QA and test automation engineer (SDET)

Learn to build automated tests, CI quality gates and test plans for a real web app, using AI tools every week and testing an AI feature by the end, in 20 weeks.

Coming soon · planned, not written yet

20
weeks planned
~40 h
a week
5
milestone projects
1
project, grown every week

These are planned figures. The weeks are written after we check the tools against current job postings and official documentation, so the final route may differ.

Built for the AI era

How AI fits this roadmap

AI assistants can now draft test code and even plan and repair browser tests, so the valuable part of the job is judging whether a test really proves something. This roadmap has you use an AI assistant from week 1, then check its tests by breaking the app on purpose and seeing if they fail. Later you test an AI-backed feature too, where the answers are not always the same twice.

The main project

TestBench

A small web shop with an AI-backed search or help feature, which you cover with unit, API, browser, performance and AI-behaviour tests that run as a gate on every pull request.

What you will be able to do

  • 01

    Write unit and API tests in TypeScript, and read every test an AI assistant drafts to check it can actually fail.

  • 02

    Build a maintainable browser test suite with Playwright, with fixtures, stable locators and traces for failures.

  • 03

    Run the suite on every pull request with GitHub Actions, and keep it fast and reliable by finding and fixing flaky tests.

  • 04

    Write a short load test with k6 and a written test plan that says what is covered and what is not.

  • 05

    Test an AI-backed feature with a fixed set of example questions and clear pass rules, and report where it fails.

01The route

Five months, one month at a time.

Each month ends in a milestone project, so you always have something to show for the work.

  1. Month 1 · Weeks 1–4

    Code, Git and testing basics with AI

    TypeScript basics, Git, the command line and how to think about risk and test cases. You set up an AI coding assistant, write unit tests with it, and learn to prove each test can fail.

    MilestoneTestBench with unit tests that run from one command, and a log of AI-drafted tests you kept and rejected

  2. Month 2 · Weeks 5–8

    API and browser tests

    HTTP and API testing, then browser tests with Playwright: locators, fixtures, waiting and traces. You try Playwright's AI test agents and Playwright MCP, then compare their tests with ones you write by hand.

    MilestoneAn API suite and a browser suite covering the main shop flows, with AI-written tests reviewed and fixed

  3. Month 3 · Weeks 9–12

    CI gates and reliable tests

    GitHub Actions workflows that run tests on every pull request, test data, parallel runs and reports. You find flaky tests, fix their causes and decide what blocks a merge.

    MilestoneA pull request gate that runs the suites, reports results and stays green on repeat runs

  4. Month 4 · Weeks 13–16

    Performance and test design

    Load tests with k6, test plans, bug reports and coverage that means something. You use AI to suggest cases you missed, then keep only the ones that find real defects.

    MilestoneA load test, a written test plan and a set of bug reports on TestBench

  5. Month 5 · Weeks 17–20

    Testing AI features and capstone

    Add an AI-backed feature to TestBench and test it with fixed example questions, pass rules and human review of results. Then finish the portfolio write-up, interview preparation and applications.

    MilestoneA test report for the AI feature, a finished portfolio and a working job-search pipeline

03What is inside

Everything a week comes with.

Every week is built the same way, so once you have done one you know how all of them work.

  • 01

    One project, TestBench

    You grow one web shop, with an AI feature inside it, and test it at every level, so every tool lands in something real.

  • 02

    A day-by-day plan

    Each week has a Learn part and a Do part, with a checklist so you know when you are done. Most weeks include a task to do with an AI assistant and a step to check its work.

  • 03

    A project in every milestone

    Five milestones, each ending in something you can show and link to.

  • 04

    Reference topics

    Short topic pages with check questions you can come back to.

  • 05

    A job track

    Interview practice, portfolio and resume help, and an application plan.

  • 06

    Progress in your Study plan

    Add weeks to your Study plan, give them dates, and finished days are counted for you.

04Is it for you

Who this is, and is not, for.

Better to know before you start than six weeks in.

It is for you if

  • You are a manual tester or a developer who wants to own quality and automate it.
  • You can write small programs, or are ready to learn TypeScript in the first weeks.
  • You can give about 40 hours a week for five months.

It is not for you if

  • You have never used a terminal or written any code. Do a beginner course first.
  • You want a job guarantee. Nobody can promise that, and this roadmap does not.
  • You want to accept AI-written tests without reading them. This roadmap trains you to check them.
  • You want a full security testing career. That needs its own roadmap.

?Questions

Before you start

Is this roadmap ready?
Not yet. This is the plan. The weeks are being written and checked against current job postings and official documentation. Leave your email and we will write to you when it opens.
What will it cost?
The price is not set. Roadmaps are bought once, with no subscription. We will announce it when this one opens.
Will the plan change?
It may. Before the weeks are written we check the tools against current job postings, so the lengths and months here are planned, not final.
Which language and tools will I use?
The plan uses TypeScript with Playwright, GitHub Actions and k6, because Playwright is a maintained, widely used browser testing tool with built-in AI test agents. Other teams use Java or Python or other tools, and the testing ideas carry over. The final choice is checked against current job postings before the weeks are written.
Will it get me a job?
It will give you skills and proof of work. It cannot promise a job on a fixed date, because hiring depends on the market, your location and your past work.

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