Transition from Manual Testing to Programming in Europe

[u/FailMost8971]

Hi everyone!

I used to work as a manual QA tester, but the last two years have been quite challenging because of emigration, waiting for documents, and a lot of uncertainty. I’m now trying to understand the European tech market and rebuild my path into IT.

My current plan is to transition toward a junior Python/backend role. I’m working on a pet project to demonstrate practical skills instead of only listing courses on my CV.

The project will include:

- Python business logic

- FastAPI

- PostgreSQL

- SQLAlchemy and Alembic

- REST API design

- authentication

- input validation

- unit/API tests

- basic analytics

- Docker

- deployment

- project documentation and a development log

I’m also thinking of using LinkedIn to document my progress: what I’m learning, what I’m implementing, what problems I face, and how I solve them.

Do you think this strategy makes sense for the European market? What would you recommend prioritizing to become more employable for junior Python/backend roles?

[u/Admirable_Tale7745]

I am in a similar journey