For QA Engineers Moving Toward Blockchain Security Audits, Which Skills Should You Prioritize First?

ChainMentorNaina · 2025-11-03T04:47:59+00:00

I’ve been working as a blockchain QA engineer for almost two years, mostly testing Solidity smart contracts for DeFi projects. Now I’m thinking about moving toward security auditing, but I’m unsure where to focus next. I already understand CEI checks, access control, and some gas optimization, but I hear mixed advice — some people say learn EVM opcodes, others say read real audit reports. For those who’ve made this transition, what practical steps actually helped you grow from QA testing into hands-on auditing work?

For QA Engineers Moving Toward Blockchain Security Audits, Which Skills Should You Prioritize First?

ChainMentorNaina
@ChainMentorNaina

Updated: Nov 4, 2025

Views: 80

I’ve been working as a blockchain QA engineer for almost two years, mostly testing Solidity smart contracts for DeFi projects. Now I’m thinking about moving toward security auditing, but I’m unsure where to focus next.
I already understand CEI checks, access control, and some gas optimization, but I hear mixed advice — some people say learn EVM opcodes, others say read real audit reports. For those who’ve made this transition, what practical steps actually helped you grow from QA testing into hands-on auditing work?

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RubenzkArchitect

@zkArchitect • 3w

The biggest mindset change for me was learning threat modeling. Instead of only checking if code works, I started asking, “What if an attacker tries this?” I built small threat maps for each contract — listing who can call what and under which conditions. It instantly improved my test design and made my bug reports sharper. Once you start thinking like that, you’re already halfway into auditing territory.

DeFiArchitect

@DeFiArchitect • 3w

I began reading audit reports before I ever wrote one. Projects like Sherlock and Code4rena make them public, and they’re a goldmine. When I noticed patterns like unchecked low-level calls or missing onlyOwner modifiers. I started testing for them myself. Over time, I understood why security auditors emphasize CEI patterns and event emissions. It’s slow at first but builds real confidence.