Calculate if paying for “test automation lessons” (or any other education) is worth it!

Do you ever want to buy something but think “Nah, too expensive, I’m not going to…”.?? I do! A lot!

Every time one faces a yes/no choice they have to answer the question:

Is it worth it?

This article will analyze the visible and invisible components of the “value” and apply it to the “test automation” learning context.

By the end of it you will know if the answer to the “Should I pay for coaching on test automation” is a “yes” or an “ABSOLUTELY YES!” ??

What is value?

Value… Value is a measure of “goodness” (similar to “quality” actually). Value has subjective and objective components.

Subjective is personal, it is your relationship with “the thing” you are looking at. For example, diamonds!

• ???? some people value diamonds a lot! They would pay BIG MONEY for them.
• ???? others would say “It’s just a pretty carbon crystal” and would NEVER buy them.

Why is this the case? Because every human being is different! Individuals assign different “worth” coefficients to various things!

Objective value is different. You could quantify it (aka “put a number to it”)! According to a dictionary, “quantify” means:

To measure or judge the size or amount of something. Example: It's difficult to quantify how many people will be affected by the proposed tax change.

In other words, if you can measure it, it is quantifiable. If it is quantifiable, it is factual. Factual means objective!

Application to learning Test Automation

Look at the value components of “paying for test automation lessons”. It has 3 main components:

• subjective
• objective non-obvious
• objective obvious

1 - Subjective visible component

This is how you feel about it!

I know people who just LOVE to tinker (and coding/automating usually falls into the tinkering bucket). I know people who like to use tools to help do great testing. I know some people who are purists and only want to do the “exploratory testing” to find issues in the software.

If you belong to the first category, the “subjective value” of such learning will likely be high. You are passionate about it! You want it and you would do that due to “internal reasons”!

And, on the other hand, the subjective value will be quite low if you are doing it for “external reasons”. Maybe your company/manager pressures you to learn it? Or do you do that because “everybody around me knows it so should I”? Whatever the case might be, you will not value this too much…

2 - Objective non-obvious component

Another thing that you might initially miss is your employability.

Try doing the following:

Go to the job portal (in your country), select “testing” subcategory, count the ratio of the jobs that do not mention automation to the ones that do… ?? (try not to cry)

In New Zealand (and Australia), it is an EXTREMELY RARE occasion when a pure “tester” job ad appears. So you CAN MEASURE how your skills meet the market, and therefore, this is an “objective component”.

Bonus: there is also a “hidden subjective” part. Being employable (and knowing/feeling it) reduces your levels of anxiety and stress. Less stress → happier life! ??

3 - Objective obvious component

This is a juicy part! Many of you are reading this article to find the “money effect”, right?! ??

Look at this screenshot:

You can see that the median pay difference between the “manual tester” (not the best name, I know) and “automation engineer” is $8000. Per year! Remove the tax component (in New Zealand it is ~27% for this income) and you’ll get $5840.

$5840 of value in one year!

EVERY YEAR! (as long as you find a new/better job of course)

So if you spent (or better use the word “invested”) the SAME AMOUNT of money on taking Test Automation lessons, you are getting a 100% return on that investment!

Not impressed? Compare it to what is considered a “good return” when investing:

Mere 7% is a good return!

Crazy, yes?! ?? We are talking about 100% when investing in yourself! This advice must be in every investment book! ????

Variability trap

Of course, I could not state that “you will learn test automation” completely in a year. Or that you can do it by spending $5000…

Truth is I don’t know… First, there is a lot to learn... Second, I don’t know you, your learning speed depends on many other factors. And the third, as this is a collaborative effort, not everything depends on the coach (aka me) but also the coachee (aka you)!

However, one year of diligent effort (doing the homework is essential!) is enough time to grasp the “20% that gives you 80% result”! Results would be even better if you are lucky enough to be able to practice these skills at work… (hashtag unlimitedpower) ??

You can read more about variables impacting the length of your studies here or just look at the picture below:

Summary

When you face a "Should I invest in education?" dilemma, the questions you need to ask yourself are simple:

• Do I want that? Do I like it? Will it bring me joy?
• How will it impact my life in terms of money?
• How will it impact my life in terms of employability?

And then you can make a decision!

The end

You reached the end, you are amazing! Of course, this article has been created for you, but it also helps me!

I coach people on test automation within the JavaScript ecosystem. Anything from the foundations of programming and version control, to UI/API/Unit/Performance/Contract testing. There are piles of knowledge in my head and I will happily share it with you!

You can book a free first consultation to talk about your needs and goals here: https://ivanandcode.com/coaching