Manual QA vs QA Automation: Where Should Juniors Start?

When looking for your first opportunity in Quality Assurance, you will probably see two terms everywhere: Manual QA and QA Automation.

That can lead to a common question: Do I need to know how to code to work in QA? Should I go directly into automation?

The short answer is: you don't have to choose one forever.

Both are part of software quality assurance, and understanding manual testing can give you a strong foundation before you start automating tests.

What does a Manual QA do?

A Manual QA tester interacts with an application from the user's perspective and looks for unexpected behaviors, bugs, or features that don't meet their requirements.

You might:

• Execute test cases.
• Explore different scenarios.
• Find and document bugs.
• Validate new features.
• Perform regression testing.
• Communicate issues to developers.

You don't need to build complex scripts yet. The important part is learning how to think like a tester.

Ask questions such as: What should happen here? What could go wrong? What happens if the user does something unexpected?

What does a QA Automation Engineer do?

QA Automation uses code and specialized tools to execute tests automatically.

Instead of manually repeating the same flow every time an application changes, you can build a script to test it.

For example: Login → add product → checkout → confirm purchase.

Tools such as Playwright, Selenium, and Cypress can automate these scenarios.

Rootstack has several resources about automation, including an introduction to automated testing: Should You Be Working With Automated Testing?
 

So where should a junior start?

A simple learning path could look like this:

1. Learn Manual QA

Start with:

• Test cases.
• Bug reporting.
• Exploratory testing.
• Regression testing.
• Bug life cycle.
• Basic software development concepts.

2. Practice with real applications

You don't need to wait until you get a job.

Choose a website or app and create your own testing scenarios. Document the issues you find as if you were working on a real QA team.

3. Learn basic programming

Once you understand testing fundamentals, start learning JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, or Java.

You don't need to become a Software Developer, but understanding variables, functions, conditions, and basic programming logic will make automation much easier.

4. Start automating

Then choose a tool such as Playwright, Selenium, or Cypress and automate some of the scenarios you previously tested manually.

For example, Rootstack explains how Playwright can automate modern web applications and work across different browsers.

Manual QA vs QA Automation: Comparison Table 
 

The key is understanding that they are not competing career paths.

Manual and automated testing can complement each other depending on the project and the type of validation required. Rootstack also highlights the value of combining both approaches when appropriate.

You don't need to know everything before applying

When you find a Junior QA opening, read the requirements before deciding you're not qualified.

Some junior positions may focus primarily on manual testing. Others may expect some basic automation knowledge.
At the beginning, focus on showing that you can analyze a feature, identify potential issues, and clearly document what happened.

Automation can become your next skill.