Ana Paula Vale has been working with Technology for almost 9 years. Right now she is a Frontend Engineer and this became her career development goal after she shifted from QA Engineer.
Working with development has always been part of her life even as a person in the Software Testing area, as she was already applying test automation in every company she has been through, as she has always been passionate about it and saw the value in having automated applications.
Be sure to follow Ana on LinkedIn.
TL;DR;Ana Paula immigrated to Portugal for new personal and professional experiences. She researched companies, job requirements, and living costs in various countries. Language was a challenge in adapting to QA practices, but she improved communication by clarifying perspectives and proposing ideas. She introduced BDD and automation concepts to Portugal. Quality importance seems consistent between Brazil and Portugal. Ana learned about visual testing and brought an automation mindset from Brazil. Work-life balance improved in Portugal with flexible hours and better quality of life. She transitioned from QA to a Frontend Developer role and noticed better recognition for developers.
What were your reasons for choosing to immigrate to Portugal ? How did you
prepare for finding a job and planning your move?
I didn’t have a great reason. At first, I wanted to leave Brazil to have new personal and
professional experiences. I started by trying Australia, New Zealand, Canada. I also tried
the company you, Rafa, were working for, remember? Haha 😂
But it turned out that I had a friend living in Portugal who referred me to the company
where he was working for.
I researched which companies were in those countries, what they asked for vacancies,
the cost of living in the cities, and what the culture was like. I also improved my resume,
sent cover letters to the companies that required it, and made connections via Linkedin
to get more ideas and tips.
Are there any specific challenges you faced when adapting to the QA practices and standards in Portugal ? How did you overcome them?
Yes, first the language. Even though we speak Portuguese, it wasn’t easy for us to
communicate in meetings and several misunderstandings happened. In these moments,
I tried to clarify my perspective, listen more, and ask questions. Also, give quick
feedback.
I was used to working with BDD, with an agile testing mindset, and always participating
in the product solution process, for example. But when I arrived, I realized that most of
the tests were manual, and I needed to be patient to understand their side, involve
myself more in the processes, propose my ideas and show them that we could try to
start automating things and why it could be better for us. I really believed in the power of
working with Behavior Driven Development and also did some workshops for them, for
example.
Have you noticed any variations in the perception or importance placed on quality assurance compared to Brazil? If so, in what ways?
No, as far as I remember, the importance given to quality was the same.
Are there any new unique methodologies or tools that you’ve come across that have improved your QA processes?
Yes, I learned more about visual tests and how to automate them. In Brazil, I thought I
only needed a tool like Applitools to do this, for example. And then I learned that visual
testing was more about image comparison and that we could also introduce visual tests
into our pipeline in a cheaper way, I would say.
Are there any specific lessons or skills you learned in Brazil that you find particularly valuable in Portugal ?
Yes, I feel that in Brazil we focus a lot more on test automation and on the idea that
testing is not a phase, but an activity. I learned in Brazil that we are all responsible for
the quality of software and I brought that back here, when I started teaching the
developers from my team to automate, to think about test scenarios and how we could
start to avoid bugs, for example.
Have you noticed any differences in the work-life balance or professional
expectations ?
So, it depends. But I would say yes because I feel that I am very passionate about what I
do and that this can cause an increase in the load I give to work haha because I really
like to work. But now, after having migrated (yes, I now work as a Frontend Developer), I
feel my life is simpler. Unfortunately, I noticed that I’m more listened to now as a
developer than before as a QA. It was much harder to explain why testing is important,
for example.
Talking about work-life, I would say it’s better, of course. All the companies I worked for
offered flexible working hours, alternating vacation days, that is, you didn’t have to take a
whole month of vacation, for example. In addition, the cost of living is low and the quality
of life is better. So going out at night is safer and cheaper. 😂
Thanks for sharing your experience Aninha 🙏 😊 I know closely how you built your path to become what you wanted !
Rafaela Azevedo 