Meet a Tester: Tomasz

, Managing Editor, Testlio

In Meet a Tester, we feature QA experts from our community who share their love for quality and Testlio. With a background in Mechanical Engineering and Machine Design, Tomasz decided to make a major career shift and, luckily for us, found his way into software testing.

Tomasz

Where are you from?

I’m from Poland. Several years ago, I moved from the Southern part of the country to the Northern part, and now I live in a small city called Wieleń, situated on the river Noteć. It’s basically all woods and lakes, so I need to make trips If I want to reach any kind of entertainment. 

What’s your educational background?

I studied Mechanical Engineering and Machine Design which led me to start my first job as a Mechanical Designer. I went through various roles in manufacturing companies, like Production Manager, Project Manager, Process Manager, Technology Dept. Manager. And then, I decided to turn my career upside down. Here’s where my story as a Software Tester begins.

How did you end up testing?

You could say that after many years of doing similar things, and albeit they were still to a certain extent interesting, I grew increasingly ‘bored’ with my career and was ready to try something new.

After leaving my job, I was looking for new work opportunities on various sites  – at that point, I had no clue that a Software Tester position even existed, but while searching for Project Manager offers, I kept seeing listings for Software Testers as well. Initially, I skipped them but then checked out one out of pure curiosity. It seemed quite interesting and so I started to search for more information about it.

Things progressed very quickly after that. I signed up on the first testing platform I found, passed the onboarding test… and failed miserably at submitting tickets as the majority could hardly be labeled as bugs, and on top of that, they were out of scope. 

Okay, I thought, this is something new for me. I have to work this out.

I started to educate myself more and more through various books and resources. I also signed up on another testing platform and attended dozens of unpaid test cycles to just learn and practice. 

After boosting my tester’s ratings and statistics, I came to the realization that software testing is something I really like doing. 

And even though there’s a long way to get back to the income level I used to have, I don’t regret trying this new career path. I have a lot of fun doing what I do.

Why did you choose Testlio?

I found Testlio by searching the internet for other testing platforms to sign up to. What caught my attention was the fact that the company offered hourly rates instead of payments per approved bug.

Testlio, unlike other testing platforms I tried, feels like a real team unit, which I value very much. If there’s one thing I learned during my professional career, it is that a great team is one of the main ingredients to success. And Testlio has it. The attitude of the team makes me (and I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking this) able to work comfortably in an open and friendly environment.

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

I think Testlio’s pay rates are very attractive, especially when I compare it to the pay per bug model that I found particularly unsatisfactory since I wasn’t able to get monthly payouts on par with what I have gotten at Testlio.

What motivates you professionally?

I’m motivated by opportunities to explore new things, learn something interesting and take on new challenges. All this stimulates my curiosity and encourages me to move forward.

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

Being an ex project manager, I think I’m quite good at time management and haven’t had any issue balancing testing and my personal life.

What’s an interesting fact about yourself?

Once I started freelancing as a Software Tester, I found that this way of working suits me very well. Being more flexible with my time, I used the opportunity to turn one of my hobbies – 3D modeling – into a lucrative activity.

So currently, in parallel with software testing, I deliver 3D models for architectural visualizations and virtual reality applications.