Hi everyone, I’m new to QA and currently learning manual testing.

I’m facing a common problem — most jobs require experience, but I’m trying to gain that experience.

Can you please advise:

- How can I gain real QA experience as a beginner?

- Are there any projects, websites, or ways to practice testing?

- What should I focus on to become job-ready?

Any advice would really help. Thank you!

Background

5 years of manual testing experience at a single company and have the ISTQB (International Software Testing Qualifications Board) Foundations certificate.

Process

The software developers add new and improve existing features created by the Product Owners and fix software bugs which are managed in Jira. Once a ticket is 'In Testing', I assign the ticket to myself and start testing it. Once testing is complete, I add my testing notes to the ticket with the version I tested, detailed steps on how I ensured the bug was fixed with screenshots and screen recordings. Otherwise, I reopen the ticket explaining why.

I perform regression testing by comparing the version of the upcoming release and the last major release in seperate web browser windows simultaneously, noting any discrepancies in a text editor and with screenshots, before being raised as a bug in Jira.

Tools I use:

- an IDE to record and update manual test scenarios

- Git for managing branches of the manual testing framework

- SQL Management Studio for base configuration database restoration and backup, and for searching table columns for values

- Web browsers (Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge) to access the web application for regression testing and web browser feature compatibility

- Postman to send and receive API calls

General regression testing steps

1. A ticket is created in Jira called, 'General regression testing 202x.x.x'
2. A branch is created with Git called, 'general_regression_testing_202x.x.x_name'
3. The version number and test outcomes of the manual test scenarios are updated in the IDE
4. A commit message is provided giving a high-level overview, '<feature> manual steps'
5. The changes are pushed to the testing framework and the other QAs are added as reviewers.
6. A table showing the test case scenarios with their outcomes are added to the ticket
7. Once reviewed and accepted, the changes are merged with the main branch and the new branch is closed

The other 4 QAs and 1 Test Manager are not updating the manual QA framework when they've performed regression testing either generally or for feature upgrades when I've showed them numerous times in a group and individual one-on-one video calls. This frustrates me as knowing which scenarios were performed or when they last tested a particular feature difficult especially since I wasn't included for a few of the latest general regression tests.

My supervisor, Test Manager, should be the one ensuring that the testing team updates the framework and keeping updated with the testing process at the company which was set before I joined the company.

$77,600 (excl. superannuation) before taxes, which is the same wage as a fast-food restaurant supervisor for 'Guzman y Gomez' in Australia. I feel like my monetary compensation (my work is undervalued by the executive team) is low considering the work I have to constantly do everyday during the work week from 9 AM to 5 PM.

The top most essentials skill that Senior QA must have ? What are those in your perspective?

The amount of teams shipping internal agents and then just hoping they stay reliable is genuinely baffling, there's no alert layer, no instrumentation, nothing systematic in place. Engineers get asked why output quality slipped and nobody has a clean answer because nobody was watching it.

I have been moved to automation recently. I’m closely working with a QA architect who has more than 25 years of experience. He designed the framework and started to share in slack as zipfile-v1, v2 etc. Once I asked him whether we can switch to git so that collaboration will be easier. And he told me not to worry about pushing the code. So I followed his way, and started to use the file he shared. Then one day he pushed the framework to git along with the configuration files in the feature branch. He told me to push my changes once all the test cases are completed. I asked him whether I can push my changes with few test cases but he told me to push the code once I complete all the assigned test cases. So, I pushed my changes and he created PR. I tried to mask the config files and I missed one of them. One of the reviewers asked me to mask the config file as the last commit was from me. Another reviewer told not to commit these many changes in a single PR, 15 files and 3000 lines were pushed. When he saw the review comments he asked me to learn gitignore as if I have committed the config files and told me to commit fewer test cases and blamed me. While pushing the changes he told me to push my venv as well, but I didn’t push it as it was not logical to push venv to git. He said that if I push venv, anyone who cloning the repo can easily run the framework, they don’t have to install dependencies. His reasoning and way of working doesn’t help me in any way. If something breaks, blame is on me and if something works credit is for him. Have anyone of you worked with such kind of people. Please guide me on how to work with these kind of people

Other thing is that, daily he schedules call, which lasts up to 3 hours and sometimes even his calls doesn’t make sense. So I’ve to work late in the evening to compensate the time wasted in calls. Sometimes there will be multiple calls and no time to work. If I put lunch break or away, he still calls. If unable to reach out in slack, will call via mobile. When I was on sick leave he texted on WhatsApp to connect with him when I feel better. Please help me to deal with him

I’ve been in QA for ~15 years (manual testing, automation, SDET roles) and have spent a lot of time doing corporate training for testing/automation teams.

I’m now thinking of doing something more personal:

1:1 / small mentoring sessions for people trying to break into QA or move into automation.

No big course. Just practical, real-world help.

Possible topics:

Getting into QA (career switchers)

Automation testing (Selenium / Playwright / API testing)

Real framework design (what companies actually expect)

CI/CD basics for testers

AI in testing (GenAI use cases, test generation, debugging, data creation)

Early agentic AI workflows in QA

I’m not trying to build a “course business” right now.

I’d rather:

Start with a few free intro sessions

Understand what people actually struggle with

Then continue in a pay-per-session, pay-what-you-feel-it’s-worth way

No pressure, no packages.

So I’m genuinely curious:

👉 What would actually help you most right now in QA/automation?

👉 Is AI in testing useful in your world or still hype?

👉 What’s missing in most QA learning content out there?

So i recently got an interview for a entry level software testing job where i passed the first round. Now in this second round they are asking for me to complete an assignment, a fairly simple one where i need to simulate being an end user tester and log if a website is functioning correctly through testing out various functions. Then in the interview i need to explain what i did and all the steps i took. Now here's the issue, i have very little QA experience and am mid UI/UX bachelors, so i'm not sure what i need to use to log these tests or what's standard. Is it as simple as making a nice Google docs or sheets template and presenting it? or do i need testing programs like Jira. any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I'm gonna interview to a position of automation infrastructure engineering that'll use agents, automation and llm

I know prompt engineering mcp playwright

Can someone give me a roadmap how to build a project or two that'll show my knowledge and I can use it daily thank you

It’s about making sure things work as expected and reporting issues so developer can be fixed.

The funny part is, this habit doesn’t stay limited to work.
You start noticing small issues everywhere like a lift button or door not responding properly or a website layout that feels off 😂

you realize you’re not just testing apps or website anymore…
you’ve become a bug finder in real life too

Just sharing my experience—any other QA testers feel the same or Share your real-life experience ?

Hi

I have a interview for Quality Engineer Selenium role

What questions can I expect for this role ?

Can anyone guide me with most asked questions ?

Below is the Job description

Summary:

As a Quality Engineer, you will enable full stack solutions through multi-disciplinary team planning and ecosystem integration to accelerate delivery and drive quality across the application lifecycle. Your typical day will involve performing continuous testing for security, API, and regression suites, creating automation strategies, and supporting data and environment configurations. You will also participate in code reviews and monitor defects to support continuous improvement activities for the end-to-end testing process, ensuring that the highest quality standards are met throughout the project lifecycle.

Roles & Responsibilities:

- Expected to perform independently and become an SME.

- Required active participation/contribution in team discussions.

- Contribute in providing solutions to work related problems.

- Assist in the development and execution of test plans and test cases to ensure comprehensive coverage.

- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify and resolve quality issues in a timely manner.

Professional & Technical Skills:

- Must To Have Skills: Proficiency in Selenium.

- Strong understanding of test automation frameworks and methodologies.

- Experience with continuous integration and continuous deployment tools.

- Familiarity with API testing tools and techniques.

- Ability to analyze and interpret complex data sets to inform testing strategies

Hello everyone, I am working as an application L2 support (ticket handling). I found no scope in that, so I studied Selenium java course in Udemy from Rahul Shetty academy.

I even cleared interview as an automation tester in a product based company (3+ years).

Now I'm a bit worried how I will survive without prior testing project experience.

Can you please guide me.

PS : I'm good with writing locators and I have basic POM framework and Java knowledge.

Hi,
I am trying to create an RSS feed for software testing, are there any rss or blogs that you highly recommend for test-automation?

I’ve been thinking a lot about where QA is heading with AI.

Some people say testing will get automated heavily, others say QA will just evolve into something bigger (data, automation, product thinking, etc.).

I’m curious how others here are seeing it from their day-to-day work.

Also—if anyone is open to a quick 10–15 min chat to share their experience (what you actually test, how your role is changing), I’d love to talk. No prep needed, just a casual conversation.

Would be great to hear different perspectives.

What else can be done in this subreddit while given these restrict rules i wonder? Can anybody help me understand what im missing?

https://preview.redd.it/twlvjwhyibwg1.png?width=324&format=png&auto=webp&s=068b88ae11bd191198a72c9f97ce7304566d0ef7

Hi, I am a tester with 10+ years of experience, focused on automation for web and mobile along with some backend automation, with CICD experience. I'm quite good at my job and I like it, but I am thinking of moving to software development, thinking more fullstack now and if I study enough maybe I'll sway one way or another.

Anyone did this before, what's your experience in studying, practising, applying and finding a new iob?

Hi everyone,

I have 8 years of experience in testing (mostly mobile game testing + some manual testing), and 4 years as a team lead. Due to limited growth, I recently transitioned into automation.

I started with Java + Selenium, but later switched to Playwright with TypeScript, which I found much better.

What I’ve done:

• Built frameworks for 3 sites (Swag Labs, OpenCart, Restful Booker)
• ~40 API + 60 UI tests
• CI with GitHub Actions, Allure reports
• POM, fixtures, auth handling, clean code practices
• API testing with Postman
• Regular DSA + automation scenario practice

I’m getting calls, but almost all HRs insist on 3–4 years of automation experience and don’t seem to value project work.

I’ve seen interviews for these roles and feel confident I can clear them.

Question:

Do I actually need to claim/fake automation experience to get shortlisted, or is there a better way to position myself?

Hi everyone,

I’m going to be very honest here.

I’m a fresher and I’ve been trying to get a job for a long time now, but nothing is working out. It honestly feels like my days are getting wasted and I’m stuck.

I’m open to starting with entry-level roles, but most companies still expect experience, which makes it really hard to even get shortlisted.

At the same time, I see many of my friends getting into jobs by showing prior experience, and they’ve been working for quite some time now. A lot of people around me are suggesting that I should do the same.

I’m seriously thinking about it, but before taking any step, I want to understand the real situation from people who have actually gone through this.

If anyone here has taken a similar path or knows how things work in reality:

How is it going for you?

Were there any challenges after getting the job?

Is it manageable in the long run?

Also, if you’re comfortable, feel free to DM me. I would really appreciate genuine guidance.

Last company LnT Infotech worked till Sept 2023 have experience with Middleware testing n PnC insurance into policy

Not too long ago, I switch from Marketing to now QA Testing on my internship. I go 1x/Week. I have been doing whatever task has been assigned to me by my manager and recently got a website to freely test and do Cybersecurity things on it. Any suggestions in how can I start or be more efficient in my work?

I used Claude AI recently to identify issues on the website and test it for myself, however I feel like there's a more efficient way to do my work.

Any tips?

I'm preparing for an upcoming interview for a Non-Functional Testing role (mainly performance, reliability, and system-level testing), and I'm looking for someone who might be willing to help me do a mock interview.

My background:

• Experience in software testing (including automation and system-level testing)
• Some exposure to performance testing and reliability concepts
• Currently preparing for a role focused on non-functional testing (performance, scalability, resilience, etc.)

What I'm looking for:

• Someone with experience in performance testing / non-functional testing / SRE / QA/ development
• A 30–60 minute mock interview session
• Ideally including technical questions and feedback

In return, I'm happy to:

• Do a mock interview for you as well
• Share notes/resources
• Or just appreciate your help greatly!

I'm based in Ireland, but happy to do this online at any time that works.

Thanks in advance!