What are the risks of taking selenium

This question took me by surprise.

Risks of taking selenium?

Are there any risks?

Am I in danger?

Am I sick from too much Selenium?

Read along.

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Of course, there are risks.

But first, a few words about benefits.

Selenium is a mineral.

It is taken into the body in water and foods. People use it for medicine.

Selenium is used for diseases of the heart and blood vessels, including stroke and “hardening of the arteries” (atherosclerosis). It is also used for preventing various cancers including cancer of the prostate, stomach, lung, and skin.

Some people use selenium for under-active thyroid, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis(RA), an eye disease called macular degeneration, hay fever, infertility, cataracts, gray hair, abnormal pap smears, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), mood disorders, arsenic poisoning, and preventing miscarriage.

Selenium is also used for preventing serious complications and death from critical illnesses such as head injury and burns. It is also used for preventing bird flu, treating HIV/AIDS, and reducing side effects from cancerchemotherapy.

And the risks?

Selenium deficiency is very rare in the United States and Canada.

Selenium deficiency can cause Keshan disease (a type of heart disease) and male infertility.

It might also cause Kashin-Beck disease, a type of arthritis that produces pain, swelling, and loss of motion in your joints.

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Now, joking aside, what are the risks of taking, sorry, learning Selenium WebDriver?

You are a manual tester.

You want to learn test automation, meaning programming and Selenium WebDriver.

Some of the risks that you are exposing to are

1. you may find that you don’t have enough motivation; most people have high enthusiasm initially which, when confronted with the challenges of learning programming, goes away bit by bit until it is over ; so one of the risks is that you start learning, then stop it and feel like you failed
2. you may realize while learning Selenium that you like it so much that you dont want to do manual testing any longer; i know people who after learning some automation did not want to go back; so another risk may be that your manual testing days are over but your automation days are started
3. you may get to a point where you will be willing on learning Selenium and programming not only during your work hours but also at home; so you will be risking some of your free time (and your family’s)
4. you may be risking some of your friendships if you make progress with your automation learning; some of your tester friends who cannot do it may not be positively impressed by you doing what they cannot
5. finally, you may be risking your career and your job; when you learn enough programming and automation, you may stop being a tester and become a developer; you lose your tester job but gain a developer one

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Alex Siminiuc