Which strategy can best help new testers learn from experienced ones?

This community is great for supporting and helping people develop themselves based on their experiences - let’s face it you are awesome!

What would you recommend here - which strategy can best help new testers learn from experienced ones?

  • Mentorship
  • Online courses
  • Reading books
  • Trial and error
0 voters
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Experienced testers aren’t necessarily a generically good category of professionals to learn from.
Most testing resources, online & in books are quite detrimental to good testing.

The challenge as a new tester is to identify what good testing is and who’s most likely to hold that expertise.

I’ve met dozens of testers and I can’t remember having much to learn from most of them (or lets say, I did, but it was about how not to do testing).
The most interesting stuff that helped my testing I learned from developers, technical & business analysts, ui/ux people, technical support and call center, operations people, marketing and sales.

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Skill the experienced ones up with coaching skills

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Learning new skills is a combination of different factors.

  1. You need to understand WHAT to learn and WHERE to find resoureces. Here mentors or more experienced peers can advice.
  2. You need to know efficient learning techniques that works for YOU
  3. You need to have a clear goal and focus
  4. You need to practice new knowledge as soon as you learn it by trial and error
  5. You need to get feedback - from peers, from mentors, from users

So in the end - it is a combination of mentors, books, courses, trial and errors (with reflections).

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I’d like to expand on my answer:

If you want to learn from another tester in particular - then mentorship.

Otherwise, a combination of reading books, online courses and being involved in the testing community (like going to meetups, being active on this forum etc.)

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Let’s talk about growth in testing - and wow, this community really is something special! :sparkles:

While mentorship is absolutely golden (and I’d encourage everyone to check out MoT posts, meetups, or even directly reach out to people you admire), I’ve found that sometimes the best approach is to just dive in and learn by doing.

Here’s a practical strategy I’m excited to share: Jump into challenges like #30daysOfTesting! And here’s a modern twist - use AI as your personal research assistant (but not your teacher!). Let me explain:

DO:

  • Use AI to find learning resources tailored to your context
  • Have it create structured learning schedules
  • Get feedback on your approaches
  • Let it point you to relevant documentation or examples

DON’T:

  • Expect AI to teach you testing fundamentals
  • Rely on it as your primary learning source
  • Skip hands-on practice

Think of AI as your helpful librarian, not your professor. The real learning happens when you roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty with actual testing challenges.

The beauty of this approach? You’re combining the best of both worlds - community-driven challenges with modern tools to support your learning journey. :seedling:

Remember: Nothing beats the experience of actually doing the work, making mistakes, and learning from them. That’s where the real growth happens!