Our QA Internship Story

Quality Assurance is one of the most important and sought-after jobs in today’s market, and with informal education being stronger than ever, there are so many different ways of entering the IT industry.

One such way is through internships. Internships offer a combination of real-life experience of working on projects and teams. At the same time, the learning curve is quite steep, since you have experienced mentors tutoring and guiding you through every problem.

Recently, two interns have been working hard on developing their QA skills at Walter Code, and we would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to them and give you an insight into how their internship has been going so far.

So, meet Gorana and Emir!

Gorana Tešić — an aspiring QA Engineer

Tell us more about yourself.

My name is Gorana and I have already been an Intern for one month at Walter. I finished the Faculty of Philosophy and got my Bachelor’s degree in Librarianship and History of Art.
Maybe because of my prior experiences I think that “the devil is in the details”, I feel like the small things matter the most, as they make up the bigger picture.
My friends would describe me as a good listener, and a reliable and responsible person among other things.

What made you decide to start learning about Quality Assurance?

Actually, it was two friends of mine. One started working as a QA tester and the other is a Senior Developer. Back then, I was also thinking of a career I could pivot to and pursue, especially considering the situation in our country.
So as I got suggestions from them about QA being an “easy way” of entering IT, I started to Google and learn more about it. It was quite eye-opening when I found out that I don’t actually have to know how to code, but rather use an app as an end user and follow that end-user logic, which made me want to learn more about it.
And that was how my QA journey started — with a goodwill intention by a friend.

Ah yes, friendships that inspire you, we love those!

What do you enjoy the most about Quality Assurance?

I don’t have enough experience to answer this question fully. But, I like the learning part, writing the test cases, and working in a team. You have to be up for new things to learn… I am detail-oriented and I do not run from responsibility, so I find it quite comforting to explore the world of QA!
So far, there is nothing that I don’t like. So maybe that answers the question fully?😊

Quality Assurance entails a lot of logical thinking and problem-solving. It is something that you will constantly be working on and learning about, just like most fields in IT. However, your will to learn is something that can make or break a career, so kudos to Gorana for her enthusiasm!

When it comes to learning resources, what are yours?

Well, one of the biggest perks of the IT industry right now is the fact that formal education is overrated. Online resources, courses, YouTube tutorials — there are so many ways of finding the answers!
For me, the Pluralsight courses that I got access to through the internship at Walter Code have been quite helpful. But, the most valuable learning resource would be colleagues that have a passion for knowledge-sharing!

How are you enjoying your Walter Code internship?

Parapapapa I’m lovin’ it.😊

I like the Mentorship program. It is a privilege to have someone explain everything to you in detail, “one-on-one”. I feel like I’m making fast progress and I haven’t lost any interest, which is quite important.

So, thumbs up to my mentor. I also had the chance to meet my other coworkers and to see what the office looks like… I did like the atmosphere — cozy and relaxed.

We don’t organize internships that often at Walter Code. The main reason is the fact that we like to have our mentors fully available to our interns, and we try to set up a highly involved internship, aiming for quality over quantity. That is why our interns feel like a part of the team, from day one!

What would you like to share with others about changing careers and entering the IT industry?

I would say that QA is probably the easiest way to enter the IT industry. You don’t have to know how to code. I would encourage everyone with a slice of interest, especially women, who find it provenly harder than men, to change careers.

Nowadays, it has become a usual thing to change jobs, even careers, in our working life. It is not like in the past when our parents had one job until they got their pension.

Hopefully, we will become the “new” Ireland when it comes to IT. So, why not give it a try?😊

We believe that Gorana summed up her experience so far quite nicely, and we just loved some of her responses! With a great attitude, and a strong desire to learn, we see no barriers to hold you from progress. Keep it up!

Next up, we have our second intern, Emir, answering for himself!

Emir Selimović — A QA enthusiast

Tell us more about yourself.

I am a huge lover of sports. I have the luck to be working as a trainer of sports that I love — tennis and skiing. Through these activities, I have learned responsibility, flexibility, patience, and understanding. The fact that some people have fallen in love with these sports through work and collaboration with me fulfills me.

What made you decide to start learning about Quality Assurance?

While studying, I had the opportunity to meet programming which I was always interested in. Given how the IT industry is now more popular than ever, the desire to try something new in this field has proven strong. I have been interested in IT for quite some time, but the most difficult part was that first step, the start!

In communication with friends who have been in the industry for years, I have realized that becoming a QA might be the easiest way to enter the IT industry and after doing some research on it, I head down that alley!

What do you enjoy the most about Quality Assurance?

I haven’t been a QA for that long, so it’s quite difficult to say what I enjoy the most about it, but I am happy to finally be able to put all the theoretical knowledge, and detail-related thoughts, into practice, and use my programming skills when writing test cases.

I believe that I am yet to discover the enjoyable parts of being a QA, with my first successful bug, finds, and tests written!

When it comes to learning resources, what are yours?

The QA internship at Walter Code, in its three-month form, is probably the best thing that could have happened. Besides the practicing and learning that goes down, our mentors allowed us to see and feel what this job looks like in real life, given that they have created an internship in an Agile environment.

Our mentors have presented the material for learning and practicing through articles, online courses, and YouTube videos, which again proved how the necessary resources are very easily accessible. I would like to thank our mentors for the time they spared, and the effort that they put into making this internship an unforgettable experience!

We also had the opportunity to visit Walter Code’s office space a couple of times, where I saw for myself the comfy atmosphere they are known for. Within the first month of the internship, I was able to break many of my own barriers, as well.

What would you like to share with others about changing careers and entering the IT industry?

To people that are curious or thinking about trying Quality Assurance, I say “GO FOR IT”. The Internet is a huge database of information and knowledge, and with hard work and dedication, you can learn a lot even in a short period. Just focus on the quality of work, don’t think about whether or not the hard work will pay, since quality work always pays off.

There you have it, the answers to the interview questions and thoughts of these two up-and-coming QA’s! We are delighted to hear such praise from our interns and are more than eager to see them grow and develop further.

For us, these internships are very enjoyable: they go along with our knowledge-sharing culture, they help us meet some incredible people, and they always end up being incredibly valuable for all parties involved.
And as for you, we hope you enjoyed this breakdown of a QA internship through the eyes of Gorana and Emir.

We will continue sharing similar stories as we believe that positive examples such as this one can help motivate others, as well!

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