In the world of technological progress there is always a demand for people who help specialists to turn their plans into reality.

Learnix is a educational center that provides Software Testing / QA training: Learnix Center
The nearest Open House http://www.russiandc.com/events.php?id=4246 – November 7, 2013.

Today we a have Lisa U. as a guest. She's a Learnix Center graduate.

- Please, tell us, why did you decide to become a tester?

- Well, it came to the point when I've been staying at home and bringing up my kids for a very long time and there grew a big gap in my work. There was no workplace to return on one hand and no new opportunities on another. It's a typical and widespread situation. I thought that knowledge I possessed will be highly demanded by employers and also will be challenging for me and have a great potential for the future.

So my choice was to become a tester, because it fits my character, it's interesting for me to go deep into the details, to find the causes of the problem. Also, with my fondness for order and good organization, it's no problem for me to make a test-plan and follow it. It's a good consilience between personal traits, previous work experience and demand of the job market.

How deep your IT-knowledge should be to become a tester? If you have a good common sense, ability to think out, make conclusion based on what you see, if you have a college degree - come on! This kind of work fits most people.
By the way, I used to work in a large call-center, where my key role was the distribution of work-time, vacations, breaks, shifts, etc. between 350 employees. No technical background at all.

- How much are you interested in this kind of work?

- I'm learning with a great pleasure, willingly moving on.

- How did you discover Learnix Center?

- I discovered it in the newsfeed of RussianDC.com and it hooked me instantly. A year ago I thought about something like that. Becoming a programmer is too difficult, and tester training is just what I need.

- What was the most difficult in the education process?

- The most difficult was to make a decision. To throw away all doubts and move on to what you want, paying no attention to other's words. It was hard to overcome the fact that I became a tester, despite my previous experience and expectations. Everything else was not hard at all. Also I decided at the start to get the maximum from this opportunity - so I asked questions, watched and learned, doing my best.

Now I can pleasantly admit that I am a Software Tester - it's good to pronounce, and easy to say.

- So, what do you do now?

I must admit, I panicked at first, when we started job searching. It seemed to me that I know much less that I need to. I looked up offered position and became very upset when I lacked one skill out of five, for example.

On the last class an IT-company employee came and offered an intern position. That evening I wrote an email and the next day I was invited to the interview. I thought I would get a thorough skills assessment. But we talked about my future project instead after a brief conversation about me. I instantly stepped in and set to work. And it became clear that I know much and I can apply my skills that are highly valued. I finished 1 month of internship and the project was extended for another month. Probably they would get a permanent position soon and they would call me. By the way internship was paid.

- What are your future plans?

- I will start looking for a job this fall if I do not get a permanent position there. I feel more confident, and would "spread my wings" by this fall. Also I would get a real hands-on experience, even small one. I did very well and everything worked out. Also I understand well that I need to be a team-player and possess good communication skills for the successful employment. I have these skills too.

- How did your family react to your training, internship, occupation shifting?

- Everyone is satisfied. Even kids understand me: mommy works, no one should disturb her.

- What can you advice those who have doubts, concerns about their future place in this occupation?

- You should try by all means or at least try to look into that, gather some more info about that. Testers are highly demanded, new positions shows up constantly.