Manual testing skills don't disappear when you automate — they become the judgment that makes your automation actually useful. This track is built so your existing testing instincts (what to test, edge cases, risk areas) carry forward, while you layer real programming and tooling skills on top.
Core Java from scratch: variables, OOP (classes, inheritance, polymorphism), collections (List/Map/Set), exception handling, and the file-handling basics you'll actually use in automation. No prior coding background assumed.
Selenium WebDriver — locator strategies, explicit/implicit waits, handling dynamic elements, frames, alerts, and multi-window scenarios. TestNG for test structuring, annotations, assertions, and parallel execution.
Cucumber and Gherkin syntax for behavior-driven scenarios that non-technical stakeholders can read. Extent/Allure reporting so your test runs produce evidence anyone can review.
Maven for dependency/build management, Jenkins and GitLab CI for running your suite automatically. Page Object Model and a hybrid framework you design and build yourself — this becomes your portfolio piece.
Mock technical rounds specific to automation roles, resume repositioning from "Manual Tester" to "Automation Engineer," and a final review of your framework project before you start applying.