Meet a Tester: Paulo

, Managing Editor, Testlio

In Meet a Tester, we feature QA experts from our community who share their love for quality and Testlio. Paulo is a hard-working dad, developer and software tester extraordinaire from Brazil.

Where are you from?

I was born in a rural state here in Brazil. Fortunately, my family moved to Presidente Prudente, a mid-sized city in the northwest part of São Paulo state, to seek a better education for me and my siblings. I’m very fortunate to have found a job here too, as most tech opportunities are located in big cities, which are far worse to live in.

What is your native language and what other languages do you speak?

My mother tongue is Brazilian Portuguese and Castelhano. I was taught English during my teens and consider myself fluent.

What is your educational background?

I have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science.
My passion for computers started when I was 10 years old. My parents brought me a PC, a custom-made Windows 98 machine, and I was super excited about it. I wanted to know how to do things and, back in the days before broadband internet, that meant a lot of experimentation. During my high school years, I was known as the computer guy, and my teachers would come and ask how to do things on their PCs. Since then, I knew Computer Science was the field I wanted to pursue, and I couldn’t be happier about my choice!

What are your specialties?

I’m a full-stack developer, meaning I’m responsible for every aspect of a product’s life-cycle. Because of that, I’m familiar with a plethora of languages and operating systems. What I develop the most for though is Android (Java, C++ and Kotlin) along PHP, MySQL and Linux for the back end.

How did you end up testing for Testlio?

Okay, story time – I was laying in my bed during a quiet night browsing Reddit when I saw what appeared to be just another ad. I scrolled past it but then went back and clicked on it. I was intrigued. Up to that point, I had never heard about Testlio or Testing-as-a-Service in general. I did the initial test and didn’t give much thought to it until the next morning. As I started to pass the mandatory tests, I looked more into Testlio and found a speech delivered by Kristel Kruustük (Testlio co-founder and Chief Testing Officer). It blew my mind to say the least, and I understood the size of the opportunity I was being given. For there on, I was on a mission to help improve the quality of our client’s apps and consequently the experience of millions of users.

[PS. Here’s Kristel’s speech that got Paulo inspired]

What is it that you like about Testlio?

I like how friendly and accessible every member of the staff is, how healthily our community behaves and the knowledge that I’m helping improve apps used by millions. Being a developer, I found invaluable the chance of seeing top-class developers discussing the issues that I’ve unearthed.

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

As a side job, it’s fair. We can always make some extra in the form of reproductions, so I found myself making a good amount during my free time!

How do you manage the balance between testing and personal life?

My day job is quite flexible, which means I have more free time than most of my colleagues. When I’m home, I usually switch between testing in my office and quality time with my family. When my schedule is a bit full I prefer testing when they are asleep, making sure I had enough rest to do a quality job.

What motivates you professionally?

I have always had a passion for solving problems and being overall helpful to others. I’m also competitive! I want to be noticed when I do a good job and receive feedback when I don’t, so I can improve. I also want to give my family the best so extra income is always welcomed. In the medium-term, I seek to be self-employed full time, with multiple sources of income to provide myself some much-needed stability.

What’s an interesting fact about yourself?

I’m an explorer of sorts. My country (still) has a lot of forests and I enjoy hiking in these beautiful areas. Seeing how nature works, how every lifeform relies on an equilibrium that we as a species often disturb, inspired me to help local sustainable farms with their preservation efforts.

What apps do you use for work or fun?

For work, To-Do by Microsoft – I used another solution in the past but To-Do is superior in every comparable aspect. For fun, I really enjoy Pocket Casts and YouTube Music. They are great for helping you relax or concentrate, depending on your needs.

How would you convince a friend to join Testlio?

I’d say this: Imagine yourself on a beach, Trancoso for example. Now imagine it’s not your vacation but your new lifestyle as a virtual worker. They would all jump in, in no time!

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