Sr. QA Engineer at Coditas
A dog lover and a wishful vet, Sampada took up commerce. But how did she end up with a career in IT? Let’s figure out...
Who is Sampada?
“I am a Mumbaikar turned Punekar. I develop and test applications to win my bread. My liking towards dogs is crazy. You can find me coming home with any animal if I find it injured on the road. I also love gardening; plants are my happy place. I am a music lover too, and I take my music classes on weekends.”
On asking how does she find time for so many things, she smiles and replies:
“You need to take time out for the things you love.”
First Encounter with Coding
“I did my graduation in commerce wherein I took accounts as my specialization. Along with this, I chose IT as an elective subject. IT being a scoring subject was the sole reason for opting it. I am not a very maths person. I am bad with numbers. So accounting was never an option. In IT numbers are important, but what is more important is logic. That is how I got introduced to the basics of coding.”
From Accounts to Applications
“It is rare. None of my batch-mates are into IT.”
“But after my graduation in commerce I chose MCA as my masters. Shifting to MCA was a big decision. I knew doing an IT job after BCom was impossible. So that’s how MCA came into picture. Post MCA, I moved into developing banking applications. I started my career as a developer for banking apps. My knowledge of commerce and computer applications was put to work perfectly. Thereafter I moved to automation testing. That’s how I am here today, at Coditas.”
Sampada loves complexities. And that is the thing which holds her back to IT.
“The kind of happiness I get from solving complex problems is something I crave for. IT is full of complex problems waiting to be tackled with innovative solutions. This makes me do what I do.”
Thinking about the roadblocks in her career, Sampada recollects two instances.
“After getting married, I took a career break. Getting a job post marriage was difficult on account of my commerce background and the career break. Next difficult phase was before joining Coditas. I had given up my previous job as the work-life balance wasn’t that great. And once again the career gap was making it difficult to bag a job in IT.”
Having said that she happily adds, “But Coditas is one company that never judges your career gap. As long as you are a good candidate, you are always welcome to Coditas, irrespective of the degree you hold. I am always thankful to the management for giving my career another chance”.
On being questioned why startups, Sampada promptly replies, “Where else do you get this kind of vast exposure?”
Drawbacks of the IT industry
“Many companies have this bench policy. Candidates are on bench for 3-4 months; that’s a very frustrating situation. There is no prior intimation given to the candidates that on being hired they will be on bench for a certain time. I understand an organization’s point of view, but it is a sad affair from a fresh candidate’s perspective.”
Coditas’ differentiating factor
Coditas is always very open to ideas. Mitul, our CEO is accessible very easily. You do not have to think twice before going to him. Not all CEOs are so easy going and accessible all the time.
To conclude the conversation, we asked for an advice Sampada would give to her 16 year old self. And she candidly replies, “Adopt a dog immediately without waiting for your parents approval.”
Quodos…