Testing Tiers™ Profile

Testing Tiers™ Profile: Splitting Time Between the U.S. and Denmark

ASTQB was fortunate to learn the story of Jeanette Volquardsen, a tester who splits her time between the U.S. and Denmark. She is a great example of a tester who took the initiative and made good things happen in her career. See Jeanette's Testing Tiers™ Profile on the Official U.S. List of Certified Software Testers™.

Below are excerpts from the full interview with Jeanette.

You are currently a QA Lead. Can you tell us a little about your job?
I have been in Quality Assurance since 1994 and am currently a hands-on QA Technical Lead freelancer in a large medical company in Denmark.

There seem to be many, varied paths that lead to a career in software testing. How did you enter the field?
As many others do, I began in testing quite by coincidence. The IT consulting company that hired me right after college noticed my structural flair for breaking software along with knowing how to keep doing it. It was fun. I liked the methodical ways of Quality Assurance and knew I liked breaking software.

You currently split time between the United States and Denmark. How did that come to be?
I was an expat in Chicago, U.S. for 26 years and decided to go back to Denmark. The company I worked for in the U.S. went bankrupt during the pandemic and I wanted to see if I could work from home/remote in Denmark, but for a U.S. company.

You have an impressive set of ISTQB certifications through ASTQB. Can you tell us how these will help your career?
When I applied for QA positions in Denmark, I noticed that ISTQB Foundation Level certification was a must-have in Europe in order to be considered for the positions.

In looking into taking the ISTQB certification exams, I noticed that ASTQB & AT*SQA were the only organizations that made them count on both continents. I was very impressed with that as well as the ability to take them online. It was a win-win. I hastily read the syllabi and sat for the certifications through AT*SQA. It was fast, efficient and well organized. I can completely recommend them. As soon as I completed the certifications, I was hired on. It was a no-brainer to acquire them and it was what got me hired.

See the full interview, including her advice to those just getting started in software testing.

Read Jeanette's Full Interview

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