Quality Assurance Engineer, Bend, Oregon
Describe your career. What do you do for a living?
I am a Quality Assurance Engineer for a company that creates HR and Financial software. When I was in college, I had no clue what that role even meant! To simplify it - I test the software before it goes out to customers to make sure it is good quality with no bugs/issue.
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
In my preschool scrapbook, my initial answer was ‘ballerina’ haha. Then in high school I thought I would be a nutritionist, but I later found out how much Chemistry was involved and decided it wasn’t for me.
What did you study? How much schooling do you think is required to get into your role? What could you have skipped?
Finance was what I ended up majoring in during college. I really enjoyed it as I loved math, and I also found it extremely practical for the real world! Even though I ended up going into the tech sector, with my role having no real relation to finance, I have no regrets of studying it as it has helped me immensely in my adult life!
I do admit that for the role I currently have, it wasn’t so much my major that helped me get the job, but more so my overall experiences at college like working well in a group, being able to present confidently, analyzing data and critical thinking, those kinds of things.
Was your path hard or smooth getting to where you are in your career? (Can you briefly describe what it was like on your journey so far?)
It all started the career fair at my school. I ended up talking to a recruiter for the company I currently work for, and landed an internship! The following summer, I was invited back, and that ended in a full time offer. So I do feel extremely lucky and do think that my path was pretty smooth all things considered.
Walk us through your typical work day—when do you start, end, and do all day? (Where do you work from?)
My work hours are pretty typical, around 8-5, and I work from my home! The day usually includes meetings with my teammates, writing test plans and other documentation, and testing new features I’m currently assigned.
Amelia working with her best buddy Mia
What are some questions someone should really ask themselves if they want to get into your industry / career path?
Are you detail oriented? Do you like thinking outside the box? Are you good at working in a team environment? Are you good at analyzing data?
What do you enjoy most about your career? (What do you enjoy least?)
What I test is different everyday so it is always stimulating and interesting! It also makes me happy knowing that what we are building and testing is meant to make our customers’ lives easier. I also really enjoy writing documentation and test strategies.
What is something you do when things get difficult? How do you handle stress/ challenges?
Sometimes if I’m getting overwhelmed with testing a complex issue, I step away from my computer and take my dog on a quick walk. Then when I get back to my computer, I have fresh eyes and am almost immediately able to figure out what I was doing wrong.
Amelia and her partner Ben on the day they got engaged!
What advice would you give to someone who is trying to figure out what they want to do (for work) in general?
Don’t be afraid to try something different. I’m in a career path that I never would have expected to be in, and it was all because I took a risk of trying something out of my comfort zone, and it ended up working out!
What excites you about the future OR what's up next for you in the near future? (Could be career-related, life-related, or even a future career pivot / path)
Being a Quality Assurance Engineer is something I see myself doing for a very long time. I truly enjoy what I do. My company and teammates are amazing, and I am constantly learning - both of those two things are extremely important to me and definitely attribute to my happiness in my job.
Where can we contact you if we have questions?