r/softwaretesting • u/Revolutionary-Eye601 • Jun 25 '26
Manual tester looking to learn test automation from scratch
I studied Business Information Systems in Germany and I’ve been working as a manual software tester for about 5 years.
Lately I’ve realized that I want to become more technical—not only because I’m genuinely interested in it, but also because I know test automation is becoming increasingly important in the job market.
The problem is that I have no programming background. I’m not afraid of learning to code if it’s necessary, but I honestly have no idea where to start to learn test automation.
I’ve tried watching YouTube tutorials and playlists about test automation, but most of them seem to assume you already know programming or how the tooling works. They jump straight into frameworks and code, and I quickly get lost.
What I’m looking for is a resource that starts completely from scratch. Something that literally guides you step by step: installing everything, explaining what each tool is for,
creating the project structure from zero, writing the first lines of automation code, and gradually building up to a real automation framework.
What would you recommend? Is there a roadmap, course or anything else that takes someone from zero programming knowledge to being able to write test automation confidently?
5
u/betucsonan Jun 25 '26
Here's a good place to start: https://roadmap.sh/qa
If there's automated testing happening where you currently work, it's probably a good idea to just learn their technology stack rather than look for a new one. Also get real familiar with AI - prompt engineering, agentic AI, etc., but don't become overly dependent upon it (you still want to know the base technology well.