Meet a Tester: Racheal

In Meet a Tester, we feature QA experts from our community who share their love for quality and Testlio. A freelance tester from Canada, Racheal is a graduate student in Behavioural Neuroscience who loves asking “why?”.

Tell us a bit about you

I’m from Ontario, Canada and that’s where I still live now. I grew up mostly on Manitoulin Island which is (obligatory shoutout) the largest freshwater island in the world. My native language is English. I took French classes all through high school, picked up a little more when I lived in Ottawa for 6 years (it’s right beside Quebec), but still can’t carry a whole conversation in French to save my life. I hope to keep getting better though.

What is your educational background?

I have a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Ottawa and I’m currently completing my Masters in Psychology at Brock University. I’ve always loved learning and asking “why?”.

How did you end up testing for Testlio?

I don’t actually remember the specifics of what led to me applying to Testlio, but somehow I came across someone saying good things about the company and decided to apply. I like that it’s given me the opportunity to learn new skills that I otherwise wouldn’t have. I also like that everyone at the company is very supportive, I remember the test leads helping me when I first started and didn’t know what a “repo” was. I test on the side, for a fun side job that I also view as a bit of a hobby.

Before joining Testlio, I knew nothing about testing but now I have tested so far on iPhone, Mac, and Fire TV. I took a course on C++ at one point, got about half my programs to run, which I considered a win. I would like to test myself on that again at some point and maybe learn Java or Python.

How does Testlio’s pay compare to other crowdtesting platforms? 

I only work on Testlio so I don’t have anything to compare it to. I’m very happy with the pay rate though.

How do you balance testing and personal life?

Organization is key – I always keep a to-do list and make sure due dates are in my calendar. This helps me keep work time to work and then personal time as personal. I have found it easy to put testing time in my day without it impeding on personal time.

What motivates you professionally?

I’ve always enjoyed learning and I’ve always had an interest in anything technology-related, from apps to computer hardware. Testing is a way for me to learn about QA (and get paid for it). I’ve recently become more interested in User Experience design and I’d like to be able to combine my educational knowledge with my experience testing – and that goal motivates me.

What’s an interesting fact about yourself?

I love animals! So much so that I had a hard time finding any pictures of myself that didn’t have cats in it. Right now, I have two cats: Shiva and Marbles, and three rats: Chives, Sushi, and Bonsai. In my final year of my Bachelor’s degree, I did my Honours Thesis project in a bumblebee lab and that was one of the funniest things I’ve ever done and now I’m not scared of bees anymore!

What are some of your favorite apps?

Discord is one of my all-time favourites. I also really like Flipp since it helps me organize my grocery list. MigraineBuddy has been a huge help for me to keep track of migraines, which is something I wouldn’t be doing without the app.

How would you convince a friend to join Testlio?

I would tell them that Testlio allows you to learn new skills and I think it’s really fun to see and be able to test out new apps. Working on a project for a while and seeing it progress gives me a sense of accomplishment. Plus everyone is very supportive and works together as a team.