In this guide
- Can you really get a QA job with no experience?
- What skills should you learn first?
- Why aren't courses and certificates enough?
- How do you get QA experience when nobody will hire you?
- Can you get a remote QA tester job with no experience?
- What should your CV say when you're new?
- How Experiencely can help
You can become a QA tester with no experience, but you can't get hired with no evidence. That's the distinction that matters. Learn the core skills (test cases, bug reports, exploratory testing), then prove them on a real product so your CV shows work rather than intentions. That's the route that gets beginners interviews in the UK.
Here's how to do it without wasting months.
Can you really get a QA job with no experience?
Yes, and people do it every year. Testing is one of the more open doors into tech. Prospects points out that testers come from all kinds of degree subjects, and that an HND or foundation degree can be enough to get in. The National Careers Service lists a Level 4 Software Tester higher apprenticeship as another route.
The catch is the job adverts. Even roles labelled "junior" often ask for six to twelve months of experience, familiarity with Jira, or experience in an Agile team. Purely entry-level titles are thin on the ground: ITJobsWatch recorded only six permanent adverts with "junior tester" in the job title in the six months to August 2026. Juniors get hired under other titles too (QA analyst, test analyst, graduate tester), but the message is clear. Employers want some proof you can do the job.
So "no experience" is where you start, not what you apply with.
What skills should you learn first?
Don't try to learn everything. Get these solid, in this order.
- Test case writing. Clear steps, test data, expected results. Someone else should be able to run your test and get the same answer.
- Bug reporting. A specific title, steps to reproduce, expected versus actual, environment and a screenshot or recording. Developers love testers who write good bugs.
- Exploratory testing. Poking around a product with a goal in mind, taking notes and following anything that looks odd.
- Test design techniques. Boundary values, equivalence partitions and decision tables. They help you test smart rather than test everything.
- How Agile teams work. Sprints, stand-ups, user stories and acceptance criteria.
Then the tools: Jira for tickets, a test management tool such as TestRail or Zephyr, browser developer tools for spotting console errors, and Postman for basic API checks. Basic SQL is useful if you're aiming at test analyst roles.
Leave automation until you can do all of the above confidently. A beginner who writes brilliant bug reports is more hireable than one who half-knows Selenium.
Why aren't courses and certificates enough?
Because every other applicant has them too.
A testing course or an ISTQB Foundation certificate shows you've learned the theory. Hiring managers know that. What they can't tell from a certificate is whether you'll freeze when a developer says "works on my machine", or whether you can decide what to test first when there's only an afternoon before a release.
That's what experience shows. And it's why a CV with one real project on it beats a CV with five courses.
How do you get QA experience when nobody will hire you?
You've got a few options. They're not equal.
Crowdtesting platforms. You test real apps for small payments per valid bug. Useful practice, but the work is fragmented and you rarely see how a bug gets fixed or work inside a team.
Open source projects. Good for learning GitHub and how developers think. Hard to break into as a pure tester, because many projects mainly want code contributions.
Testing public websites on your own. Fine for a portfolio sample. It doesn't give you a team, a backlog or a reference.
A structured placement on a live product. You join a real project, test real releases, log bugs that get fixed and come away with a reference. This is the closest thing to a junior job, which is exactly why it carries weight with employers.
For example, a tester on a placement might spend the first fortnight learning the product and its user stories, then move on to testing new features each sprint and helping with regression before each release. That rhythm is what employers mean by "experience in an Agile team".
Whatever you choose, keep a record. Every test plan, every good bug report (with anything confidential removed), every time a bug you found got fixed. That's your portfolio.
Can you get a remote QA tester job with no experience?
It's the most searched version of this question, and the honest answer is: rarely at first.
Fully remote junior roles do exist, but they attract huge numbers of applicants because location doesn't limit who can apply. Employers hiring remotely also want people who can work independently, which is hard to judge in someone with no track record.
Here's the better plan. Get remote experience first. If you can show you've tested a live product with a distributed team, kept to sprint deadlines and communicated well in writing, you've answered the main worry about hiring a remote junior. Then apply for remote and hybrid roles together. Our guide to remote QA jobs explains where to look.
Hybrid roles are usually the easier first step. Don't rule them out.
If you do go for remote roles, make your written communication part of the application. A clear, short cover note and a link to a sample bug report show the exact skill a remote team relies on. Remote testers spend much of the day explaining problems in writing, in Jira tickets and team chat, so let them see you can do it before they ask.
What should your CV say when you're new?
Lead with what you've tested, not what you've studied. For example: "Tested the checkout flow of a live e-commerce site across Chrome, Safari and mobile, wrote 30 test cases and raised 12 bugs in Jira, 10 of which were fixed before release." That's the kind of line that gets a phone call. (Use your own real numbers, never invented ones.)
Put certificates in a short section lower down. Put transferable experience from previous jobs (checking, auditing, customer complaints, anything detail-heavy) in plain language.
And apply widely. Look beyond "QA tester": try test analyst, QA analyst, graduate tester and junior test engineer. The QA jobs guide lists the titles to search.
How Experiencely can help
The Experiencely software testing programme is experience only: no training or certification is included. It's for people who already have ISTQB, a degree or a testing course but can't get past "experience required". You're placed on a live product within 48 hours and test it fully remotely for about an hour a day over three months, writing test cases and logging real bugs. The programme costs £2,495 and includes a guarantee: hired within 60 days of finishing (conditions apply) or your money back.
Frequently asked questions
Can I become a QA tester with no experience?
Yes, but most junior adverts still ask for some evidence of testing work. The realistic route is to learn the basics, then get real hands-on experience on a live product so you can show test cases, bug reports and how you worked with a team. That evidence is what turns applications into interviews.
Can I get a remote QA tester job with no experience?
It's possible but hard. Fully remote junior roles attract applicants from across the country, so employers can be picky. Most beginners have better odds with hybrid or office-based roles first. Remote experience still counts on your CV, and it shows you can work independently with a distributed team.
Do I need a degree to be a QA tester in the UK?
No. Prospects notes that testers come from many degree subjects and that an HND or foundation degree can be enough. The National Careers Service also lists a Level 4 Software Tester apprenticeship. Employers mostly care whether you can test, write clearly and spot problems others miss.
What skills should a beginner QA tester learn first?
Start with writing test cases, raising clear bug reports, exploratory testing and the basics of Agile. Then learn Jira, a test management tool, browser developer tools and Postman for API testing. Basic SQL helps for test analyst roles. Automation can come later once the fundamentals are solid.
Sources
Figures are taken from the sources below. Salary ranges are indicative and individual offers vary. Last checked 9 November 2026.