Start QA training in Nepal with manual testing, but only for a few weeks, and start writing code while you do it. If you begin with automation, you will automate tests you do not know how to design. If you stay manual for months, you will miss the tools that many job ads now name.

That is our pick. The rest of this article explains why, and what each stage looks like.

What is the difference between manual and automation testing?

Manual testing means a person uses the software and checks it against a plan. You write test cases, run them by hand, and report the bugs you find.

Automation testing means you write code that runs those same checks for you, again and again. Both start from the same question: what could go wrong here, and how would I show it? Automation only changes who clicks the buttons.

Why should you learn manual testing first?

A test script is only as good as the test case behind it. If you cannot write a clear test case by hand, your script will check the wrong things very fast.

Manual testing builds the habits every QA job uses. You learn to read a requirement and find the gaps in it. You learn to write a bug report that a developer can follow without calling you. Kumari Job's guide to QA jobs in Nepal names writing test cases, running test plans and reporting bugs clearly as the core skills. It also says manual QA roles are usually where freshers start.

There is a practical reason too. Manual testing needs a browser and a place to write. You can start on any laptop, tonight.

Why not stay with manual testing for long?

Because the work is moving. A Necojobs guide to QA in Nepal says manual testing "remains a staple, but there is a significant push towards automation testing". The Kumari Job guide lists Selenium, Cypress and Playwright as the automation tools employers name, usually with Java, Python or JavaScript.

So a fresher who knows only manual testing can apply to manual roles only. A fresher who can also show a few working automated tests can apply to both.

You can check this yourself. Search "QA" on a Nepali job board and on LinkedIn, open ten ads, and note how many name an automation tool. That count tells you more than any course brochure.

How long should the manual stage last?

Weeks, not months. This is the order we use in the Software Quality Assurance course at Saarathi Academy in Old Baneshwor, Kathmandu:

  • Weeks 1 to 3: manual testing basics, test cases and bug reports.
  • From Week 2: JavaScript self-study, a little each day, on the side.
  • Week 4: Postman for API testing and SQL for checking the database.
  • Weeks 5 to 7: Playwright with TypeScript, Selenium in TypeScript, a first Cypress test, GitHub Actions and JMeter.

Week 4 matters more than it looks. Testing an API in Postman is still mostly manual work, but it shows you what sits behind the screen. When you later automate a test, you already know which request it should check.

Starting code in Week 2 matters too. By Week 5 you are not learning a language and a test tool on the same day. Automation is part of the same course, not an extra track you buy later.

Which automation tool should you learn first?

Pick one and learn it properly before you touch the others. We would start with Playwright. One command sets up a project, a sample test and a config file. The same test then runs in Chromium, Firefox and WebKit.

Playwright also has a UI Mode. You can watch each step of a test and go back in time to the step where it failed. For a beginner, seeing your own mistake step by step teaches more than reading an error.

Learn Selenium second, because many job ads still name it. Once you understand one tool well, the ideas carry over, and the second tool goes much faster.

What if your laptop is old?

Check before you plan the automation stage. Playwright's getting started page lists what it needs today: Node.js 22, 24 or 26, and Windows 11 or later, or WSL, the Linux system that runs inside Windows. On a Mac, it needs macOS 14 or later.

If your laptop is older than that, do not stop. The manual and Postman stages need much less. Use those weeks to sort out the laptop question, so it does not block you on the day automation starts.

Two things to try tonight, for free

First, install the Postman app and follow its first request guide. Send a request to postman-echo.com/get and read the response. Then change the address on purpose and see what comes back. Write down what you expected and what you got. That note is your first bug report.

Second, if your laptop meets the needs above, open a terminal and run npm init playwright@latest. Then run npx playwright test --ui and click through the sample test one step at a time.

If you want the full path in this order, the week-by-week Software Quality Assurance syllabus is public, and the course page has the rest.