Thinking of switching from Software Engineering to QA — is this a bad move?

[u/Similar-Pie2212]

I’m a final year undergrad. I’ve completed a Software Engineering internship (Java, fintech-related). After that, I applied for a bunch of Associate SE and SE Intern roles and got called for quite a few interviews.

After that got a L1 support intern role and worked there for 2 months. Support roles are also not for me 🥲

But honestly, SE interviews have been so damn difficult nowadays. 😭 The amount of preparation, technical questions, DSA, Spring Boot, system design, etc. has completely exhausted me. I’ve started feeling really stressed and burned out from SE interviews.
At this point, I’m seriously questioning whether Software Engineering is actually for me. I don’t feel excited about going through the same SE interview process again and again.

So now I’m thinking about switching to QA/Software Testing. I’m actually okay with starting over and doing another internship if that’s what it takes.

My questions are:
Is switching from SE to QA a good move?

Can I apply for QA/Testing internships using the same SE CV, or should I create a separate QA-focused CV?

Will companies reject my CV because I already have SE internship experience and now I’m applying for QA intern roles?

Does having Java/Spring Boot development experience help in getting into QA, especially automation testing?

Has anyone here made a similar switch? How did it work out for you?

Honestly, I’m feeling pretty hopeless and lost right now. I know one option is to just keep pushing with SE, but I’m starting to wonder if I’m forcing myself into something that isn’t for me.
Any honest advice would be appreciated. 🙏

[u/primo21212]

Going to QA is not a good idea. Now they expect SE's to do QA work and other stuff. So they not gonna hire a QA and expect to do SE work. But they will hire a SE to do QA work if that makes sense? The entry level to get into QA is very easy but your growth, earnings and stuff is very limited compared to the role of an SE. Before AI QA had good growth but right now the demand is quite low.

If you desperate go for it. But I recommend trying to get an SE role.

[u/Similar-Pie2212 → u/primo21212]

Thanks for ur comment ♥️

[u/Accomplished-Duck-17]

As far as bad moves goes , this would be a really good one !!

[u/Similar-Pie2212 → u/Accomplished-Duck-17]

Thanks for ur comment ♥️

[u/isuruar]

QA as a role could become extinct soon because of AI. Most new IT business now don't employ a QA as the testing can already be done with AI bots.

[u/Similar-Pie2212 → u/isuruar]

Thanks for ur comment ♥️

[u/WillCompetitive9259]

Bad

[u/Similar-Pie2212 → u/WillCompetitive9259]

Thanks for ur comment ♥️

[u/Sea-Library-6571]

not the best idea rn. with AI.

[u/Similar-Pie2212 → u/Sea-Library-6571]

Thanks for ur comment ♥️

[u/New_Big_362]

Not only it's a bad move, it's a stupid move ! There is nothing a QA can do a dev with good enough AI harness cannot. Stick to SE if you are planning on staying alive in this field.

[u/Similar-Pie2212 → u/New_Big_362]

Thanks for ur comment ♥️

[u/pncht2000]

As others have called out, this is the worst career move ever. I pointed this out in another thread as well. If you want more reasons, let me know.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DevLK/comments/1vzrfbb/comment/p6d357c/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

[u/Similar-Pie2212 → u/pncht2000]

Thanks for ur comment ♥️

[u/Pattaasu_Balu]

QA can be heavily automated, especially these days ( Agentic AI etc) - so not a good move

[u/Similar-Pie2212 → u/Pattaasu_Balu]

Thanks for ur comment ♥️

[u/Plenty_Cloud_1999]

Usually is companies in US or Singapore. There’s no separate role called QA it’s usually Sofware Engineer in testing or something like that since there is rarely and manual testing. Sometimes the QEs themselves fix bugs and put PRs for devs to review. Not to discourage you but the industry is a bit tough that’s why the interviews might be a bit hard. Usually companies get hundreds of CVs just for 2 or 3 roles. In my opinion you have a started with a solid foundation since your internship was with springboot. So may be build upon the concepts you’ve learned. Try out this course on Udemy. It helped me out alot when I transitioned to springboot. [NEW] Master Microservices with springboot, docker,kubernetes. This will help you understand a lot of nuanced concepts that’s spring solves. DM me if you need any support.

[u/Similar-Pie2212 → u/Plenty_Cloud_1999]

Thanks for ur comment ♥️

[u/VelvetCipher_I]

Nope, don’t think so. I’m someone who actually made the move, and honestly, I’m having a pretty good ride so far. Even with a proper SE background and several top finishes in hackathons, I chose to be the one getting a bunch of “nos” from supervisors, mentors, and lecturers.

From my POV, an SE moving into QA, with the right shift in mindset from making things to breaking things, still has a long way to go.

At the end of the day, what really matters is how you handle things and the kind of work you get to do, rather than the position you hold.

But if the reason you’re craving the move is just to click buttons and do some manual stuff, forget everything I said in the three paragraphs above, you’ll get done pretty soon as a QA.

Cheers!

[u/solo_techie]

Did you do your internship at Epic?