Automation testing using an inside framework and nothing famous

Question

I'm a Computer Science student who started as a Software QA Automation Developer at a big company.

The team is using kind of old tech, so we do not use Selenium or any other well-known framework. I only develop the tests using an internally made framework for the specific program I'm working on.

My question is for the future: what will be my possibilities of finding a job with this experience afterward?

It's kind of bugging me reading job descriptions and seeing everyone requires knowledge of Selenium, JUnit, and tech like this. Of course I'm able to learn it alone but I think experience is what matters the most at this point. I want to know from experts what their idea is about this, please.

Answer 1

I would say :

• When you are performing automation may be using internal or private framework still core idea of identifying the elements, interaction with elements would be there if I am not wrong
• At the end of the day you are playing same game on different turf
• You will definitely get good exposure when you work and get experience with application, framework or tool which is used across the industry over company specific tool
• Gain measurable amount of experience and then try to be with what all are using unless you are planning with same company for very long tenure

Answer 2

Welcome to the community and to a Quality and Testing role!

Yes, it can be disheartening to be using an internally developed tool while the industry is using well-known open-source tools.

There is a lot of good news here.

First, because there are lots of open-source tools, you can learn them at any time.

• Can you create a side project in Selenium that duplicates what you do in the internal tool? You don't have to run it in any CI/CD pipeline, just ensure it works locally. This allows you to get experience and see the pros and cons of using different tools for the same purpose.
• Trust me, employers want to see the skill of "tool selection" using a "feature benefits comparison" or a "feasibility report."
• Can you write a blog article comparing the features of these different tools? - What did you learn in the process of duplicating tests in multiple tools?
• Are you able to see any performance differences in running the tests using different tools?
• Maybe you can then use this information to report to your manager to see if the team can use a widely known open-source tool if it gets better results!

Second, think about the concepts you are learning on the internal tool.

• Are you learning about code structure? Object-oriented programming?
• POM - the Page Object Model?
• Are you using 3rd party libraries for the asserts or the test runner? We don't know your tech stack, so is it using things like JUnit, Jest/Expect, Mocha/Chai, XUnit? These are well-known and certainly can be added to your resume!

Next, understand that skills are transferable! Anything you can do in one tool can be transferred to another!

I'm sure I can come up with even more reasons and advice, but this gives you a good outlook to start with!