A Journey of One Year at TestVagrant

June 2021 — that was the time I stepped into professional life after graduation. It’s 2022 now and I am already celebrating my first ever work anniversary; how time flies! As I dive into a journey down memory lane, I’d like all of you to walk alongside me. Here we go!

In March 2021, TestVagrant Technologies came for campus recruitment in our college. I have heard of their stringent interview process and was not quite sure if I would be able to crack it. Nevertheless, I attended their pre-placement talk. Here, I noted a difference. Usually, during the pre-placement talk, I have heard company executives talking about the company values and the employee benefits they provide. TestVagrant, along with explaining the same, elaborated on how they focus on providing opportunities for the overall development of the individuals. As they’d put it “while some of our benefits are tangible, some are priceless!”

All of these encouraged me to put my heart and soul into cracking their interview and join the team. Thankfully, I cleared all the rounds! In June 2021 I joined TestVagrant as an Intern Software Developer in Test (SDET).

After a smooth onboarding process, I received an awesome welcome kit. (Till now, I have received so many goodies that one of my friends said, in another few years we might create a separate closet for TestVagrant. :P )

Jokes apart, let me quickly get into the learning and development part. We were provided with a perfectly planned training to ensure increased efficiency. I have divided my experience into 3 sections:

• Technical Skills
• Exposure to the Work Culture
• Office Experience

The training started with Object-oriented programming. The training team divided us into multiple groups and shared problem statements. Every day, all the teams had to present the code and explain it. Based on the feedback we should refactor the same. This cycle continued until all the teams delivered their best object-oriented solutions.

My key takeaways from this exercise:

• Teamwork
• Thinking in an object-oriented manner

The subsequent sessions focused on the following:

• Build Tool
• Source Control
• Design Patterns
• Agile
• Selenium
• Test Framework
• BDD
• Performance Testing

Based on our performance, the final assessment was done. After this thorough learning exercise, I started working on our in-house automation testing tool Ekam. Later on, different client projects were assigned to me; increasing my knowledge in testing.

Now, let me quickly highlight some of the work cultures I liked in TestVagrant. Here, a flat hierarchy is maintained. Therefore, the interns can easily reach out to the Lead SDETs, Test Architects, and the co-founders of the company. All of them are highly supportive and help to solve our queries. Every month, a Townhall is conducted where we get insights into business updates, and existing requirements, and also participate in various fun activities.

Weekly brown bag sessions are conducted where employees explain how they solved different clients’ problems and elaborate on the new tools they have used.

The organization greatly supports learning and development. Some time back they arranged for a Corporate Bootcamp to prepare the freshers for a smooth transition into corporate life. From understanding the virtual environment to focusing on effective communication, client handling etiquette team working, and time management — we got a comprehensive overview of how to meet the corporate life expectations. I am certain that this training will help me throughout my career journey.

Last but not the least, I want to share my office experience. During the pandemic, we used to work remotely from our homes. Quite recently, I have started going to the office. It helped me to connect with other team members. From brainstorming to playing indoor games — I enjoy every bit of the office experience. If I have to express the office ambiance in one word, I would say that it is “excellent”!

First job is always special! It’s the one thing we all wait for during our college time. We have lots of expectations and enthusiasm to learn, grow, and build a professional network. TestVagrant made it all possible for me. It has been a wonderful year with ‘lots of learning done’ and ‘lots of learning ahead’. Thanks to TestVagrant for providing me with this wonderful opportunity to learn and grow.