Software Testing has evolved dramatically. Today, top tech companies look for Software Development Engineers in Test (SDETs) who can code robust automated test frameworks, integrate test pipelines into CI/CD workflows, and ensure zero-downtime microservice deployments.

Phase 1: Manual QA & Agile Fundamentals (Weeks 1 – 3)

Before jumping into automation code, understanding testing methodologies is non-negotiable:

• SDLC & STLC: Requirement analysis, test scenario drafting, test case design techniques (Boundary Value Analysis, Equivalence Partitioning).
• Jira & Agile Scrum: Sprint planning, bug logging, defect life cycle, and daily standup workflows.
• API Fundamentals: HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE), status codes, headers, and Postman collections.

Phase 2: Programming Mastery (Java / Python / TypeScript) (Weeks 4 – 7)

An SDET must write clean, object-oriented code. Choose either Java or Python/TypeScript:

• OOP concepts: Inheritance, Polymorphism, Encapsulation, Abstraction.
• Collections Framework (List, Set, Map).
• Exception handling, File I/O, JSON parsing.

Phase 3: Web UI Automation with Selenium 4 & Playwright (Weeks 8 – 11)

Industry-standard automation frameworks rely on Page Object Model (POM):

// Example Page Object Model in Selenium 4
public class LoginPage {
    private WebDriver driver;
    private By usernameField = By.id("user-name");
    private By passwordField = By.id("password");
    private By loginBtn = By.id("login-button");

    public LoginPage(WebDriver driver) {
        this.driver = driver;
    }

    public void login(String username, String password) {
        driver.findElement(usernameField).sendKeys(username);
        driver.findElement(passwordField).sendKeys(password);
        driver.findElement(loginBtn).click();
    }
}

Phase 4: API RestAssured & CI/CD Pipeline (Weeks 12 – 14)

Integrate automated test runs into GitHub Actions or Jenkins pipelines to trigger smoke tests on every developer pull request.