CTG at Work: André G.

Name: André G.

Company Title: Test Engineer, currently working in Brussels

Years at CTG: 4

Hometown: Grew up in Ghent, Belgium

Current City: Ghent, Belgium

Favorite Song Right Now: “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd

Favorite thing to do outside of work: Practice yoga and play chess (all online for the moment during the pandemic)

I start my morning by listening to a podcast called “Krantencommentaren,” which is an overview of the news that day. Before the pandemic, I had to get up at 6 a.m. to take my train to Brussels. During COVID-19, I work from home and in the mornings, I go on a little walk in a park nearby and eat my breakfast afterwards. I also check my emails immediately afterward.

We have a daily conference call at 11 a.m. with the client’s software developers in India about the results of the testing done the day before. I  make the report of this testing with all the points to discuss any defects that we found. We then have a team chat about the daily findings with our Belgian team. In the afternoon, we analyze defects in the software and coordinate retries of tests. I also handle tickets from partners in the Belgian market about their tests. 

In the evening, I normally do some sports including yoga, pilates, or some biking in the summer. This gives me a boost to finish my work, handle the rest of the analysis, and prepare for the next day. I finish the evening with some Netflix shows, like “The Queens Gambit” or “The Blacklist.”

What I like about my position is the teamwork and the international environment. I was thrilled when CTG still engaged me at 58 years old and valued my experience. CTG also provides a multitude of learning and training opportunities. This greatly deepened my understanding of testing. CTG also supported the employees during the pandemic in an exemplary way.

My career advice would be to do what makes you happy and stay at work as long as you can!