Life at Kainos: Sylwia's Q&A

We spoke to Sylwia about her journey into the world of Software Testing, coming from a Chemistry (or Cheminformatics, to be more specific) background, and her experience joining Kainos in our Gdansk office.

My career before joining the Kainos family perhaps not the most conventional.

I studied Chemistry, but I specialized in Cheminformatics - a branch of chemistry where you work on a computer and not in the lab. In college, I had looked at databases, programming, and numerical methods, but that was 14 years ago. After graduation, I started to work at a school as a teacher.

After 13 years of work in teaching, I decided that I needed to change something in my life, and my husband pointed out that my well honed "checking" skills could be perfect for a job as a Software Tester. I started reading about the profession, watching YouTube videos, and attending webinars, and became super interested in the area of testing. I was most interested in automated testing and decided to take course to learn it. I spent almost a year learning testing theory, Java programming, HTML, CSS, Selenium, etc.

However, by the time I completed the course, the COVID pandemic struck. I didn't get my hopes up for a quick career change. A friend showed me a Kainos job ad, and I wrote up a CV and sent it, but I didn't expect a response, especially since I didn't have a degree in an IT discipline and no working experience beyond the course. Fortunately, Kainos looks at people, not papers, and they gave me an interview. Receiving the phone call that I had been accepted, filling out the documents, and preparing for the Academy was probably one of the happiest and fulfilling periods of time in my life! 

I heard about this particular role from my friend, however I knew of the company as well, with it being one of the largest IT companies in Gdańsk. The Kainos headquarters are located very close to my previous workplace and I often saw the Kainos banner on the building and thought it would be great to work there and have such an amazing view of the ECS and the Gdańsk Shipyard. 

So when I decided to apply, I was quietly hoping to realize my dream of working in IT- and it felt like I could realise that dream at a company like Kainos. 

When I think about it now, the first thing I remember is enormous stress. It was my first job interview in 13 years, my first one in English, and of course my first for a tester position. But Kainos communicated everything to us clearly, and were very well organised. During the group exercise I met fantastic people, and two of them are also currently working in Kainos, so when I started the job I already had some familiar colleagues (hello Anna and Paweł, if you're reading this). The one-to-one interview itself was also a nice experience and calmed my initial stress and nerves, and after the stress came off me I felt like I was just chatting in a group of good friends. 

Before starting my role, I was given my company computer with detailed instructions on what I should do and how to do it. It was my first time using macOS, and fortunately with the help of Uncle Google I managed to prepare everything, and the only thing left was waiting for the first day. Even before I officially started, I could already count on the Kainos team for help via email and phone with any queries- which was very assuring. 

When the first day of the Academy came, there was an introduction with the aim of getting us acquainted with the company, as well as a presentation of the Academy plan and an introduction to both our mentors and our fellow Academy attendees. Despite it being held over Teams, seeing everyone was really great.

Following our introductions, the "hard" work began. The program of the Academy was very extensive, and we had the opportunity to gain a lot of knowledge around databases, SQL, programming, creating websites etc. but also how to prepare a presentation, how to communicate in business, and perhaps most importantly of all how to work as a team. Each week we were combined into groups and performed a task, with teams changing every week so we could get to meet all of the cohort. The last 3 weeks of the Academy were a big group project that ended with a presentation for all the academy students, mentors and invited guests. There was a lot of stress, but also a lot of fun, playing together, talking about everything and nothing- the mentors made sure that we had a chance to properly integrate through Teams.  

My regular day starts around 8am. The earlier the better, because I know that my productivity is highest in the morning!

I quickly check email, Teams, and in the meantime run all the programs that are necessary for my project. I'm in the Evolve project- testing an application that is used by hospitals in the UK, which I find especially interesting given my background in Chemistry, but also I because I feel like I'm helping people save lives! Just after 9am, we have a QA team meeting where we quickly discuss what we did the day before and what we will be doing that day. This is followed by a smaller team meeting where everyone talks about their tasks- this meeting is called a daily or a stand-up. I have found myself in a super team with helpful colleagues, and everyone meshes very well. I have the most contact with my "buddy" Iwo, who is a tester just like me, and Siobhan, my project manager. They both help me a lot, explain a lot and always have time to answer my questions.

I spend most of the day testing, reading, or creating test cases and reporting bugs if I come across any- a typical day of a tester!

Above all, smile- Kainos are a fantastic company!

Secondly, ask questions. There are no stupid questions, and nobody expects you to know everything straight out of the gate, learning from your peers is encouraged.

And thirdly, work is work, but make sure you have good relationships with your colleagues! Kainos has a super work culture, and there's always scope to hang out with your team either virtually or in person where possible. The Academies are international, but there are always a few people from your area you can meet. Welcome to Kainos!