"Dear TJ: How can one become an expert in automation?"

"Dear T.J., 

"I am regular follower of your blog and it has really, really, really awesome info for testers who wants to move towards automation.

"I would like to know a few things :

1. "Sometimes you talk about Selenium WebDriver with Java
2. "Sometimes you talk about about Groovy with Rest WebServices
3. "Sometimes you speak about SDET roles with algorithms
4. "Sometimes you talk about protractor with java script

"I just wanted to understand... it is really difficult to get expertise on all these things.

"Please guide me how to understand this?

"Thanks & Regards
"S.J."

Dear S.J.,

It is VERY difficult for me to get experience in all of these things.

I am not an expert. I may become an expert if I try real hard for the next two or three years, but by then, a brand-new automation toolset will come out, and I will be a newbie, a novice, just like before.

I am still not used to programming. I have only been doing it on-the-job for two years. There is so much to learn! I always feel like I am about to drown in all the information that I need to know. Somehow, I have managed to keep my head above water, and I am very thankful for that.

The reason why my blog jumps from topic to topic is because my job does, too. A new manager, a new job, a new direction leads to a new automated toolset to learn. Coming up with sample code for my blog is how I scramble to catch up.

I have to tell you, I have never had more fun in my twenty year career as I am having right now in my adventure in automation!

I hope you are having fun, too! If we all keep at it enough, one day, we all will become experts!

As always, Happy Testing!

-T.J. Maher
Twitter | LinkedIn | GitHub

// Sr. QA Engineer, Software Engineer in Test, Software Tester since 1996.
// Contributing Writer for TechBeacon.
// "Looking to move away from manual QA? Follow Adventures in Automation on Facebook!"