From left: Marko, Helbe, Kiryl, Kristel, and Duncan. In Meet a Tester, we feature QA experts from our community who share their love for quality and Testlio. Our first interview is with Helbe from Buckeye, Arizona, USA. 1. How did you end up working as a tester for Testlio? I first heard about Testlio in an article published in Estonian World News. I was very interested in becoming a tester for several reasons: 1) my parents were both Estonian, so I felt an instant connection to Testlio 2) as a retired IT professional (whose last role had a strong quality assurance component) I was intrigued by Testlio’s business model: in particular, the remote, worldwide testing community. I found contact information on their website and inquired about what it took to become a tester. The rest is history. 🙂 2. Why are you testing apps for Testlio instead of choosing another company to test apps for? I don’t know of any other companies that would offer the same kind of opportunity for me. 3. What motivates you professionally? That’s hard to answer except to say that it’s I’m a perfectionist by nature – particularly when it comes to working hard and doing the best I can at anything I undertake. I apply the old saying ‘if a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing well’ to pretty much everything I do. 4. What are the pros and cons of a distributed workplace? PROS: • Less money and time spent traveling • Flexible work hours. • Fewer distractions. CONS: • Communication can be a challenge; you have to work at it a bit more than you would if you spent time in the office. • Requires a bit more discipline. 5. How would you convince a friend to join Testlio? I would talk about the many communications channels available to the testers and staff, about the flexibility of working as many/few hours as you want, about how much you can learn from your peers – and then of course, there are the many interesting apps you get to work with in testing. No matter what your level of technical knowledge, I guarantee you will learn and grow through your experience with Testlio. To join our community sign up here.