’ve been facing continuous rejections. It’s honestly made me question whether I should continue pursuing QA roles here or consider pivoting into something else.
I’ve recently become interested in AI, especially areas that are more low-code/practical rather than deeply research- or coding-intensive. I enjoy problem solving, testing, workflows, automation, and understanding systems, but I’m not looking to become a hardcore ML engineer.
Right now I feel a bit stuck and unsure:
- Is it worth continuing with QA in the Dutch market without speaking Dutch yet?
- Are there AI-related paths that align well with a QA/automation background?
- Has anyone here successfully transitioned from QA into AI, AI testing, prompt engineering, automation, or similar roles?
- What skills/tools would you recommend focusing on first?
I’d really appreciate honest advice or experiences from people who’ve been in a similar situation. Thanks in advance!