This is The Faces of HackSoft - our blog series, where every month we introduce you to one of our team members. 💫
This month, in the spotlight is one of our experienced QA engineers - Dessy Ilieva. She has 7 years of experience in the field, loves reading and playing video games. 🙌
But what has she done before joining HackSoft and what made her change the corporate environment she was in? 👀 Let's find out!
Meet Dessy! 🤗
Can you tell us more about yourself?
Hi, I am Dessy and I work as a software quality assurance engineer. 👋
I consider curiosity and a passion for learning to be my two defining traits. And they did turn out to be a good fit for a QA. 🧐
Why did you decide to join HackSoft?
Coming from a more corporate environment, this time I wanted to work for a smaller company where things tend to be more dynamic.
Working as part of a small team gives more freedom, as well as more responsibility and I enjoy the variety of the work and the different roles you have to sometimes step into. 🦸♀️
What are you working on and for how long? What languages have you been using?
I've been a QA for about 7 years now. During that time, I've had the opportunity to learn from and work with quite a few different teams, on various projects. 🙌
As for languages, I currently use Python for automating tests. 🐍
What's your favorite tool that you use daily?
Trello, which is Jira's minimalist cousin. 😄
It gives me a visual way to keep track of tasks, and makes it much easier to prioritize them. I've grown so fond of it, I use it outside of work as well - for tracking personal goals.
How do you level up your software skills every day?
For technical skills, I usually find a good course on Udemy or YouTube.
However, I think that once you've got the basics, a lot of the learning comes from communicating with your team, and the client and overcoming challenges together. 💪
What do you like most about your daily tasks?
The variety.
Functional or exploratory testing and logging bugs are usually the activities associated with QAs. However, I enjoy being part of the entire process and doing things like gathering and writing requirements, or discussing alternative solutions with the team. ✍️
What are your hobbies/interests?
If I had to choose top 3, they would be:
- Reading - mostly fiction, although I've started to quite enjoy autobiographies lately 📖
- Video games - anything with a good story, which is mostly RPGs 🎮
- Travelling - whether visiting a new place, or just going for a hike, I enjoy the change in perspective that often comes with it 🚶♀️🚞
Tell us 3 fun facts about you.
Before becoming a QA, I worked as an English Teacher, a Graphic Designer and Video Editor. 💫
I used to ride motorcycles in my early twenties. Maybe I will again in my 50s. 🏍️😄
To this day, I can still recite the first 10 minutes of the first Lord of the Rings movie. 🧙
