I recently moved to Porto from Pakistan to start a new life and pursue a career in software testing. I’ve started preparing for the ISTQB, and I’m eager to gain practical experience in the field. Right now, I’m open to any kind of opportunity—even unpaid internships or volunteer roles—that would allow me to learn and grow.
If anyone has advice on landing a junior role, essential skills to focus on, or can guide me with a roadmap, I’d be incredibly grateful. I’m also hoping to connect with a mentor who can help me navigate the start of my journey. Any support or connections would mean a lot!
A recommendation is to study the job market there, so you know some directions with the learning.
If the local language is a barrier, make a list of the multinationals which require only English.
Do you already have a long stay permit? Many companies/countries can refuse or take months to support in getting a work permit, and that only after you sign a contract.
Internships in Europe are most of the time linked to being a student at a specialized University(e.g. Computer Science, or other domain related to the job) in the last year. I’ve not seen internships given away otherwise.
I doubt official volunteering in software testing exists. You could try to go to local IT events (search local reddit, forums, meetups or on other event sites) and network with people to get extra support/mentorship.
Based on multiple people I’ve met, professionals with higher expectations generally leave Portugal and move to more developed European countries. Multinationals go there for the cheap workforce. I’m seeing that a junior salary should be around 20k euro before taxes.
Have you checked the Mot resources, or other topics on the MoT Club? There are many relevant stuff for your questions and similar topics posted recently.
What have you done so far, what opportunities do you have in mind, what is your plan, your current skills, knowledge, etc? Have you checked the internet and asked ChatGPT?
I don’t mean to be harsh but it seems that people just prefer to post very general questions about how to start their career in QA and testing without sharing anything about them and without trying to get the basics by themselves. There is tons of info, you should do something before and then ask particular advice with something in your hands if you can’t do this, I dunno, any advice won’t be useful for you because learning and adapting are very important skills in QA. If you can’t find info how could you learn stuff for being a QA/Tester? No one will bring you opportunities when you show up with empty hands. Sorry for the harsh message but this is reality, I don’t mean to be rude or offensive.
If you’re a freshy then the requirements will be entirely different for you. Obviously you cannot gain any “experience” since you don’t have any. But what you can do is gain knowledge about what testing is actually about. ISTQB is good to put your CV on the front but trust me, nearly everything you study in it will ever be used. Some people in the hiring departments are actually known to ignore CVs with ISTQB if they did not require it in the job listing, so make sure to only include it when needed.
Other than this the CV formatting is just the usual, cater it to every job posting, match the terms etc. For interviews, be skilled on analytical questions. Try to read blogs/tutorials that show you how a software house works and how a tester goes through their day, it might help sounding knowledgeable to the recruiter. E.g. in my company we have plan our work in sprints, the dev team work on a feature while I prepare the plan the test, after they complete their work I test it and then we release it.
You can also gain certifications other than ISTQB like BBST and AWS. MoT also has an automation certification.
This is actually similar to one of the topics I’m trying to pursue these days. My idea being that I test apps from start ups and then right blog posts about it. But I can’t seem to find any examples of anyone else doing this (maybe I’m not searching the right terms)
I’ve tried this as a consultant… exploring ecommerce websites and providing some quality narrative as a way to pitch services. Didn’t get much response as it was a bit of a wild and wacky approach that many orgs just didn’t have a way to deal with. Maybe try much smaller start up organisations as they’ll have more flexibility for this (but maybe less budget?)
Made for a good portfolio of work to show people and kept my skills sharp though
I’ve done a lot of research on ChatGPT and other sources to build a clear plan to enter software testing, specifically manual testing, which aligns well with my background. ChatGPT recommended that I get the ISTQB Foundation certification since I don’t have a European degree or prior experience in software testing. I’m also using platforms like YouTube to study for the exam. They suggested Udemy courses, and I joined the Ministry of Testing (MOT) community in Porto also recommended by Chatgpt to connect with other professionals, which has been helpful for networking
Through my research, I’ve learned that getting a job in Portugal often requires either a European degree or relevant experience, and since I have a foreign degree in computer science without local experience, I’m focusing on building that experience through certifications and connecting with professionals. My plan is to gain foundational knowledge and secure an internship or mentorship to get hands-on practice. This experience, plus the ISTQB certification, will improve my chances of landing a junior-level position.
I’m seeking guidance on whether this road-map is solid, and I’m especially interested in finding a mentor or an internship to help me gain practical skills, as these would also be valuable additions to my CV.
es, I’ve checked the MoT , but I noticed that all the certifications and courses are paid, and even the market trend insights are restricted to paid members. So far, I haven’t found any free resources there to get started with.
Please check the website attached below. It offers a free roadmap on various courses, including software testing. In case you want a roadmap that isn’t available on this website, it also supports AI-based customized roadmaps, which you can use to generate as per your requirements.
As far as opportunities are concerned, the market is critical everywhere so the opportunities vary country to country also as there are less number of testers in comparison to developers there are fewer opportunities but if you keep pushing yourself and upskill yourself with trending topics and technologies you can achieve a successful career in software testing.
For junior-level / entry-level I would suggest focusing on the basics of software testing including test cases, test scenarios, API testing, mobile application testing, web application testing, types of testing, etc.
if i am a freshy then what are the requirements for me? i ma still understand. as you are saying to me that ISTQB certification is helpful for me. after that you are saying that its not beneficial for the job hunting
