Graduated in 2022

First position QA Analyst right out of college. Developed front-end regression testing using Selenium with Java and also helped develop some automated API testing. Unfortunately department was closed 8 months in. Manager was very adamant about transitioning me into a dev, but it was cut short by the layoffs.

Second position Test Engineer for avionics company, this position strayed me further away from coding than I was lead on to believe, still built automated solutions for my work using Python and Selenium (albeit completely out of my job description) and have learned a ton about Linux and networking. Am being praised by colleagues and management for my trouble shooting abilities and being able to quickly pick up on the technologies (almost all the technology we use is proprietary). Company is beginning to outsource our integration / delivery team and closing off any chances of me becoming permanent, also many of the engineers I work with do not know how or want to know how to code, so it's not a very fostering environment for my career path.

Currently: Have only just started applying to new positions to align with my contract end date, my first interview was doing C unit testing for an avionics company (space travel!) , I did very well on the technical interview, but not sure if I will receive an offer, this is also a temporary contract position.

I want to:

#1: Sharpen my development skills. I love hands on problem solving and what I do, but I feel my skillset is becoming stagnant and do not like the fact I'm closing myself off from the coding world.

#2: Work on some projects that will bolster and highlight my current skillset, but also show that I'm multi faceted and capable of being a developer.

#3: Stay on board with current trends and keep myself marketable when my contract is up.

I'm having a tough time deciding which direction I should go in or what type of projects I should put under my belt. I am considering designing a data scraper using python and selenium that also aggregates and outputs this data into a clean visual format to show case my skills and can design the back end using FastAPI which seems to be gaining popularity.

I have concerns about the future of QA work in general, and am wondering if this is a good time to dip my toes into machine learning / AI frameworks as well.

I know a lot of people ask "what are your interests" the truth is I'm not sure. None of the positions I've had so far were anything I would imagine I would be doing with my career, but they have all been amazing learning experiences and I thoroughly just enjoy solving problems and learning new technologies.

Anyone wanna give me a nudge? A boost? A tidbit of advice? Any interesting projects or technologies you think I would like to mess with or could tap me me in further to this ever changing world of technology? Thanks for reading.

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