From Sri Lanka to Sweden: Sandra Perea Continues Pursuing her Tech Career
For this month’s Women of Color Talk Teck we had the opportunity to interview Sandra Perera, former senior QA engineer, and now Master’s student at Stockholm University.
1. Sandra, could you please tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Sandra and I come from a small city called Kalutara in Sri Lanka. I studied Biological Science in the last 2 years of School. I was into IT since I was a kid, but I never thought of pursuing my career in the IT field.
One day (10 years ago) my Physics teacher mentioned about a Bachelor’s program in Information Systems which is offered by one of the most prestigious universities in Sri Lanka, the University of Colombo. He talked about various opportunities in the IT field which led me to enroll in the aforementioned Bachelor’s program and complete it with a first class (also met my Husband there). After that, I started working as a Software Quality Assurance Engineer at CodeGen International where I learned so many new things.
Apart from following the testing cycle, I had the opportunity to work in many teams, take part in managing different tasks, participate in client calls to discuss issues, and also groom newcomers. Throughout those 4+ years, I never missed to have fun with my colleagues whenever we got a chance.
Recently I moved to Stockholm and started pursuing my Master’s. My hobbies include watching movies and TV series, exploring new places, and trying different cuisines of the world.
2. Please describe to us one of your typical days ⛅
My typical day includes preparing food, going through lectures and university work, and watching a movie at night. On weekends, I visit different places with my husband that we have never been to before. I never miss taking a long call with my family in Sri Lanka which is my daily dose of meditation.
3. So you’re a QA engineer! How did you decide to follow this career path? At that time, what were your expectations?👩🏾🎓
The main careers my Bachelor’s program focused on were QA Engineer, Business Analyst and ERP Consultant. I was interested in QA engineering field since the third year of my Bachelor’s. My expectations were to learn new testing techniques and gain experience in automation testing.
4. What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced in this working field? 🦸🏾♀️
Learning new technologies in automation testing and incorporating a suitable testing framework for a project is the biggest challenge. I tried to learn different tools and techniques and it is necessary to have hands-on experience to face these challenges.
5. In your opinion, what are the three top skills a person needs to be able to work in your field?
Ability to identify scope in business scenarios
Ability to minimize repetitive tasks using tools and techniques
Ability to learn new things faster
6. You’re now studying a master’s program in Strategic Information Systems Management at Stockholm University. Could you please tell us a bit about how it has been so far? 💻
Getting enrolled in Stockholm University was like a dream come true. Studies are going well up to now and the lectures and assignments are more focused on industry-related practical cases rather than only theory, which should be appreciated.
The classes, assignments, and examinations are all systematically done and it helps organize my schedule also. Moving to another country with a completely different culture and language was a huge change for me with a mix of happy and sad emotions.
I’m loving my time here and hope to enjoy the things around me while continuing my studies. Student life is much more flexible which helps me adjust to a different country.
7. What will be your next step?
Still not decided. But would definitely pursue something that would make me happy.
+Advice: What advice would you give to women planning to start a career as QA analyst?🌟
Automation testing is the way to go. Keep learning and using new technologies. And last but not least do what makes you feel excited and happy!
