How to Become a QA Engineer

A QA Engineer (Quality Assurance Engineer) ensures software products meet quality standards before release by designing test strategies, executing tests, and identifying defects. In 2025-2026, the role has evolved from primarily manual testing to requiring significant automation expertise, with AI-powered testing tools becoming mainstream. QA Engineers serve as the user's advocate and the last line of defense before software reaches production.

What makes this role unique: Unlike Software Developers who build features, QA Engineers specialize in breaking them—finding edge cases, bugs, and usability issues before customers do. Unlike SDETs (Software Development Engineers in Test) who focus primarily on building test infrastructure and frameworks, QA Engineers balance both manual exploratory testing and automation across the entire testing pyramid.

Best suited for: Detail-oriented problem-solvers who enjoy finding what others miss. Best suited for those who think critically about how things can fail, have patience for repetitive testing scenarios, and take satisfaction in ensuring product quality. Requires excellent communication skills to work between development and business teams.

With 250,000 professionals employed nationwide and 8% projected growth, this is a strong career choice. Explore Computer Science degree programs to get started.

Communication is a larger part of the job than many expect—you'll work constantly with developers, product managers, and stakeholders. Time pressure is real: testers are often last in the cycle and testing time gets cut when development runs over. You may feel you're always fighting to prove QA's value in agile teams.

Morning: Start with coffee and reviewing overnight automated test results. Launch Slack, GitHub, and Jira to review tickets and sprint progress. Attend daily standup to share testing progress and blockers. Plan which test cases to execute or automate for the day.

Afternoon: Execute test cases on delivered features, starting with the most complex. Write and run automated tests. Perform exploratory testing—using creativity to find undiscovered bugs. Document defects in detail and collaborate with developers on reproducing issues.

Core daily tasks include:

• Writing and executing manual test cases
• Creating and maintaining automated test scripts
• Exploratory testing to find edge cases
• Documenting and tracking bugs in Jira/Bugzilla
• Reviewing requirements and providing testability feedback
• Collaborating with developers on bug reproduction
• Maintaining test documentation and reports

Essential Tools: QA Engineers rely heavily on these core technologies:

• Playwright: The rising star of web automation in 2025. More stable than Cypress, cross-browser support out of the box, API testing and tracing built-in.
• Selenium WebDriver: The veteran automation framework. Still widely used for its flexibility and language support, though newer tools are gaining ground.
• Cypress: Modern JavaScript-based E2E testing tool with excellent developer experience and real-time test execution visualization.
• Postman: Essential for API testing—creating, sharing, testing, and documenting APIs. Newman for CI/CD integration.
• Jira: Industry-standard project management and bug tracking. Integration with test management tools like Zephyr or TestRail.

Also commonly used:

• Appium: Open-source mobile automation framework for iOS and Android native, web, and hybrid apps.
• TestRail/Qase: Test management tools for organizing test cases, tracking execution, and reporting. Qase gaining popularity for its lightweight approach.
• Git/GitHub Actions: Version control for test code and CI/CD pipelines for automated test execution.
• Docker: Containerization for consistent test environments. Running Playwright or Selenium in containers for reliable CI/CD.
• Python/JavaScript: Primary languages for test automation. Python with PyTest, JavaScript with Jest/Mocha.

Emerging technologies to watch:

• AI-Powered Testing (Mabl, Testim): Auto-generating test cases, self-healing scripts that adapt to UI changes, and intelligent test prioritization.
• Applitools: Visual AI testing that detects UI regressions humans might miss. Self-healing capabilities for brittle tests.
• LambdaTest/BrowserStack: Cloud testing platforms with self-healing locators and low-code test creation.
• Generative AI for Testing: ISTQB now offers CT-GenAI certification. LLMs assisting with test case generation and analysis.
• Chaos Engineering Tools: Chaos Monkey and similar tools for testing system resilience under failures.

ISTQB Foundation Level is worth it for entry-level QA or career changers—it helps pass HR filters and provides foundational knowledge. For experienced testers, practical automation skills matter more than certifications. Focus on building a strong automation portfolio, learning AI testing tools, and gaining hands-on CI/CD experience. Consider ISTQB CT-GenAI if working with AI-powered testing tools.

Beginner certifications:

• See detailed requirements in the sections above

Intermediate/Advanced certifications:

• See detailed requirements in the sections above

Must-have portfolio projects:

• See detailed requirements in the sections above

Projects to avoid: Repositories with only tutorial code without customization, Tests without proper documentation or README files, Hardcoded test data or credentials in public repos, Flaky tests that fail intermittently - these are too common and won't differentiate you.

GitHub best practices: Include clear README explaining what the project demonstrates; Show Page Object Model or similar design patterns for maintainability; Include both positive and negative test scenarios

Expect 3-5 rounds: Initial recruiter screen, technical phone screen on testing concepts, practical automation exercise (often take-home), live coding session for automation, and behavioral/team fit. Be prepared to discuss specific bugs you've found, explain your test strategy approach, and demonstrate working knowledge of at least one automation tool.

Common technical questions:

• See detailed requirements in the sections above

Behavioral questions to prepare for:

• See detailed requirements in the sections above

Take-home assignments may include: Write automated tests for a sample e-commerce website using Playwright or Cypress; Create API tests for a provided REST API using Postman or code-based framework; Design a test strategy for a given feature with test cases and coverage matrix

Common challenges qa engineers face:

• Time pressure - testing is always last and time gets cut when development overruns
• Proving value - agile teams sometimes question whether they need dedicated testers
• Unrealistic expectations - you can't test everything but stakeholders expect zero escaped bugs
• Changing requirements - mid-sprint changes require re-testing already completed work
• Tool fatigue - constant new tools and frameworks to learn and evaluate

Common misconceptions about this role:

• Myth: QA is just clicking buttons all day. Reality: Modern QA involves significant programming, automation, and strategic thinking.
• Myth: Automation will replace manual testing. Reality: Exploratory testing and human judgment remain essential for finding complex bugs.
• Myth: QA is an entry-level stepping stone. Reality: QA is a specialized career path with senior, lead, and architect-level progression.
• Myth: Anyone can do QA without technical skills. Reality: Coding and automation are baseline expectations in 2025.

QA Engineer vs S D E T:

QA Engineer vs Developer:

QA Engineer vs Product Manager:

Your negotiation leverage:

• Automation skills (Playwright, Cypress, Selenium) command 20-30% premium over manual-only testers
• Experience with specific tech stack that matches the company
• AI/ML testing experience as this is emerging and in-demand
• Performance and security testing specializations

Proven negotiation strategies:

• Research specific company salaries on Glassdoor and Levels.fyi
• Highlight automation frameworks you've built and bugs they've caught
• Quantify impact: 'My automated suite reduced regression testing from 2 days to 2 hours'
• Ask about professional development budget for certifications and tools

Mistakes to avoid: Undervaluing automation skills - these significantly increase your market rate; Not researching salary ranges for QA vs SDET roles (SDETs typically earn more); Accepting manual-only QA roles when you have automation skills

Strong growth projected at 17% through 2033 according to BLS, with 140,100 annual openings. Automation skills are now the baseline—not a differentiator. AI-powered testing is reshaping roles but creating opportunities rather than eliminating jobs. Companies are 'upgrading QA roles and paying more for AI tool expertise.' Backend testing skills are in particularly high demand. Entry-level market remains accessible for career changers with the right automation training.

Hot industries hiring qa engineers: Fintech - High-stakes testing with compliance requirements, strong pay ($112K+ median), Healthcare Tech - HIPAA compliance testing, growing demand, E-commerce - Complex user journeys, performance testing critical, SaaS Companies - Continuous deployment requires robust automation, Aerospace & Defense - Highest paying ($115K median), rigorous testing standards

Emerging trends: AI-Powered Testing - Tools auto-generating tests, self-healing scripts, intelligent prioritization, Shift-Left Testing - QA involvement earlier in development cycle becoming standard, AI Quality Engineers - New role combining QA with AI/ML testing expertise, Cloud QA Lead - Specializing in cloud-native testing and infrastructure