Tom, our Talent Partner for Technology, talks to Carolina, one of our QA Engineers. They chat about Carolina’s journey in engineering so far as well as some of the exciting projects she has worked on and what it's like to be a woman in the industry.
If you’d like some insight into what it’s like to be part of Capital on Tap as well as a QA Engineer, then read on to find out more!
What were you doing before you joined Capital on Tap and how did you come about joining us?
I moved to London a couple of months before joining Capital on Tap. I'm originally from Mexico and I used to work as a manual tester for an American company where I was doing a lot of testing around their web application, and started to do a little bit of automation before having to leave. What attracted me the most about the role in Capital on tap is that the QA team was new, so seeing things take shape was really exciting for me, coming from companies that had big QA teams with already established processes. Also the fact that I could start moving more on the automation side and upskill.
What exciting projects have you been a part of during your time here and how has the QA function changed since you joined?
I'm currently participating on a project to build a new repayments domain which has been challenging in terms of the testing needed as it's a big change that impacts a core area of the company, and it has been exciting to be part of it and learn more about processes that I was not really familiar with. My role has really evolved since I joined Capital on Tap. In the beginning sometimes I couldn't see the bigger picture of how some changes can impact other areas, I used to ask a lot of questions on how things work, so I think in that sense my QA function has evolved a lot.
How did you get into engineering?
In high school I realised I preferred problem solving subjects at school, but I didn't know much about engineering and what opportunities were out there. I remember I visited the engineering department at the university to get more information and I realised I preferred informatics. This is because you can do or build without anything physical, everything is behind a screen!
I enjoy the problem solving challenges, you need to think outside the box and try to find solutions to problems. This helps not only at work, but in daily life!
What challenges do women face in the engineering profession?
Engineering is a male-dominated industry, in all areas. But I think the biggest challenge we have is ourselves - we need to be more confident and believe in ourselves, we can do it!
In the future, I hope more girls are encouraged to pursue a career in engineering. I think the reason there are few women in this industry is not because they aren't good engineers, but because there isn't as many candidates.
What advice would you give to a female considering a career in engineering?
It's never too late to do it! Don't feel intimidated by the subjects at uni or by the industry.
What does a typical day look like for you at Capital on Tap?
In the mornings I attend the daily standups for the different teams I'm assigned to, to discuss what was done on the previous day. Depending on the day, there will be different tasks such as creating test scenarios for new features, testing new features and bug fixes, doing regression testing, catching up with developers to check what they worked on and what I'll need to test. Whenever is possible I work on automation for our internal system and managing the release.
What do you enjoy most about working at Capital on Tap?
The people and the challenges. We've faced some big challenging projects and it's so refreshing to know that there's amazing people ready to lend a hand whenever it is needed with a positive attitude. I really feel that I work with an amazing team. Also the opportunity to learn new things and try new things as well.
What's a 2022 achievement at Capital on Tap?
Our new repayments domain go live, the team worked really hard for the past year to get this done.
What have you found the most challenging?
How fast things move. Coming from a slower paced job it was quite a challenge for me, but it has been really exciting.
What else have you got involved with at Capital on Tap?
A couple of months after joining I participated on a Ted Talk where I talked about lucid dreaming. And I also participated in multiple music videos we did during lockdown to lift up the spirits. I also organise game nights from time to time with the QA team.
Tell us more about yourself - what do you like doing in your spare time?
I like to go for walks and cook with my husband. I have been doing yoga for 6 years now. I'm not a pro but I love it and I try to practice 3 times a week. During lockdown I started 2 hobbies which are crocheting, I like to do some small crochet projects to help me relax a bit, and genealogy, so I also spend time building my family tree and researching old documents. And lastly, being completely honest, I also spend more time than I would like jumping between all social media platforms.
