Let's meet Maria!
After 7 years working in banking, Maria – Valeria Vlad realized she had a career she no longer connected with and decided to move toward IT. She spent no less than 16 weeks learning software testing at Informal School of IT. She wanted a change, she proved she had the motivation, and today she's professionally fulfilled. She hasn't stopped learning, though! She says that in a field that's constantly evolving, standards only move in one direction: up!
I took my courage in both hands, stepped out of my comfort zone and… got down to learning!
1. Why Informal School of IT?
I already had 7 years in banking when I reached the point where I simply told myself that I didn't want to retire doing this. And since at 30 a career change involves risks and a lot of work, I took my courage in both hands, stepped out of my comfort zone and… got down to learning!
I started with an SQL course that I absolutely loved, then I spread the word that I wanted to learn and was open to ideas. One day, I called a friend who works at a well-known IT company in Bucharest and told her about my bold decision to change my field of work. I asked her to advise me: which direction should I head in? A few days later, she told me about Informal School of IT and about the software testing program. I applied on the website at the very last moment!
2. What made you choose the IT field?
I moved toward IT because I was always drawn to the technical side, more than the financial one. Even at the bank, I always sought out the more technical tasks. I liked poking around in databases, finding out something wasn't working and, above all, why.
The mentors combined theory with practice, good humor with rigor.
3. What was the experience like over the 16 weeks of training?
The experience at Informal School of IT was amazing. It was a mix of challenges that pushed me past my own limits. I quickly understood that the one who had set up those “barriers” before was me.
I liked the mentors' style. What do they do every day? Testing! Different people, with different experiences, simply passed on their knowledge and experience in the best way possible, combining theory with practice, good humor with rigor. What I appreciated about them was that they kept the bar high. They set standards from the start and never lowered them. Maybe sometimes we, the students, wished they would. But now I realize that in this field, standards only move in one direction: UP!
4. What was the biggest challenge for you?
They took into account that we had jobs, but without cutting any slack on rigor!
5. Are there differences between the expectations you had before enrolling at Informal School of IT and what you discovered along the way?
I think I expected it to be easier. It wasn't, and now I'm glad that expectation was proven wrong! I liked that they took into account that we had jobs, but without cutting any slack on rigor!
I got hired in functional testing.
6. What was the interview like?
At the interview, after about two and a half months of courses, I had a solid grasp of functional testing concepts. I knew what it was, why it mattered, what the main steps in testing an application were… I got hired in functional testing at a financial software company while I was still taking the courses!
7. How has your career evolved since then? What are your plans going forward?
I'm still there. I like what I do, I like my life. Next: Automation!
