Most manual testers make the same mistake: they buy a course on a popular platform and wait for the magic to happen. Don’t get me wrong – that’s exactly how I started. I thought the number of completed courses would directly translate into automation skills. It took me a while to realize how wrong I was.
Where is the problem?
When you buy a course, you’re paying for organized knowledge that is already available online for free. You grind through modules from A to Z, but then… you completely forget how to handle a NoSuchElementException or how to switch between tabs in Cypress. Why? Because you learned everything at once instead of solving a real-world problem. The result? You end up doing the same course all over again.
Change your strategy: Goal first, tool second.
No mentoring program will make you an expert if you don’t put theory into practice from day one. Don’t take a course “just in case.” First, define the project you want to build, and then seek the specific knowledge you need to complete it. Never the other way around.
Tools are just add-ons.
Cypress, Selenium, Playwright – at first glance, it’s a jungle. But the truth is simple: they all serve the same purpose. They click, they enter data, they verify text. They might differ “under the hood,” but their core logic is remarkably similar.
Frameworks and languages are just hammers and screwdrivers.
By understanding the broader context of automation, you gain technological freedom. You won’t worry about not knowing GitLab if you understand how CI/CD works in Jenkins. Mastery of one framework is the key to all others. Remember: a programming language is just a tool. Your true value lies in your ability to navigate any project.
I started this blog to help you find your way through it all.