In this post, I’ll break down the two most popular test automation frameworks: Playwright and Selenium, and what they mean for your automation strategy in 2026. ──────────────────────────────────────── 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 The automation framework you choose fundamentally determines: Test reliability - Will tests be flaky or stable? Development speed - How quickly can you write and maintain tests? Feature availability - What’s included vs. what requires additional setup? Team productivity - How much time is spent on plumbing vs. actual testing? Maintenance overhead - How often will framework limitations slow you down? ℹ️ Choosing the wrong framework leads to endless setup, flaky tests, and frustrated teams spending more time fixing infrastructure than writing tests. 🟢 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐥-𝐢𝐧-𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Playwright is Microsoft’s modern test automation framework built from the ground up with everything a QA engineer needs, included out of the box. What comes built-in: ∙ Auto-waits and actionability checks ∙ API testing capabilities ∙ Screenshots and video recording ∙ Test generator (Codegen) ∙ Network mocking and interception ∙ Trace viewer for debugging ∙ Parallel execution Think of it as the “iPhone” of test automation - it just works, right out of the box. 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬: ∙ Microsoft (obviously - they built it) ∙ VS Code testing ∙ Modern startups building new test suites ∙ Teams migrating from Selenium for better reliability Playwright shines when organizations need: ∙ Fast test execution with built-in parallelization ∙ Reliable tests without flakiness from timing issues ∙ Full-stack testing (UI + API) in one framework ∙ Modern web support (Shadow DOM, iframes, web components) ∙ Quick onboarding for new team members 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐐𝐀 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬: Plug and play simplicity. ⓘ What This Means for Testing: ➤ One install, ready to go. No hunting for WebDriver binaries or configuring browser drivers ➤ Auto-waits eliminate flaky tests. Playwright automatically waits for elements to be actionable

👋 Hey there! 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲! 𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. If you've ever tried to learn QA Automation and it didn't go well... 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭. There were 𝐍𝐎 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 learning it the RIGHT WAY. 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐌𝐞 I'm 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐯𝐢𝐲, a Vegas-based 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐃𝐄𝐓 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝟏𝟎+ 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 from small startups to large enterprises. I've interviewed 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 trying to make the switch to automation. Seeing how people struggle, I decided to create this community, so 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬. ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ 💬 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲: Ensure that 𝐚𝐧𝐲 aspiring QA Automation Engineer or SDET can: ✅ Learn QA Automation in an 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲 ✅ Know how to 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 during the job search ✅ Be 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 🚨 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭... 𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏 𝐃𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐍𝐨𝐰: 1. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐦... Please don't do that. Stop. Its outdated. 2. 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐉𝐚𝐯𝐚/𝐂# 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧... When there's a language that's 𝟏𝟎𝐱 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐫 and more in demand. 3. 𝐀𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 "𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫" 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬... Don't waste your potential. You can do much better. 4. 𝐓𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 "𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠"... Most courses teach 80% fluff you'll never use on the job. 🎓 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐨 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝? 𝐀𝐬 𝐚 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨: 𝟏️⃣ 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐐𝐀 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐃𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐩 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 (𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢-𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬). 𝟏 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬. - Free 3-part video roadmap workshop for manual QAs and beginners who want a clear, step-by-step path to mid-level SDET roles and higher-paying QA automation jobs. 𝟐️⃣ 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐐𝐀 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 - Learn how to use AI tools to accelerate your QA carrer 𝟑️⃣ 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 - Connect with other testers making the same journey - Get answers to your questions ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ 👉 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬: 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝟏: Go to the "𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦" and watch the 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐐𝐀 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐃𝐄𝐓 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝟐: Take the 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐐𝐀 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 to become AI ready

Happy Holidays, QA Automation Accelerator Community! 🎄 Our furbabies wanted to send some festive cheer your way! Wishing you all a well-deserved break, time with loved ones, and a New Year full of career wins. Thank you for being such an amazing community! See you in 2026! 🚀

📌 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯? 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲: QA Automation Engineer - Playwright/Python (Remote) 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆: Via CyberCoders (recruiting firm) 𝗣𝗮𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲: $100,000 – $150,000 + Bonus 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Remote (New York, NY based) 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸: Playwright, Python, API testing, E2E automation 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: [https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4334981914] This is actually one of the more realistic QA Automation job postings I've seen lately. 🔗 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁: They're not playing title inflation games. They call it what it is: 𝗤𝗔 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿. No "Senior Software Engineer in Test" or "Principal Quality Architect" nonsense. Just straight to the point. 📌 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆: This company built a B2B platform for high-stakes operations. Not consumer-facing, but mission-critical stuff. The kind of software that can't afford to break. They need someone who can build solid test automation infrastructure and actually code, not just record-and-playback scripts. ⚠️ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿: ✅ 2+ years of E2E & API test automation using 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝘄𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 ✅ Hands-on coding in 𝗣𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗻 (they specifically say "not just scripting") ✅ Building QA infrastructure - test environments, performance testing, security tooling ✅ Experience testing complex web applications ✅ Manual testing when automation gaps exist 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀: JavaScript, C#, WebGL, performance/security/accessibility testing, telemetry tools 🟢 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: They're honest about needing someone who can code, not just "write test scripts." They acknowledge manual testing is still part of the job, no pretending it's 100% automation. The salary range is realistic for mid-to-senior level QA automation ($100k-$150k). They list actual tools (Playwright, Python) instead of vague "automation experience." 🚩 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵: It's posted by CyberCoders, a recruiting firm. That means you're not applying directly to the company. Over 100 applicants already, competition is real. "2+ years" sounds entry-level, but they want someone building QA infrastructure. That's more like 3-5 years of actual experience.

Most manual testers don’t realize this 👇 You don’t need an “Automation Engineer” title to gain automation experience. Recruiters care about proof of skill, not the title on your badge. Here’s how to build that proof while you’re still in your manual testing role. ⚡️ The Quick Strategy 💡 Learn automation tools — like Playwright Even 30 minutes a day compounds fast. 🧩 Build a testing framework and upload it to GitHub. That’s your public portfolio, your real proof of work. 📝 Add README files. Explain how to run your tests, what tech you used, and why you built it that way. Good docs = you think like an engineer. 📅 Commit consistently. Your commit history shows growth. Months of small progress beat one big upload. 📣 Make it visible. Link your GitHub on your resume and LinkedIn. If recruiters have to search for it, they won’t. 🎤 Own your story. Talk about your automation work confidently, even if your title still says “Manual Tester.” 🧠 The Mindset That Works Stop waiting for your company to “let” you do automation. Start acting like an automation engineer now. Your GitHub is your living resume it shows what you can do today, not what’s written in your title. Continuous learning + visible progress any job title. 🚀 Your Next Step 1️⃣ Pick one tool 2️⃣ Build one small framework 3️⃣ Make one commit to GitHub Then do it again tomorrow. That’s how manual testers become automation engineers not by waiting… but by building. 💭 What’s stopping you from making your first commit today?