Manual → Automation: How to Make the Switch Without Breaking
"Learn Python and Selenium" is the most common and most useless advice. The switch to automation doesn't break on syntax. A first-person take: the three pits (automating everything, thinking automation is "writing tests", dropping the manual mindset), a route that works (minimal language, start with API tests, then UI with architecture, Git/CLI/CI), why your manual past is an advantage (you know WHAT to automate, you're the oracle, repro steps, exploration), and the transition anti-patterns.