Learning modules
Deep-dive walkthroughs for every topic at this level.
Track Overview
The Junior Automation Engineer track teaches you the foundational skills to write reliable, maintainable automated tests. You'll start by configuring your environment, master essential locator strategies and assertions, and learn to structure tests using industry best practices. By the end of this track, you'll be comfortable writing clear, deterministic tests that catch real bugs and communicate test intent through clean code.
This track is heavily focused on understanding the building blocks: how tests run, how to find elements reliably, how to verify behaviour accurately, and how to troubleshoot when things go wrong. You'll work with a modern test framework and learn why certain patterns matter for test reliability and maintainability.
Prerequisites
- Basic JavaScript understanding: Variables, functions, arrays, objects, and async/await. No advanced patterns required.
- Command-line comfort: Navigating directories, running commands, understanding exit codes.
- HTML/CSS basics: Understanding of tags, attributes, CSS selectors. You don't need to write HTML, just understand it.
- Git fundamentals: Clone, commit, push. We use Git for all projects.
- No automation experience required: We start from absolute basics and build up systematically.
Learning Path
Follow these modules in order to build your skills progressively:
| Phase | Modules | What You'll Do |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Setup & Environment | Configure your machine, install dependencies, understand project structure. |
| Core Skills | Writing Your First Test | Master Arrange-Act-Assert, test naming, running tests, reading output. |
| Core Skills | Locator Strategies | Find elements reliably using role-based queries, test IDs, CSS. Avoid brittle XPath. |
| Core Skills | Basic Assertions | Verify results accurately, write meaningful failure messages, choose assertion types. |
| Practical | Running & Reading Results | Execute tests via CLI, interpret failures, filter tests, understand exit codes. |
Capstone Project: E-Commerce Checkout Test Suite
Build a complete test suite for an e-commerce checkout flow.
You'll apply all track concepts to test a realistic shopping scenario:
- Add items to cart using locator strategies you've learned
- Fill checkout form fields and validate user input feedback
- Verify success and error states with meaningful assertions
- Structure your test file with clear naming and AAA pattern
- Generate and interpret test reports
Outcome: A reusable, maintainable test suite demonstrating all junior-level fundamentals. You'll understand why test structure matters and how small details in locators and assertions prevent flaky tests.
Time Commitment
6–8 weeks at 8–10 hours per week of focused learning and hands-on practice. This assumes you have JavaScript and HTML/CSS basics. Pacing depends on your comfort with command-line tools and programming fundamentals.
Deep-Dive Learning Modules
Setup & Environment
Configure virtual environments, package managers, and browser binaries for reproducible automation setups.
Writing Your First Test
Master the Arrange-Act-Assert pattern, naming conventions, and test runner basics across languages.
Locator Strategies
Learn robust selector strategies: role-based, test IDs, CSS, and when to avoid XPath fragility.
Basic Assertions
Hard vs soft assertions, meaningful failure messages, and choosing the right assertion type.
Running & Reading Results
CLI execution, exit codes, report interpretation, and test filtering for efficient feedback loops.