bloom: Anisya Weeteling
Anisya was born and raised in Indonesia. She studied Nursing, because girls simply did not become IT professionals back then. Today she lives in Ghent with her Dutch husband and works as a Quality Assurance (QA) Engineer at Refleqt. Anisya's story can be called remarkable, to say the least. Be inspired by her perseverance and endless drive for knowledge.🙌🏼
Vacation Love
Anisya earned a bachelor's degree in nursing in her native country and added another year of specialization in surgery. She then worked in the operating theater of the gynecology service, at a hospital in Bandung on the Indonesian island of Java. It all sounds thoughtful and forward-looking, but ... "I've always been very interested in computers and technology. That wasn't hype in Indonesia back then, especially for girls. My parents thought I would be better off, like my sister, going into nursing. A bottleneck profession with job security. I followed their advice, not entirely against my will, and my first job was quite interesting. And yet, after a year, I began to have doubts."
Long story short: Anisya did not stay a nurse, nor did she stay in Indonesia. "While traveling in Amsterdam, I met my husband. A vacation love," she beams. "He worked in Belgium and soon we both fell in love with this country. Not just with each other, that is." (Anisya is now smiling from ear to ear, nvdr.)
When did you decide to move?
"In 2017, we moved to Ghent together. It was quite a culture shock, but I'm still happy to be here. I think Belgians are very nice people. In order to communicate better with them and settle in faster, I started learning Dutch right away. I thought that was very important. Not speaking the local language is an obstacle when looking for work. And I absolutely wanted to work, so as not to be completely dependent on my husband. I then applied for an equivalency recognition for my Indonesian diploma. That way I could work in a hospital or residential care center here."
"Not speaking the local language is an obstacle when looking for work. And working I absolutely wanted to, so as not to be completely dependent on my husband."
Did you then start working as a nurse again?
"I had a recognized degree in Nursing so that seemed the most logical choice. Through the VDAB, I first started a VOSPA course (pre-training in social profit for non-native speakers, nvdr.). A very intensive course in Dutch, specifically for the social sector, with an emphasis on nursing. Eight months full-time, theory and internship, and in the evenings I took extra Dutch classes. Quite a lot at once, but I like studying, so it didn't bother me. What I did have doubts about was whether I wanted to make a living as a nurse ... I then decided not to."
Hack your future
It takes courage to follow your gut feeling against the odds. Anisya chose a job at Delhaize, where she stayed for three years. "My first goal had been achieved: I had learned Dutch and found work. Not a bad job, I thought to myself. But something kept itching. I missed a challenge and wanted to take myself to a higher level. One day, one of my Indonesian friends asked, "Why not IT?" She was right, of course. I had been interested in tech for so long! How about I just try that!"
"I thought of myself that I wasn't doing a bad job, but something kept itching. I was missing a challenge."
You didn't have any experience in IT?
"I could work well with Word and Excel and I liked gaming, especially The Sims. But suddenly I understood that an IT education would give me the chance to improve my life. IT offers many opportunities and challenges, and aligns with my core values of 'growth opportunities and eagerness to learn.' A job in IT became my commitment to a better future. Looking for a job became a search for my passion, which I was fortunate enough to have found in IT.
I registered for HackYourFuture Belgium. This is a kind of boot camp for immigrants who want to enter the IT sector. The training lasted nine months and I learned mostly basic web development: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Database MySQL, etc. At HackYourFuture I discovered that IT is much more than just coding, that there is also such a thing as testing, for example. That intrigued me and immediately I had found a new goal. I was going to become a tester, or more nicely, Quality Assurance Engineer."
After that, could you immediately start working in the IT sector?
"Shortly after I graduated, I was hired by Talent2Test, a subsidiary of Talent-IT. There I was allowed to further educate myself in testing, and obtain certificates. I also worked for them as a functional tester at a customer and attended a master class on test automation, organized by Refleqt, a partner of Talent2Test. Afterwards, I was accidentally put on a project at Refleqt for about a year. There I combined functional testing and test automation for the first time."
So that's how you got in touch with your current employer.
"I felt good at Refleqt and at the beginning of this year I officially joined them. For me, Refleqt is not just another company. It is a network of specialists, a close-knit group of senior QA Engineers and great coaches. I am very happy to have ended up here. I feel involved in something big, in a strong story that I love being a part of. My plan is to continue to learn and grow a lot within testing. They offer me that opportunity here. Refleqt attaches great importance to growth opportunities. As a result, I feel very supported and grateful."
Non-stop learning
Can you briefly explain exactly what you do as a QA Engineer?
"As a functional tester, you are going to test manually over and over again. As a Test Automation Engineer, you are responsible for the quality of a project and decide which test scenarios to automate and which ones just barely. I work with UI/UX designers and business analysts to establish the acceptance criteria for a project. Based on that, I write a test strategy, work out test scenarios and start writing code. Bug report management is also part of my role."
"I'd rather regret something I did than regret it because I didn't try."
Are you proud of what you have accomplished so far?
"Still, yes. I am also proud of the fact that my family is proud of me. Because of all the obstacles I overcame, the walls I broke down as a female immigrant and that I showed that I can stand on my own two feet. My father is also such a go-getter. He taught me that value. Despite the difficulties sometimes, I don't give up easily. Falling down and getting up is part of life, lol. Everything happens for a reason, even if things don't go quite the way we want them to. I'm not afraid to try new things. I'd rather regret something I did than regret because I didn't try it."
What do you still want to achieve in your life?
"I would like to give a workshop or seminar to IT professionals as a representative of Refleqt someday. And 'public speaking' is something I would also like to learn. But first I want to become a specialist in what I do, by deepening my knowledge. I learn every day. At work, of course, but also in night school. I have already passed the Python module and there are still many more modules on the program. When I have mastered all this knowledge, I want to help and train other newcomers. Preferably female IT professionals! IT is not just for men, after all. I like to advertise that. I think equality is hugely important."
