Why I Switched from QA to Full-Stack Development

The QA Foundation

Most developers start by building things. I started by breaking them.

For over three years at Centene Corporation, my job was to find every crack, every edge case, every way an application could fail. I wrote test automation with Selenium and Playwright, designed test strategies for healthcare platforms where bugs could affect real people, and learned to think about software from the user's perspective first.

That experience shaped how I build software today in ways I didn't expect.

The Turning Point

QA is rewarding, but I kept finding myself wanting to fix the bugs I found, not just report them. I'd file a detailed ticket with reproduction steps, screenshots, and a suggested fix, then watch it sit in the backlog.

Eventually, I started fixing things myself. Small PRs at first. A UI tweak here, a validation fix there. Then bigger features. And I realized: I wanted to build full-time.

What QA Taught Me About Development

1. Edge Cases Are Not Optional

Most developers handle the happy path and call it done. After years of QA, I instinctively think about: What happens when the input is empty? What about special characters? What if the API is slow? What if the user double-clicks?

2. Testing Is Not an Afterthought

I write tests because I've seen what happens when teams don't. Not just unit tests, but meaningful integration tests that catch real regressions. Every feature I ship has been stress-tested by someone who spent years breaking software professionally.

3. User Empathy Comes Naturally

QA analysts are professional users. We use the software the way real people use it: clicking things in the wrong order, entering unexpected data, resizing windows to weird dimensions. That perspective makes me a better developer.

4. Communication Is Half the Job

Writing clear bug reports taught me to communicate technical issues to non-technical stakeholders. That skill transfers directly to client communication, documentation, and code reviews.

The Best of Both Worlds

I didn't abandon QA. I absorbed it. MaverickBytes offers both development and QA consulting because they're two sides of the same coin. The best code is code that's been built with testing in mind from day one.

When I build a feature, I'm simultaneously thinking about how to test it. When I write a test, I'm thinking about the architecture that makes it testable. The loop is tight, and the output is better software.

Advice for QA Engineers Considering the Switch

1. •Start contributing code now. Fix bugs you find. Submit PRs. Don't wait for permission.
2. •Your QA skills are a superpower. Don't hide them. They make you a better developer than most.
3. •Build side projects. Ship something real. A SaaS, a tool, a portfolio. Proof of work beats certifications.
4. •You don't have to choose. The industry needs people who can do both. That's your edge.

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The transition from QA to development isn't a step sideways. It's a level-up. You're not starting over. You're bringing a rare skill set to a new role.