Walmyr Lima is software engineer who loves testing. He is also a clean coder, blogger, YouTuber,

online instructor, mentor, speaker, an active member of the testing automation and JavaScript communities, and a fan of good music, tattoos, vegan food, and skateboarding.

Be sure to follow Walmyr on LinkedIn.

TL;DR;

Walmyr Lima’s decision to immigrate to Spain was sparked by their ability to understand and read Spanish content. They found a job opportunity at Typeform in Barcelona and relocated with the company’s assistance. Cultural differences were noticed, with Spanish people being warmer and the language being a significant change. Adapting to QA practices in Spain was not challenging for Walmyr as they had previous experience in a similar role. The perception and importance of quality assurance varied between companies rather than being country-specific. Walmyr discovered new methodologies and tools in their role as a Quality Assistant. Professionalism was deemed valuable regardless of the country. Work-life balance was generally seen as better in Europe compared to Brazil.

What were your reasons for choosing to immigrate to Spain? How did you prepare for finding a job and planning your move?

It was almost accidentally. My wife and I were actually planning moving to London, when one day, while preparing for a Live Stream on YouTube, I read a content in Spanish, which was related to the content I was going to present. I was able to read and understand everything, which made me think we (my wife and I) could live in Spain.

Then I searched for the coolest startups to work in Barcelona, since we would like to live close to the sea, and then I found Typeform. I applied for the job, went through the whole interview process, and got an offer (with relocation help and everything else). The rest is history.

What are some of the cultural differences you’ve encountered in the new workplace ? 

As a person who had been living in Europe for 6 years before moving to Spain, the main difference was cultural, since before that, I had lived in Norway and The Netherlands 😯. The Spanish people are more similar to Brazilians. They’re “warmer” ❤️. The language was a big difference too, and one of the main reasons for the move. In terms of workplace, nothing changed much, since I came to work remotely, which is something I was already used to before the move.

Are there any specific challenges you faced when adapting to the QA practices and standards in Spain? How did you overcome them? 

No really. I was hired to work as a Software Engineer Quality Assistant, which is something I was already used to do, but never had the exact title.

Have you noticed any variations in the perception or importance placed on quality assurance compared to Brazil? If so, in what ways? 

I think every country has companies that practice software engineering with excellence while others don’t care about it. That said, I don’t think the differences are related to the country you are in, but the company you choose to work for.

Are there any new unique methodologies or tools that you’ve come across that have improved your QA processes? 

Well, maybe yes. I mean, it was the first time I was hired as Quality Assistant, but the company was still discovering what such a role really meant.

We (the Quality Assistance team) were there to help teams become autonomous in terms of everything quality-related. We were helping them with their quality bottlenecsk, but for a short periods of time. After that, they should be able to “walk with the own legs”. We were also helping them with tooling (testing frameworks, visual regression testing, testing management systems, etc). Finally, we were helping the company to reduce cost, replacing paid SaaS for open-source alternatives.

Are there any specific lessons or skills you learned in Brazil that you find particularly valuable in Spain?

Again, I don’t think it’s a country thing. In my opinion, it’s all about professionalism. If you are a professional, we’re it independent of where you live.

Have you noticed any differences in the work-life balance or professional expectations ?

Yes, not only in Spain, but in Europe in general. My impression is that europeans care more about a good work-life balance than Brazilians, but it’s probably because they had more time to develop, their currencies are (usually) more valued than Brazilian Reais, and their economies have (in general) less inflation.

Thanks Walmyr for sharing your adventures around Europe, great insights and experiences 🚀