In this edition of our “Getting to know us” series, we are talking with Sophie. She’s part of our colleagues who work remotely full-time. In Sophie’s case, it’s from Mexico. Find out more about her remote work life below.
Hi Sophie, thanks for havings a chat with us. Can you please introduce yourself?
I’m Sophie, 31 years old. I’m Dutch but at the moment I live in Mexico City with my boyfriend and my dog Tony. Before I lived in Amsterdam for 6 years, it’s one of my favourite cities in the world! I miss biking so much that I got my own bike here as well. Next to that, I like to explore the city by strolling around with the dog, trying different bars and restaurants and going to various sports classes. I love to travel, to go to music festivals or just to spend time with my boyfriend, family and friends.
We want to know more about your background. What was the path you took to get to where you are today? How did you get into test automation?
In 2012, I graduated from my Marketing bachelor. Since the Netherlands was in an economic crisis back then, it was hard to find a full-time job – especially in my field of study. After some part-time jobs and a bit of travelling, I started at a Dutch bank. There, I learned to work in a team, focus on detail and think critically.
After 3 years, I got the opportunity to start working in IT. I started as a trainee in an online development team. I learned the ins and outs of website testing and worked for three years as a test engineer with an international team for different websites. In my free time, I followed various coding courses. I wanted to combine my testing experience with my interest in coding, so when I got the opportunity to start as a junior test automation engineer for SpriteCloud, I grabbed it with both hands. And here I am today!
Is there a project that you enjoyed in particular? Can you tell us why?
Yes, it is for a Veterinary group, introducing a new HRM system. It’s a big project but I do this together with a small team from SpriteCloud. We support the local teams in testing the system for different countries. It is cool to work with people from different locations in the world. The project is also a challenge because different countries work with different processes, but that’s also what makes it interesting.
I started as a trainee in an online development team. [...] In my free time, I followed various coding courses. I wanted to combine my testing experience with my interest in coding, so when I got the opportunity to start as a junior test automation engineer for SpriteCloud, I grabbed it with both hands. And here I am today!
You’re part of our colleagues who work remotely from abroad, in the warm climate of Mexico in your case. What are the advantages and disadvantages of working remotely full-time?
The advantage of working remotely full time is to be able to work from where I want (in my case that is living together with my partner, who lives in Mexico), but also to be able to work on my career. I’m happy that I didn’t have to give up working as a test engineer. I’m a social person, so I like to have colleagues around me. That could be the disadvantage of working remotely. Although I have already made some good friendships with colleagues, who I haven’t even met in real life yet.
Do you think that’s a way of working that you’ll adopt for the long term?
Yes, I think so. Because of the pandemic we were forced to work from home for 2 years already. So at this moment I barely remember how it was to work at an office haha.
Staying focussed on the future, what plans do you have for your future career? Are there any particular skills you’d like to develop?
I started as a junior test engineer, so my plan for the future is to develop myself to become a senior test engineer in a few years. This means that I need to develop my technical skills and spriteCloud is the perfect employer to help me with that!
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I’m definitely a series junkie. But I also love reading a good book with a nice cup of coffee or going to yoga class.
My favourite series at the moment is definitely ‘Better Call Saul’ (prequel of ‘Breaking Bad’). It has great character development, strong storylines and builds up very well. It can feel a bit slow in the beginning, but it is totally worth it!
I mostly read non-fiction books nowadays. I have this habit of starting a new book when I haven’t even finished another one. At the moment I can name 5 books that I’m still reading. So I guess I’m not the right person to recommend any book haha.
If you are curious to learn more about what working at spriteCloud is like, follow our #lifeatspritecloud tag on LinkedIn. We are hiring regularly so if you think this is a place that you would feel at home in, head over to our jobs page and apply to one of our open positions.
