I started working at kloia about a year ago. You might remember my blog post about my first month. Many things have changed since then. First of all, I learned a new language. I don’t mean a programming language. No, I learned the language of a programmer. Now I know the difference between dockers and docker for instance! :D
I moved to Software Test Automation Engineering from Energy System Engineering. This move was full of mysteries for someone like me who does not have a programming background. All I saw was a wall of mist on my first days, and I was trying to find my way in it. My mentors were my beacons that shed light on my path. With their help, I filled the gaps between what I think I know and what I actually know. The knowledge that I obtained along helped me dissipate the fog.
But the more I learn, the more I realize my ignorance. And oh my, it never ceases to amaze me!
Now, let’s take a look at what I have been doing throughout the last year. But beware: When you gaze into the code, the code also gazes into you.
I am not kidding. I have been using computers for a long time, but I needed to learn the basics again. Why? Because I used macOS for the first time in my life! If you are 25 years old and you have been using Windows for 17 years, life is pretty hard.
Are you just like me? Here is a test of mine creatively called, “Are you a Windows user?”
If you said yes to at least two questions, or you don’t know what this is about, then we are probably the same.
Kloia is a consultancy company. My department, Quality Assurance, gives consultancy regarding application test procedures such as manual testing, API testing, performance testing, and integration of test automation infrastructure.
After the onboarding period, I was eager to be a part of a project. Until kloia placed me on a client project, I was working with my mentors one-on-one with small tasks, acting as tutorials and keeping me ready for the project to come.
Aaand I got assigned to a big test automation project along with five teammates! The Istegelsin project was my first project, and I was very eager to learn anything I can. That might be the reason that I got involved in 4 different sub-projects at once including Web, Mobile, API test automation and data management projects.
It was an intense project, but I got a chance to get hands-on experience on test creation, test automation, documentation, agile development, API testing and more.. Towards the end of my involvement in the project, I was able to onboard new team members and to contribute new ideas.
If you are working at kloia, you do not gain just knowledge or income, you gain weight as well.
Almost everyone loves eating at kloia and social meetings usually revolve around a meal or magically ends up with it.
We also have a Google sheet named “kiloia”, where the entire company logs in their weight every six months. I still do not know what the goal of this sheet is: gaining weight or losing it? :D One thing is certain though, everyone in kloia is worth their weight in gold. That’s how the company makes us feel.
Not everyone has a memory like an elephant. For someone like me who could only compete with a goldfish in terms of memory, it was difficult to memorize every work-related term that I don’t know. At some point, my brain got to the point that it would burst out with all the unknown words. That is when I realized that I needed a note-taking app to remember all these terms.
By using versatile note-taking apps such as Notion or Obsidian, I started creating files for every keyword related to programming, business or science that I have no idea about. In my spare time, I populated each file by searching through the Internet.
I did this usually after work and it is a tiresome business. Pushing myself to learn after work required all the glucose in my brain cells, and it is not sustainable doing this every day and night. Yet, I tried it. I exhausted my brain by trying to learn and do everything at once, and as you would guess, I burned out… It took four days of break to cool myself out.
Since then, I have developed a more sane personal development routine. Now I try to stay below my mental exhaustion limits. If you are coming from a different industry like me, to catch up with your peers, a higher pace is needed. But you shouldn’t rush things as I did, or you burn your circuits as well. :D Finding out your limits and proceeding with safe speeds below those limits is key to creating a fruitful and sustainable career.
Learning by yourself is also a crucial skill. But if figuring out something by yourself takes too much time, you should consider taking advice from others. There is a fine line between self-study and wasting time. Here is how I balance my inquisitive efforts: I do not hesitate asking any questions, but I don’t ask the same question twice.
Another thing kloia provides is a space for self-improvement. Many companies regard their employees as discardable or replaceable parts, and they do not want to allocate any self-development resources. But in kloia, I can assure you that if you need anything, they would do anything to satisfy your needs.
Kloia encourages its employees to get professional certificates. And these certificates do not need to be related to your field at all, so long as it is related to the software industry! I got my ISTQB CTFL certificate recently and everything was covered by the company - even tough I failed the first test. Now I am preparing for AWS Developer Associate certification, which is encouraged by the company as well. Any material you need to be prepared for certification is also provided, should it be online courses or written materials. I needed a book to prepare AWS-DA certificate, and it was delivered to me in three days!
If you need to improve your English, kloia offers support as well. The company guarantees to cover your expenses on English learning platforms such as Cambly after you advance to a certain level.
Having great mentors: I can ask anything, whether it is related to my department or not.
Utilizing my skills: I can utilize my diverse skills such as story writing, English, and translation to come up with creative marketing outputs and to contribute to kloia in different ways.
Ever-growing learning curve: To be able to learn new things in every working hour is just a paradise for me. This is amplified with internal informative sessions.
Internal Events: Especially food related ones. Period.
Feeling at home: Every kloian is someone that I can trust and someone who is ready to help. Literally working at home helps as well. ^^
With this, I conclude my first year at kloia. It was a great year with tons of information and important milestones for my career. See you next year… in a blog post or in our company! :)