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No thanks, I'll skip the free cheat sheetsA month of structured prep beats six months of scattered study. Here is a day-by-day plan with a task and a deliverable for every day.
A month of focused, structured prep beats six months of scattered study. This is a day-by-day 30-day plan to go from rusty to interview-ready — each day has a focus, a concrete task, and a deliverable so you can see progress instead of just consuming content.
Do the task, ship the deliverable, tick the day. Miss a day? Shift, do not skip.
| Day | Focus | Task | Deliverable |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Java Setup | Install Java + IntelliJ + Maven. Write Hello World. Understand project structure. / Watch: Java Brains Ep 1–3. Write: Variables, loops, basic methods. | HelloWorld.java running in IntelliJ |
| 2 | Java OOP Day 1 | Write Animal class with attributes + methods. Create Dog extends Animal. / Study: Classes, Objects, Constructors. Write 5 classes. | Animal hierarchy in GitHub |
| 3 | Java OOP Day 2 | Study Encapsulation + getter/setter. Write BankAccount class. / Study Polymorphism + method overloading. Write Calculator class. | BankAccount.java + Calculator.java |
| 4 | Java OOP Day 3 | Study Interfaces. Create Payable interface. Implement in Employee class. / Study Abstract classes. Write Vehicle abstract class hierarchy. | Interface + Abstract practice committed |
| 5 | Java Collections | ArrayList: add, remove, iterate, sort. HashMap: put, get, contains, iterate. / Write: word frequency counter with HashMap. Remove duplicates from list. | Collections practice code in GitHub |
| 6 | Manual Testing | Read SDLC + STLC. Write notes in your own words. / Write 10 test cases for a login page (positive + negative). | STLC_notes.md + test_cases.xlsx |
| 7 | Review Week 1 | Re-read all Java OOP notes. Solve 3 easy Java problems. / Practice manual: write 5 more test cases for signup page. | Revise + practice |
| 8 | Selenium Setup | Add Selenium + WebDriverManager to Maven project. Open Chrome. / Write first script: open Google, search 'SDET', print title. | FirstSeleniumTest.java working |
| 9 | Selenium Locators | Practice all 8 locator types on: https://the-internet.herokuapp.com / Write scripts for: ID, CSS, XPath for 5 different elements. | LocatorPractice.java |
| 10 | Selenium Interactions | Practice: click, sendKeys, getText, getAttribute, isDisplayed, isEnabled. / Automate: login on Sauce Demo. Fill form. Click button. | LoginAutomation.java |
| 11 | Selenium Waits | Study Implicit + Explicit + Fluent waits. Understand ExpectedConditions. / Refactor login test to use Explicit wait instead of Thread.sleep. | LoginTest with proper waits |
| 12 | Selenium Special | Practice: Dropdowns (Select class), Alerts, iFrames, Multiple windows. / Automate: alert handling on the-internet.herokuapp.com | SpecialHandling.java |
| 13 | Selenium Screenshots | Add screenshot capability. Screenshot on any step. Log to file. / Automate: take screenshot after login. Save with timestamp in name. | ScreenshotUtil.java working |
| 14 | Review Week 2 | Redo locator questions from Sheet 6 without looking at answers. / Solve 3 DSA Easy problems (Array/String). | Revise + DSA |
| 15 | Page Object Model | Build LoginPage.java. Make test use loginPage.login() not driver directly. / Build HomePage.java, SearchPage.java for your demo app. | POM project structure done |
| 16 | TestNG Setup | Add TestNG. Convert login test to use @Test, @BeforeMethod, @AfterMethod. / Add assertions, groups (@smoke), priority, testng.xml. | TestNG framework running |
| 17 | TestNG DataProvider | Add @DataProvider with Object[][]. Run same test with 3 data sets. / Connect DataProvider to Excel (Apache POI). Read from .xlsx file. | Data-driven test working |
| 18 | BaseTest Class | Create BaseTest.java with @BeforeMethod (setup) + @AfterMethod (teardown). / Add screenshot on failure in @AfterMethod with ITestResult check. | BaseTest.java complete |
| 19 | Config & Reporting | Create config.properties + ConfigReader.java. Read browser/URL from file. / Add Extent Reports. Generate HTML report after test run. | Config + Report working |
| 20 | BDD/Cucumber Day 1 | Add Cucumber dependency. Write first feature file (login.feature). / Write Step Definitions for login feature. Run the scenario. | Login.feature + steps running |
| 21 | BDD/Cucumber Day 2 | Add @Before/@After hooks with WebDriver setup/teardown. / Write Scenario Outline with Examples table for data-driven BDD. | Scenario Outline running |
| 22 | Review Week 3 | Revise all TestNG annotations from memory. Write them on paper. / Solve 3 DSA problems. Commit all pending code to GitHub. | GitHub updated + DSA practice |
| 23 | API Testing Basics | Install Postman. Test GET /users on reqres.in. Add assertions. / Test POST /users. Add to Postman Collection. Export collection. | Postman collection with 10 tests |
| 24 | RestAssured Setup | Add RestAssured to Maven. Write first given-when-then GET test. / Write POST test with body and status assertion. Run via TestNG. | RestAssured tests running |
| 25 | RestAssured Advanced | Write: auth test (login → extract token). Extract + use in next test. / Write schema validation test. Add user-schema.json to resources. | Auth chain + schema validation |
| 26 | Git + GitHub | Create GitHub account. Init repo. Add .gitignore. Commit all project code. / Write README.md with tech stack, how to run, folder structure. | Project on GitHub with README |
| 27 | CI/CD — GitHub Actions | Create .github/workflows/ci.yml. Add Maven test step. Push to GitHub. / Verify: commit → GitHub Actions runs tests automatically. Check results. | CI pipeline running on GitHub |
| 28 | Full Framework Review | Review entire framework: BaseTest, POM, TestNG, Cucumber, RestAssured. / Draw architecture diagram. Write 'explain your framework' answer out loud. | Architecture diagram + verbal answer |
| 29 | Mock Interview Day | Answer 20 questions from Sheets 4–11 OUT LOUD. Time yourself. / Record yourself answering 5 questions. Watch back. Improve. | 30 questions practiced out loud |
| 30 | Applications Day | Update resume with project + GitHub link. Update Naukri + LinkedIn. / Apply to 10 companies using Applications sheet. Set job alerts. | 10 applications sent. Ready! |
Drill the topics as you go, and benchmark with a mock at the end.
End-of-plan Mock → Selenium Simulator Full RoadmapIf you already have a foundation, yes — a focused 30-day plan can take you from rusty to interview-ready. The day-by-day plan above structures it with tasks and deliverables.
Start with fundamentals — core Java and Selenium, manual-testing basics — then layer API, framework and CI/CD. The plan sequences this for you.
Roughly two to three focused hours a day: one task in the morning, one in the evening, plus practising on the simulators. Consistency matters more than marathon sessions.
Shift the plan rather than skipping — the sequence matters more than the exact dates. Do not abandon it over one missed day.
The plan is a template — adjust the pace to your starting level and available hours.