Academy alumni story: From a wellness professional to a test automation expert

There is always something new to learn in test automation

"The meaningfulness of work is important to me. In my previous job in the health sector, I felt that the talk about the importance of work and the compensation received for it did not meet. At the same time, I felt like I was quite out of the loop regarding things that are truly essential today. I tried programming through university courses open to everyone and noticed I liked it," Anu says about her first contact with her current profession.

Anu applied for the test automation training because the idea that a computer does something so that people don't have to was fascinating in general.

"I consider testing important, and I felt my personality suited working with testing. Also, the promise that the test automation skills learned in the intensive training are in demand helped."

Anu has not regretted her choice, as test automation still fascinates her, and she says there is always something new to learn in it.

"New and old tools are constantly being developed, and I can participate in their development myself, which is especially exciting," says Anu.

Remote teaching in a close group spirit

Anu's study period occurred during the harshest time of the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in the teaching happening entirely remotely. As an important support for successful studying, Anu mentions the close group formed by the students, trainers, and the people at Academy.

"New things came at a fast pace during the studies. The atmosphere was always such that everyone wanted us to succeed and everyone supported it. The weeks were different: sometimes the whole day was mostly listening to the trainer with short exercises in between. At other times, the whole day was programming at your own pace. Things became clearest to me when I got to do them myself."

Anu says she always received help from fellow students and teachers when she needed it. She says she liked the programming exercises the most because they produced great emotional experiences and using time on them felt natural.

"I believe I can say on behalf of others as well that everyone felt they were receiving the most competent Robot Framework teaching possible when its developer, Pekka Klärck, taught us Python programming and Robot Framework," Anu says about one of the memorable highlights of the teaching.

Anu felt that there were also stressful moments in the studies due to the speed requirements of the training.

"There was a test every week that had to be passed. At least once I had to retake a test during the training period, and it was the teacher's feedback that helped pass the test on the retake."

“Solving brain teasers in good company”

With these words, Anu summarizes the best parts of her work. When talking about the meaningfulness of work, she mentions the possibility to influence all our lives through information technology as essential. She also finds it important to learn new things and utilize new skills in her work.

"It is important to me that working hours are flexible on both sides, and that I am treated as an equally valuable member of the work community as everyone else. A good team is important to me! It is especially important that the well-being of employees is taken care of. We are not human machines at work, but people who use machines in their work," Anu summarizes.

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