Professional QA education
— is an IT school with a special | approach
What is professional QA education?
Professional QA education is close to individual education for students who have completed IT vocational guidance in groups of 10-15 students under the guidance of QA mentors with at least 10 years of IT experience.
Professional QA education employs an uncompromising, lecture-free approach to quality. Theory is presented in an interactive textbook all lectures are replaced with practical workshops and there is a 4-month internship on a real business project.
Professional QA education provides a completely different level of practical skills compared to mass education and completely different employment outcomes.
4 main features of professional
QA education:
MASS COMMERCIAL APPROACH
✓ Tutors' motivation: self-fulfillment and $
✓ The school's commercial interests are above the interests of the student
✓ Enrollment in the course after successful payment
✓ School KPIs: number of students, ROI
✓ Tutors' motivation: self-fulfillment and $
✓ The school's commercial interests are above the interests of the student
✓ Enrollment in the course after successful payment
✓ School KPIs: number of students, ROI
PROFESSIONAL APPROACH
✓ Tutors' motivation: improving the qualification of IT specialists in the market
✓ The student's interests are above the school's commercial interests
✓ enrollment in the course only after completing a vocational guidance course
✓ School KPIs: number of successful careers of graduates
✓ Tutors' motivation: improving the qualification of IT specialists in the market
✓ The student's interests are above the school's commercial interests
✓ enrollment in the course only after completing a vocational guidance course
✓ School KPIs: number of successful careers of graduates
Why is there a need for professional QA education?
The concept emerged as a response to the problems of the mass commercial approach to educating QA engineers, which has significant shortcomings:
- Fact #18 out of 10 students on the courses do NOT become testers01
- Fact #2Lectures do not help in mastering such an applied profession as QA02
- Fact #3Resumes from QA beginners with no experience are being considered at the last03
How does a professional approach to QA education result in high employment rates among students?
In short:
Students do not enroll in the course as they do elsewhere.
Students do not study as they do elsewhere.
And after graduation, they do not do what
graduates of commercial courses do.
1. How applicants enroll in the course
- No lies like “QA is for everyone”No false promises.
No enrollment based on the principle of “if you're willing to pay for the course, you're ready for a new profession.” - Only 100% confidence in your IT futureEnrollment in the course and payment for it only happen after completing the preparatory vocational guidance course “Should You Become a QA-engineer?”
Only 1 out of 5 applicants passes it successfully and gets enrolled. The rest don't waste money and six months of their lives on unnecessary education; they get the opportunity to consider other IT professions.
More about enrollment
Mass commercial courses declare that “QA is easy” and enroll anyone who is willing to pay. As a result, most students drop out and do not start an IT career.
• Is QA really what I want?
• Will I be able to graduate, find a job in IT and be able to handle it?
• Will I enjoy working as a QA? Will I earn good money? Maybe I should go into analytics or product management instead?
The entrance selection process (an average of five people per place) creates a highly productive and motivating learning environment in the study groups, free from doubters and procrastinators. As a result, despite the challenging curriculum, 90% of those who enroll complete the course.
Professional education programs only accept and charge tuition fees from those who, during the preparatory vocational guidance course, have found answers to the three most important questions:
• Is QA really what I want?
• Will I be able to graduate, find a job in IT and be able to handle it?
• Will I enjoy working as a QA? Will I earn good money? Maybe I should go into analytics or product management instead?
The entrance selection process (an average of five people per place) creates a highly productive and motivating learning environment in the study groups, free from doubters and procrastinators. As a result, despite the challenging curriculum, 90% of those who enroll complete the course.
You have successfully enrolled? Then QA is definitely your thing.
2. How do students study?
- No lecturesNo theoretical lectures.
They don't help you gain skills in such an applied profession as QA.
No large groups where you can't even ask your question properly. -
Only the “100% learning — teamwork” format
Employers are interested not in knowledge, but in practical skills.
They don't need people who “know,” they need people who “can do.”
But for an applied profession such as QA, it is impossible to develop skills by listening to online lectures.
That's why we've put the entire theory into a detailed interactive textbook that you can easily work through before class.
All lectures have been replaced with team workshops. In these workshops, teams of 15 students, led by a mentor with over 10 years of IT experience, learn how to perform real QA's tasks. After learning, there is a mandatory four-month internship on a real project, which also involves teamwork.
The same mentor then personally checks the homework assignments and provides feedback.
All classes in the course are team-based practical workshops where you develop practical skills under the guidance of a mentor.
More about the educational format
QA is an applied profession. If education focuses on lectures, it will not produce competitive specialists. Lectures only provide knowledge, but business needs skills and abilities.
A professional approach uses a three-level educational model. All theory is presented in an interactive 700-page QA textbook, and absolutely all lectures in the course are replaced by team practical workshops. Working on dozens of workshops in a group of 10-15 students under the guidance of an experienced mentor with 10+ years of IT experience, who will personally check your homework, will allow you not only to consolidate your knowledge, but also to develop the skills that employers are so interested in.
These are not streamed lectures for hundreds of students at once. Our groups do not have 30, 100, or even 300 people, as on some platforms, but a maximum of 15 motivated students. And this is definitely not a fee for access to webinars recorded a year ago, where the teacher never checks the homework.
There is no “too many cooks spoil the broth” syndrome. You will not be working with a multitude of teachers, curators, mentors, assistants, coordinators and technical support specialists, but only with a few expert mentors in QA. They can give you the attention you need and provide quality feedback.
Mentors conduct classes, adapt the program to the group, lead workshops, answer questions, guide, support, check homework, give grades and administer exams.
Mentors will add individual feedback to your grade book 150 times in the form of comments and assessments for completing tests, participation in workshops, completing homework assignments, participation and quality of work during the internship, as well as an assessment for the final individual exam-interview.
And a little more about the interactive textbook. We read faster than we listen. One hour of video is only 10 pages of text. A ten-hour video course is actually a slim 100-page book. The interactive 700-page QA textbook used in the course includes 42 modules, 42 sets of online tests and 700 pages of basic knowledge (yes, 700 pages is just the beginning) devoted to test design, working with requirements, documentation, testing at all levels and defect localization in three-tier architecture, databases, Linux, networks, development methodologies and other useful topics.
It allows students to study all the necessary theory in depth without “googling” and replace lectures with a much more effective format for skill development — team workshops with a mentor in small groups.
Everything has been done to ensure that nothing distracts you from your studies. An old computer is sufficient for the learning process, and you won't have to set up many programs from scratch — the practical training takes place in a cloud sandbox.
You can take tests in a convenient iOS/Android app used at Harvard.
With professional QA education, when you graduate, you are not a “junior QA” specialist, but a “pre-middle QA” specialist.
3. Who imparts knowledge and skills to students?
- No mentors or reviewersNo mentors, curators, or reviewers. They don't give you knowledge and skills, and they are outside the learning process. But at the same time, they check your homework and try to give you feedback on it.
They also tend to have only a few years of IT experience and only create a “broken connection” between the teacher and the student. -
Only mentors with at least 10 years of IT experience
An experienced mentor works with a group of up to 15 students:
✓ The mentor makes sure you understand the theory
✓ The mentor answers all your questions
✓ The mentor conducts workshops with you
✓ The mentor helps you acquire skills
✓ The mentor checks your homework
✓ The mentor gives you feedback
More about top mentors
The best QA courses are those where you are not taught by theoretical instructors or practitioners with only 4-5 years of experience.
We only hire mentors with 10+ years of experience. Mentorpiece does not teach everything at once, but specializes exclusively in testing. That's why you'll be taught by carefully selected mentors — current technical managers at international IT companies who are involved in hiring employees for their companies.
We only hire mentors with 10+ years of experience. Mentorpiece does not teach everything at once, but specializes exclusively in testing. That's why you'll be taught by carefully selected mentors — current technical managers at international IT companies who are involved in hiring employees for their companies.
4. How do graduates start their careers?
- No career tracksNo “we'll help you write your resume and cover letter and we will also conduct a mock interview, and then you're on your own.”
No “at best, 20% of the students in the group will get jobs as QA engineers.” - Only 4-month internship as a full-fledged QA on a real business projectDuring the course, you will test real software on a real business project in a Russian-speaking or American company:
✓ Working Работаешь внутри проекта как полноценный QA, коммуницируешь с разработчиками, восстанавливаешь требования
✓ Тестируешь весь стек изнутри: API, Backend, DB
✓ The internship lasts for 4 months. This is the minimum time required to gain practical skills and begin to understand QA processes.
You include this job in your resume.
If yesterday's QA student's resume is not “empty” but demonstrates practical experience, then he or she will have no problem finding a job within 2-3 months of active searching.
Learn more about how to simplify the start of your IT career
Resumes without IT experience are the last to be considered. And that's normal for the job market.
What's not normal is when a student graduates the course that doesn't give them the practical skills that employers really need.
To break the vicious circle, a professional approach requires a 4-month internship as a full-fledged QA engineer on a real business project. This is:
a) real QA experience
b) the first IT record on your resume.
A classic mistake made by students in many courses is to start looking for their first job after completing their QA education. The search can take months, and during that time, knowledge and skills will be forgotten.
Preparation for employment should begin on the first day of learning. That is why education at Mentorpiece does not start with learning hard skills, but with planning effective studying, developing soft skills and taking the first steps towards employment.
At the end of the internship, a final exam-interview is taken, and each student receives an opportunity to join individual employment mentorship until they find a job.
Mentorpiece graduates have no trouble finding their first IT job in companies around the world.
So,
✓ No novice teachers with “4-5 years of IT experience”
✓ No lectures
✓ No “platform learning in the Matrix for 100 people, where one person gives a lecture and another checks the assignments.”
✓ No “a little theory, a little practice and a thesis for the sake of it.”
✓ No “found some kind of job after the course — that's already great”
✓ No novice teachers with “4-5 years of IT experience”
✓ No lectures
✓ No “platform learning in the Matrix for 100 people, where one person gives a lecture and another checks the assignments.”
✓ No “a little theory, a little practice and a thesis for the sake of it.”
✓ No “found some kind of job after the course — that's already great”
Comparison of courses
Mass commercial non-pre-recorded course with 3+ months length
Professional QA course
Theoretical block
Interactive QA textbook for preparing for classes and interviews
Mentors with at least 10+ years of experience
More than 20 students in the group
Homework is checked by the mentor himself/herself, not by the supervisor or reviewer
You can practice on an old computer
Opportunity to include work experience at two IT companies in your resume
The final exam — like a real individual interview
Assistance in preparing resumes and cover letters
For top students: a written recommendation from the chief mentor, confirmation of knowledge from three mentors
Employment guide, individual mentorship until job offer
Probability of employment for those enrolled in the course
5-20%
69%
Education focused on your results
And yet, what evidence is there that professional IT education works?
The quality of any QA course is determined by one key parameter: the number of students who have successfully found employment in IT.
In short, this is a course that will not have you needing to study again.
This is a course that has truly opened the door to a new life for many.
This is a course that has truly opened the door to a new life for many.
— is the only| QA school where:
You are absolutely sure that you will not waste your money and time
At the entrance, there is an in-depth vocational guidance course called “Should You Become a QA-engineer?” Only 1 in 5 applicants successfully pass it.
Only at Mentorpiece will you not be charged for education until there is 100% certainty that your IT career will be successfully launched.
Only at Mentorpiece will you not be charged for education until there is 100% certainty that your IT career will be successfully launched.
Absolutely all lessons are practical
Employers don't need “spectators”; they need skilled workers. That's why it's so difficult to find a job after taking regular courses with lectures and webinars, where you just sit and listen.
Only at Mentorpiece all of your classes are held in the format of team workshops in groups of 15 students.
In each workshop, you perform the tasks of a QA engineer, while the mentor guides and assists you. This is how we simulate teamwork on a real IT project and help you develop the practical skills that employers need.
Only at Mentorpiece all of your classes are held in the format of team workshops in groups of 15 students.
In each workshop, you perform the tasks of a QA engineer, while the mentor guides and assists you. This is how we simulate teamwork on a real IT project and help you develop the practical skills that employers need.
Full-fledged commercial experience
Employers will not be impressed by a two-week internship, testing a pet project, or, even less so, fake experience on your resume.
Only at Mentorpiece you'll get a 2-4 month internship as a full-fledged QA engineer at an IT company.
This will be the first IT experience on your resume, making it easier to get through the HR filter. And you'll be able to confidently respond to job interview questions with “Yes, I've worked with that.”
Only at Mentorpiece you'll get a 2-4 month internship as a full-fledged QA engineer at an IT company.
This will be the first IT experience on your resume, making it easier to get through the HR filter. And you'll be able to confidently respond to job interview questions with “Yes, I've worked with that.”
Interactive textbooks
They contain all the necessary theory and online tests. You complete them before the team workshop, and at the workshop itself you turn your knowledge into practical skills.
You and a mentor with at least 10 years of IT experience — no intermediaries
We do not accept inexperienced QAs who have only been in IT for 3-5 years as tutors. The minimum IT experience for our mentors is 10 years.
We do not have any supervisors, assistants or curators, regardless of what they are called. The same mentor who leads the workshop helps you outside of class, answers all your questions and reviews your work. Just like a lead on a real IT project.
We do not have any supervisors, assistants or curators, regardless of what they are called. The same mentor who leads the workshop helps you outside of class, answers all your questions and reviews your work. Just like a lead on a real IT project.
Employment protection from QA with 20+ years of experience
Since 2001, chief mentor Lilia Urmazova has established contacts with hundreds of HR managers and executives at IT companies. Based on Lilia's reputation, they are willing to consider your resume first.
Transparency
Only Mentorpiece openly publishes lists of all enrolled students and all those who have gotten IT jobs. Check out the employment record for yourself.
Lifetime assistance
We maintain contact with all our graduates. Years later, they continue to turn to us for help with work-related issues and recruit new graduates to their companies.
And once a year, all alumni gather together for an online pizza party hosted by Mentorpiece.
And once a year, all alumni gather together for an online pizza party hosted by Mentorpiece.
Mentorpiece only accepts 90 applicants per year.
Why so few?
Because we strive to be the Harvard of QA, and when teaching QA, we emphasize quality over quantity.
So, professional QA education is right for you, if you:
- You like to make conscious decisions and don't believe that “QA is for everyone”And that's why, before paying for the course, you want to take a vocational guidance course (less than 20% pass it successfully).
- You are demanding both of yourself and the educational process and you don't see the point in studying on a course where feedback on your work is given by reviewers who may never have worked in QA at all.That's why you want an uncompromising quality education, where only QA mentors with 10+ years of experience in IT conduct practical workshops, answer your questions and provide individual feedback on your work.
- You are a realist and understand that it is difficult to find a job with only a course certificate.And that's why you want to gain 4 months of experience as a full-fledged QA engineer on a real business project before you graduate.