The last stop on the QA Job Hunt Express

And not just because it's the 69th email I've sent

It's been a ride. Maybe you loved it, maybe you hated it. Maybe you opened 1 out of 69 emails I've sent and forgot to unsubscribe.

But it's been a thrill to write for you.

So why am I hanging it up? Simple, I'm bored ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Well, not entirely that. I'm embarking on a new chapter in my professional journey.

Well, that's not quite right, either.

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Simply put, I'm refocusing my energy on building.

Not building offers. Not building an email list. Not building a social media following.

Even though I can now boast almost 5k followers on LinkedIn, 750 on Twitter, and this email list is closing out at 253 people...recently, I looked at:

• my GitHub projects
• my portfolio
• my frontend skills
• my devops skills
• my automation skill goals for this year (set in January)

I'm not measuring up to my own expectations.

I want to change that, because I'm setting a terrible example for anybody who's job-hunting or breaking into tech right now.

I say one thing, but am doing another. And no, I don't think you "earn the right" to slack off on your online presence after enough time.

It's like your home. You can get away with inviting your family over when you haven't cleaned anything, and maybe if you're a celebrity, nobody would dare point out how gross your house looks.

But that doesn't make it right.

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Besides, the person who doesn't work on side projects relies 100% on their job to teach them new skills.

If your GitHub is gathering dust, you're probably letting your employer decide your skill set.

That's fine, unless it's not, right?

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I think back to when I was at Trek and I got to choose my own test automation stack for the native app they were developing.

I chose Playwright.

It seemed like the best tool for the job, even if their support for Electron apps was still considered "experimentally supported".

Fast-forward only a few months, other QA folks in Trek and outside of Trek are talking about Playwright like it's some out-of-reach thing:

• "I want to learn Playwright"
• "I hope I get to work on a Playwright project next year"
• "We should chat sometime so you can show me Playwright"

I was puzzled. What's stopping these people?

Most folks seem to think they need to be "allowed to learn" or "put on a project" or "given time during the workday".

As someone who's gone the self-taught route into tech, this mentality is absurd to me.

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Every year, more tools and technologies come out, with the earliest adopters being the folks willing to do side projects or who happen to work for companies who like letting their team experiment with new tech.

Most people aren't going to be the 2nd category. They'll need to do a side project on their own time, not at work.

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I used to do side projects all the time. Then I got comfy.

I let work teach me stuff.

That was fine for a few years. But now my appetite is growing again.

I want to dive deeper into not just QA Automation but also Frontend Dev and DevOps skills.

It's the kind of thing you need to do on the side.

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Eventually, I want to teach people how to become a QA Automation Engineer.

I'll need to use practice projects in the course, anyway.

Might as well build some now.

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So while I think you should absolutely know how to job hunt like a pro, I've said all I wanted to say on that topic. I feel confident if you read back through all my emails, you have everything you need.

I've even made them publicly available here, so don't worry if you deleted them.

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If I ever start a newsletter again, it'll be on a different subject. But I may not start another one.

So, as some parting suggestions for you on your "Test Quest,"

• Your online presence is your brand. Everyone has one. Curate it, or it will send unintended messages to viewers
• Build projects you're proud of. Don't rush to put projects on your GitHub. Quality matters most.
• Try basic web development if your coding skills are limited to writing tests. freeCodeCamp is great for beginners.
• While manual testing will always matter, learn automation. Please. And try AI. You may not find it useful, but you don't want to be a staunch critic who never tries it, just in case the world moves forward with it. Don't get left in the dust because of principles. If AI is actually terrible, we'll know pretty soon, but that doesn't stop you from trying it out.

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My advice can be summed up in 1 sentence:

Dream big, yes, but when you decide what skills to have, base it on the current landscape, not your opinions of how the world "ought to be".

It'll keep you safe in the job market, and you might just change your mind on a few things.

Folks on the sidelines can think whatever they want, but in the arena, you find out what's true and what's not pretty quickly.

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Happy testing, folks.

And if you feel like chatting, you know where to find me.

But just in case you don't, my website's almost done.

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Cheers,

Steven

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