“You can do anything you set your mind to.” ~Benjamin Franklin
I have always been amazed by how I am able to finish a task I was too hesitant to start working on at first because I find it too difficult for me.
In my 11 years of working in the IT industry, I have been faced with challenges —as a developer in my first 5 years as a Software Engineer, and as a Software QA in the following years leading up to now. I am always scared of complex tasks. I always fear that I would not be able to deliver. I don’t consider myself as a strong developer or even a tester.
So, what made me survive all these years? I can’t just run away from every difficult task. I can’t tell or ask my team leads to only give me the easy ones.
What I have learned about myself at work is that, just like what Benjamin Franklin said, I can do anything I set my mind to.
I remember that one time when I was unit testing a new screen that I was assigned to develop for an application. Nobody in my team had an idea how to navigate to that screen. It took me two weeks playing around the application until I excitedly reported to my lead that I finally figured out how to get to that new screen that I helped develop. I know it made her happy because she mentioned it in her feedback assessment of me that year. I felt proud.
During the years that follow, whenever I am given a challenging task, I would always remember that moment.
My latest “winning moment” happened yesterday. After a month of endless back-and-forth email discussion about the functionality of a single check box which nobody had tested yet before, finally, I learned how it really should work. Thanks to our very patient, Functional Analyst (FA) who recently expressed how he loves his work and that he welcomes any questions. I thought he’d be frustrated with me but, no.
I now only have one thing to test on that check box as per his suggestion, then I can say it really is working correctly, passed testing and I’m done. 😉
As a tester, I can say that I am not one to easily give up and accept statements like “this is how it works” or “it is working as designed” without seeing it first for myself. I have always felt that I have to see for myself that it’s working even if it means setting up brand new data. I am very patient like that.
I may not be the best in what I do. But I really love my job as a QA that I don’t mind if it takes time to test just to ensure its quality. That, I believe is my strength.
*pats self on the back* 🤗
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