I listened to a podcast recently with one of my favorite people, Dan Koe. There's a small chance you've heard of him but I'm going to guess probably not. QA folks don't know this guy exists, and he seems to be in a pretty deep rabbit hole for online business nerds. But this is the guy who coined the term "one-person business" after that other guy coined "solopreneur". You probably don't want to work 12-hour days but you may think people who do have some admirable superhuman discipline that...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Reader, You don't even have to be young. I just use "wunderkind" as a catch-all for "premature seniority" or "early career success". Yeah, yeah, I can hear you experienced folks scoffing and smirking already. It's about more than tools and facts, kid. You have to have wisdom too, and that takes time. You're right. You can't slurp up 10-20 years of experience through a straw from a course on QA stuff. You can't get there by learning to code or sitting next to your Senior QA pals watching their...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Reader, Back in March, I ended up chatting with Testlio's founder about her business model after she reached out to me about one of my LinkedIn posts. She told me it all started because she was frustrated by what she saw in the community: testers competing for bugs no teamwork overall lots of stress in the freelance testing world And she wanted to do something about it, so Testlio started paying testers by the hour, a strange concept at the time. I saw a post recently that reminded me how...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Reader, Have you ever messaged someone on LinkedIn who left you on read? Reached out to a hiring manager only to get ghosted? Maybe you went to a conference or some other networking event in the hopes of making a new friend but nobody wanted to talk to you. So you gave up. And now you scoff at the idea that networking could work for anybody. It's probably a scam, right? Just something the "lucky" people say "works for them". I used to think there was some secret thing I had to say to get...
2 months ago • 4 min read
Howdy, I started a waitlist for my course yesterday (are you on it?). As you might know by now, the course isn't just about testing or test automation. I mean, it is going to cover those things, obviously. But it's also covering: Using AI to be more productive but not sloppy Building authority via different kinds of LinkedIn content Writing project documentation that dazzles hiring managers Community service in the QA sphere and more You won't see me bragging about how long the course is. I'm...
2 months ago • 1 min read
I'm not sure why people celebrate when someone drops a new 10-hour course. It's absurd to me. A real slap in the face to all the busy students out there. You know the ones celebrating are the "productive procrastinators" who are excited for their next Netflix binge. I love Netflix as much as anyone, okay? In fact, my wife & I pride ourselves on juggling multiple streaming subscriptions so we always have something to watch. (watched 4 more episodes of Abbott Elementary last night btw) But...
3 months ago • 3 min read
Reader, Yeah I know what I said. But so much has happened and I can't stay silent about it. I like to share as I build. This course is coming along nicely. Remember I told you I was quitting my newsletter to do this? You probably don't. It's fine. My plan was: Make a portfolio website (check) Create better projects Build my dream QA course Turns out bullets 2 & 3 go well together. This is the first course of many. For each course, I'll build the project I ask you to build, as I build the...
3 months ago • 1 min read
The last stop on the QA Job Hunt Express And not just because it's the 69th email I've sent It's been a ride. Maybe you loved it, maybe you hated it. Maybe you opened 1 out of 69 emails I've sent and forgot to unsubscribe. But it's been a thrill to write for you. So why am I hanging it up? Simple, I'm bored ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Well, not entirely that. I'm embarking on a new chapter in my professional journey. Well, that's not quite right, either. Simply put, I'm refocusing my energy on building. Not...
5 months ago • 3 min read
You're going to hate me, but this was a pun. I've been reading ghost stories about Door County. A book I picked up when we moved to town. One thing that strikes me as odd is how friendly all the ghosts are. You think of "ghost" and immediately a horror movie comes to mind. Some demon or violent spirit who wants to eat your soul. Sometimes it's easy to forget not all ghosts want to hurt people. Some are just hanging around because they have "unfinished business," and that isn't always a bad...
5 months ago • 2 min read