How long have you been at Qualitest?

Seven and a half years. I was fresh out of college when I joined.

What made you stay?

The main reason is that I get to work with an incredible range of industries and technologies. There’s always something new to challenge you and many opportunities to develop your career further. I joined as a trainee tester and feel I owe a lot to Qualitest.

I’ve had the chance to work with people across time zones, in Ukraine, Israel, and even Malaysia. I’ve worked with many types of clients, both offshore and onshore, as well as with CTOs, managers and test leads. You learn so much by talking to clients and understanding their needs and pain points, which is very important from a pre-sales and sales perspective.

What makes working at Qualitest different than working somewhere else?

It’s the exposure you get when you work on so many varied types of projects, which allows you to grow fast. At Qualitest, each year I’ve gotten the chance to work on a different project, and I’ve been able to learn about different industries, such as retail, banking and healthcare.

If you work at a some of the massive outsourcers, you’ll most likely work on the same project, with the same team and technology, year after year. You don’t really get a chance to learn as much or grow as fast.

So, what would you say to someone at your level, who’s already grown, what’s the incentive to stay on at Qualitest?

You always have to keep growing and challenging yourself. If you’re serious about your career, and if you are somebody like me, who doesn’t just want to lead the team, but also wants to get their hands dirty with the technical aspects, this is the place to be. Because every project here is a new challenge and you’re continually working with the latest technologies.

What new technology have you worked with recently?

I’ve been able to work with various types of Automation tools like Selenium, WebDriver, Appium, Ranorex, AutoIT, eggPlant, Sahi, TestComplete and SeeTest.

I also get to work with applications built using latest technologies like React, Angular, etc.

My husband is a software engineer and works every day with these technologies. We are total opposites; he’s a developer, and I am a tester. He teases me that I am always looking for faults and to prove others wrong.

But I remind him that QA is crucial to what he does because the average time it takes a user to uninstall an app with bugs or bad UI is just ten seconds.

Can you give me another example of just how crucial QA is?

Just one? Sure, for example, I worked with a Healthcare company that provides a medical device for people with Sleep Apnea, which is a disorder that causes people to stop breathing while they sleep.

The medical device comes with a mask which monitors peoples’ breathing rates while they are asleep. It tracks the intake of oxygen and how much CO2 they are breathing out. If a person stops breathing, the system is supposed to wake them up with loud noises.

So, we tested how the device’s software was interpreting the data that came from the device. We were trying to catch bugs regarding how the system would behave if the mask was removed during sleep or if it wasn’t placed properly on the nose and mouth.

Basically, we were making sure the device could correctly determine when it needed to wake someone up.

That’s pretty crucial, so aside from helping save lives what do you do outside of work?

Ok, fun fact: I’m a huge movie buff. I watch all types of movies, good and bad. I even watch movies in languages I don’t understand. I like watching a lot of Korean films.

I am also an animal lover and a member of PETA and other organizations. I rescue and foster dogs.

What do you think of the Bangalore office?

It’s a cool office with an open layout and a colorful, nice design. Not your boring grey office. We’re located in a huge tech park, with lots of nice restaurants nearby, we have Lebanese and Mexican food at our doorstep.

Also, Bangalore is known as the pub capital of the East. I guess it because it’s also the Silicon Valley of the East. Here the culture is to work hard during the day and come Friday night everyone is out enjoying their weekend at the pubs.

So, it’s a work hard and play hard ethos?

Yes, but at Qualitest we also have a lot of support and flexibility, and of course all these chances to keep developing your career. If you’re really into technology and professional growth, this is the place to be.