Free Career Roadmap
Become a QA / Test Automation Engineer
Ship with confidence. Break things before users do.
Duration
9 months
Salary Range
$55k – $150k
Difficulty
entry friendly
Job Demand
high
4
Phases
19
Skills to Learn
9
Projects
2
Certifications
1
Phase 1 · Months 1–3
Testing Foundations
Manual testing, test cases, and QA thinking.
Core Skills to Master
Recommended Projects
Test a real app end-to-end
Bug reporting portfolio
Test case documentation
Industry Certifications
ISTQB Foundation Level ($229)
Key Milestones (3)
ISTQB certified
Solid testing fundamentals
Bug portfolio
2
Phase 2 · Months 4–6
Automation Basics
Selenium, Cypress, and API testing.
Core Skills to Master
Recommended Projects
Full Selenium test suite
Cypress E2E test suite
API test collection in Postman
Key Milestones (3)
Automation portfolio
Comfortable with 2+ frameworks
GitHub with tests
3
Phase 3 · Months 7–8
Advanced QA + DevOps
CI/CD, performance testing, and QA architecture.
Core Skills to Master
Recommended Projects
Full CI/CD test pipeline
Performance test suite
Test architecture document
Industry Certifications
ISTQB Advanced Level ($349)
Key Milestones (3)
CI/CD proficiency
Performance testing skills
Advanced ISTQB
4
Phase 4 · Months 9
Land Your Role
Target QA-focused and testing-forward companies.
Core Skills to Master
Key Milestones (3)
25+ applications
5+ interviews
QA role secured
Job Ready — QA / Test Automation Engineer
Completing this pathway equips you with verified projects, assessment scores, and the exact skills required by current hiring managers.