It’s been some time that companies migrated from manual to automated testing. Since the first day, automation testing encompasses several trends and transformations that have changed the paradigms altogether. One of such groundbreaking revolutions in the software testing landscape was the arrival of Selenium.
The automated testing domain has known no bounds since Selenium came into the picture. Nowadays, a massive chunk of current testing operations relies on Selenium. Interestingly, it has become the most popular testing framework among enterprises of all dimensions. What’s the result? Such a wildfire acceptance of Selenium among software development companies creates numerous job opportunities for professionals trained in the framework.
After so much discussion, you can realize that it’s a fantastic decision to learn Selenium and pursue a career in automation testing. Now, a common question regarding the time taken to learn Selenium might hit your mind. So, let’s answer how long it takes to learn the framework and debunk some Selenium course myths below. Keep reading!
What is Selenium?
Discussing Selenium without knowing the framework is useless. So, spare some time and get familiar with the meaning of Selenium before heading anywhere else.
What do you mean by Selenium? Well, it’s an open-source framework that automation testers use to identify and fix software bugs by running them on several platforms and browsers. Selenium supports a myriad of web browsers and automates application testing with WebDriver. A tester can use numerous programming languages like Python, C#, and Java to build comprehensive test suites to verify a web application on several parameters effortlessly.
Additionally, Selenium offers a complete utility package comprising everything that a web application development enterprise requires. Selenium testing framework includes the following software.
- WebDriver
- Selenium Integrated Development Environment
- Selenium Grid
- Selenium Remote Control
Why Should You Learn Selenium?
Hang on! Before you get carried away, let’s discuss the key points making Selenium an exciting subject to learn for automation testers.
- Since Selenium is an open-source framework, you need not invest anything to master the concepts thoroughly.
- Selenium framework has no hardware, browser, or software demands. So, it’s the most cost-effective concept to master.
- Selenium supports a gamut of programming languages. So, you need not learn a new language to begin learning Selenium testing.
- Many easy-to-use frameworks remain available for Selenium testers in the ecosystem.
- Selenium can assist you if your interests lie in DevOps methodologies. As Selenium forms a key component in the DevOps cycle, learning the framework provides you with additional benefits in your career.
- You can integrate Selenium with a variety of tools and technologies. So, you can access holistic knowledge when learning Selenium.
- Selenium supports parallel testing. It implies that you can carry multiple web app testing simultaneously using Selenium and wrap your work in time.
Besides the above advantages, Selenium has several other benefits also. All these points combine to make Selenium the best alternative if you are an automation tester.
What are the Skills that You Need to Become a Selenium Tester?
Knowing the skills that you must learn to become a Selenium tester is an essential step in estimating the time required to master the framework. Below are the skills and concepts that you should build to become an employable Selenium Tester.
1.Begin with Manual Testing Concepts
Although automation is an upgraded version of manual testing, it derives the underlying concepts from the latter one. So, it would help if you mastered manual testing before understanding the Selenium framework.
2.Sharpen Your Coding Skills
Programming lies at the core of Selenium testing. You require grasping popular languages like C, Java, Python, HTML, and CSS and knowing debugging errors in source code snippets.
3.Learn Everything About Web Applications
Successful Selenium testers have a drilled-down understanding of web applications. They should know about the underlying frameworks and core concepts to excel at Selenium testing.
4.Get Well-Familiar with Automation Testing Life Cycle
Like software development life cycle, the entire testing process comprises several phases accumulated in the automation testing life cycle (ATLC). So, it would help if you understood ATLC to master Selenium concepts in the blink of an eye.
5.Framing an Automation Testing Strategy
You can become a successful Selenium tester once you grasp the fundamentals of framing an automation test strategy. So, developing your skill sets to curate a high-yielding testing strategy can be a game-changing idea to master the Selenium framework.
6.Remain Aware of Industry Trends
An essential step towards becoming a Selenium tester is staying up-to-date with industry trends and walking hand-in-hand with upcoming technologies. However, this is not a process having definite starting and ending timelines. It’s an ongoing process that a Selenium tester should practice even after getting into the industry.
7.Understand Selenium
Finally, you require understanding the nitty-gritty of the Selenium framework. From beginner to expert level, you must conquer everything associated with Selenium. You will emerge as a professional Selenium tester gradually in the end.
Now that you have some idea regarding the skills required to become a Selenium tester. It’s time to address the mainframe question below.
How Long Will it Take to Learn Selenium?
As you can see above, Selenium comprises several concepts and technologies before becoming a professional in the field. You should know the approximate time required to learn Selenium from scratch before getting your hands dirty with the framework. Luckily, Selenium is an easy-to-learn subject and requires one or two months to develop a complete understanding, provided you dedicate your entire focus and consistency.
However, the time taken to learn Selenium might vary from one person to the other. You can learn Selenium before two months if you have a strong understanding of automation testing concepts. In contrast, a novice person might consume more than the given timeline if he starts from the ABC of automation testing.
Selenium is gaining an impetus in the automation testing domain. It’s never late to start learning Selenium. Since learning Selenium is a blazing-fast process, you can grab a training course and begin your journey as a Selenium tester today!
