Meet a Tester: Fatima

, Managing Editor, Testlio

In Meet a Tester, we feature QA experts from our network who share their love for quality and Testlio. Fatima is a business grad turned tech writer and remote software tester.

Tell us a bit about yourself

I’m from Pakistan and my native tongue is Punjabi. I also speak Urdu, which is the national language of my country, and English.

What is your educational background?

I’m a business graduate specialized in Human resource management — although I’ve barely practiced in the field. When I graduated, I could only find a writing job, so I pivoted to writing as a career. Writing is a personal passion of mine, with technology coming in at a close second. I hope to be a published author someday, but for now, I specialize in writing about technology.

How did you end up testing for Testlio?

I found Testlio via an ad on Reddit – and I’m happy I clicked on it! After completing competency tests and onboarding, I got to work on a very exciting global scale localization testing project. The experience was great, and I gained a lot of insight into the many nuances of translation.
In my day-to-day, I write for a tech blog where I’m the editor. It’s a remote job where I barely interact with anyone. I love what I do, but it gets lonely and the work ends up being a little monotonous at times. With Testlio, I get to develop my technical skills further while being part of a great team. I love our testers’ community — they’re the best co-workers I could have asked for, with everyone being genuinely friendly and kind. It’s a positive environment that gives me the human interaction missing from my day job.

What are your specialties?

I like working on different platforms, mainly Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android.

How does Testlio’s pay compare to your market rate?

Testlio is on par with my current pay and, in some cases, slightly above par. I haven’t worked for other testing platforms because they’re very limited in the payment methods they support. Testlio is able to make payments via Payoneer, which is one of the reasons I’m able to work with the company and why I recommend it to others.

How do you balance testing and personal life?

Working with Testlio is really flexible, so it never interferes with my regular job or personal life. Generally speaking, my work schedule is pretty fluid, which makes for a good, healthy life. I’m not saying I manage to go to the gym regularly, but flexible work hours give me plenty of time for hobbies.

What motivates you professionally?

I love a challenge. I enjoy having to figure things out. I consider it an exercise for the brain. Finding issues or solutions to technical problems is very self-affirming — especially when I know that ultimately what I do can help someone.

What’s an interesting fact about yourself?

I like to teach myself new skills. I usually create a project for myself, something to work on, and invest myself in until I get the hang of it. For example, I taught myself how to use Photoshop. The project I created for myself was a Facebook page. You can see the improvement over time from the image below.

Currently, I’m trying to learn how to bake with a microwave oven. So far, the results have been inedible.
I also love animals —right now, I have five cats (although I’ve raised more and adopted them out). Having pets is a wonderful experience on all levels.

Fatima’s cat Tiddy

How would you convince a friend to join Testlio?

When I tell my friends about Testlio, I tell them it’s a flexible way to earn money and an excellent way to grow software testing skills. Testlio’s staff and testers’ community are caring and always ready to help.

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