What do you do and what does a typical working day look like for you?

I'm a Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) and in my day to day I work on manual and automated testing of tickets, coming up with test plans and scenarios, carrying out those tests, and automating them to use for regression checking in releases and as new features are developed.

My favourite thing about it is that it's a good challenge, requires a lot of collaboration with developers on the team which I really enjoy.

What would 12 year old Natasha think about your career now? 

I think she would be a little shocked, although I have always been drawn to male dominated fields, tech was never in my mind.

Can you give us some insight into your career path? How did you get started?

Having always been interested in STEM subjects, I chose to study physics at university. As part of the course, I was given the opportunity to take on a beginner’s python coding module. I’d never done code before this point but jumped at the chance.   

To be honest after I did my second coding module at university, I hated it. I failed that second module twice over and despised it the whole time I did the re-sit course. I never dreamed I would eventually be in a job involving coding, but the different languages used and the different use cases of the code give it a whole different feel now.

When I graduated uni, I got a part-time retail job as a clothing companies sales assistant. After about a year of working there, I came across an opportunity at an AI firm in Birmingham that was offering free coding courses with full time job opportunities at the end.

I started the course with the intention of going into a software engineering role at graduation, but in the end I was offered a role as a QA tester.

What would be your advice to someone looking to start their tech career?

Initially, I worried that my coding experience wouldn’t be good enough to get straight into a full-time job coding. But that was the beauty of doing an entry level course; it didn’t matter what level I was starting from – what did matter was that I wanted to learn and improve every day.

So, my first piece of advice to someone else looking to start their tech career: banish that imposter syndrome early on and remember that everyone begins a beginner.  It’s very easy to procrastinate by spending years and loads of money building up a specific skillset, only to find out it’s not something you want to do anyway.

With that in mind, I’d also say that if you’re not sure what you want to do, apprenticeships or work experience opportunities are a great way of dipping your toe in to see if it’s the right career for you. You never know how you’ll truly feel about a position until you’re in it.

Getting the work experience and also taking on a beginner’s coding course was the best thing for me to get a sense of whether I’d enjoy a career path in tech before committing a lot of time, energy and even money on expensive courses to it.

Love it and totally agree! Looking ahead now, where would you like to be in five or ten years time with your career?

I'm currently on the graduate scheme at work, and will be finishing that in the next year to become a mid-level SDET.

In 5 years I would like to be very comfortably working in mid level, maybe even looking at a senior role.

I plan to get there by continuing to focus on building my skillsets. I actually recently completed my International Software Testing Qualifications Board exam which has been a fantastic boost to my skillsets and confidence. I’m also a member of the QA guild at work where we’re given opportunities to explore new technologies alongside more senior team members.

You mentioned imposter syndrome earlier…  as this is something many of our WITB members grapple with too, can you give your tips on how you handle it?

Oh absolutely – and firstly, who hasn’t experienced imposter syndrome at some point! The way I have dealt with it in the past is to push through as much as possible by saying yes to lots of different opportunities to build up experience. And learning not to be afraid to ask questions when you are uncertain of things, it’s the best way to learn from the people around you

Also I am very lucky to be surrounded by support network of incredible professionals and mentors which can be a fantastic confidence booster!

Great advice - thank you! And our final question, can you recommend any useful books or websites to other WITB members?

Specifically for anyone in a QA Tester role… Ministry of Testing is your best friend. Take full advantage of this site!