Roadmap from manual QA to Playwright automation in 90 days?

Realistic 90-day plan at ~7 hrs/week. This assumes zero JS. If you already know JS, compress weeks 1–3 into one. **Weeks 1–3 — JavaScript survival kit (only what you need for tests):** - Variables, functions (arrow + regular), async/await, promises. Skip classes for now. - Arrays: `map`, `filter`, `find`, destructuring. - Modules: `import` / `export`. - Do 20 exercises on JavaScript.info's "First steps" section. Ignore React tutorials — irrelevant. **Weeks 4–5 — Playwright basics:** - `npm init playwright@latest`. Read the "Writing tests" and "Locators" docs end to end. - Codegen: record 5 flows against saucedemo.com or any public site you already know from manual testing. - Learn the 3 locator families you'll use 90% of the time: `getByRole`, `getByLabel`, `getByTestId`. **Weeks 6–7 — real tests:** - Pick a real app you use (your company's staging if allowed, or a demo). Write 15 tests covering login, one CRUD flow, one error path. - Learn assertions (`expect(locator).toHaveText`, `.toBeVisible`, `.toHaveURL`). - Add `test.beforeEach` for setup, learn fixtures. **Weeks 8–9 — the stuff that gets you hired:** - Page Object Model (or POM alternative — component objects). Refactor your 15 tests. - API mocking with `page.route`. - Auth reuse via `storageState`. - Reading a trace file. **Weeks 10–11 — CI + portfolio:** - Wire your test repo into GitHub Actions. Green pipeline, HTML report as artifact. - Write a README explaining architecture, trade-offs, what you'd add next. - Record a 3-min Loom walking through it. This is your interview asset. **Week 12 — internal proof:** - Volunteer to automate ONE real regression scenario at work. Ship it end-to-end. That single PR is worth more than any certificate. Two rules: (1) type every line yourself, no copy-paste. (2) When stuck for >30 min, ask here or on Discord — don't rabbit-hole.