New · Career Track

QA Career & Job Search Toolkit — get the role

The bootcamp teaches you how to test. This track teaches you how to get paid to test. Four lessons covering what NZ employers actually look for, what a QA portfolio should contain, how to negotiate a day rate, and what contracting vs permanent means for your tax bill.

Grounded in the NZ market — Wellington government and financial services, Auckland tech, Christchurch growth. Current salary benchmarks. The specialist recruiters who actually place testers. The interview questions NZ hiring managers ask every time.

Start with Lesson 1 → Back to Specialised

This track covers

NZ QA Salaries CV & Portfolio Interview Prep Contracting vs Permanent NZ Recruiters Day Rates

Who this is for

Anyone who has completed Grad or Junior level and wants to turn the learning into employment. Also useful for experienced testers re-entering the market or considering contracting.

NZ context

Salary benchmarks, recruiter names, job boards, and market dynamics specific to NZ. Not generic career advice — this is how the NZ testing market actually works.

The 4 lessons

From qualified to employed

Lesson 1

CV & Portfolio

What NZ hiring managers actually read. Before/after CV bullet rewrites, portfolio structure for grads and automation candidates, and why the GitHub repo is non-negotiable for SDETs.

~25 min read · ~50 min with exercises · Career Track

Lesson 2

The NZ Job Market

Salary benchmarks by level and region, specialist QA recruiters, and why the NZ market moves through networks and referrals — not Seek.

~25 min read · ~50 min with exercises · Career Track

Lesson 3

Interview Preparation

The 10 questions that come up in 80% of NZ QA interviews. How to structure answers for a NZ hiring context. What to ask them at the end.

~25 min read · ~55 min with exercises · Career Track

Lesson 4

Contracting & Consulting

How the NZ contractor financial model works. GST, tax, ACC, sole trader vs company. The maths behind whether a day rate is better than your permanent salary.

~25 min read · ~55 min with exercises · Career Track

Why this track

Knowing your craft is not enough

Most QA learning stops at technique. You know how to write test cases, execute a regression suite, and find bugs. But knowing the craft and knowing how to market yourself in the NZ job market are different skills. Plenty of good testers apply for roles and hear nothing back.

The NZ testing market is small, relationship-driven, and moves faster than job boards reflect. Half the senior roles are filled before the ad goes up. Salary is negotiated, not stated. Contracting looks simple until your first tax bill. This track fixes those gaps directly.

Other specialised tracks

Specialised