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How Freelancing with test IO Can Fast-Track You to Becoming a Full-Time Employee

Michael Ebako-Hodgson


Imagine an ideal world where you wake up in the morning, prepare breakfast, brew coffee, and start working when it works for your schedule. By working with test IO as a tester, you can do just that. And it can eventually put you on the path to work full-time at test IO or EPAM. 

At test IO, we provide sophisticated training through our test IO Academy and offer various learning courses to help our community acquire new skills. Over time, your responsibilities can grow, eventually allowing you to take on a new role with test IO or our parent company, EPAM.  

Testers Martin and Uladzislau are great examples of this. They had no idea that joining the crowdtesting community at test IO would lead to full-time jobs at one of the largest software engineering companies in the world. 

Learn more about their stories below! 

How One Tester Discovered His Dream Job

Martin, now Software Testing Engineer at EPAM, found a dream job that he had no idea existed. How did his journey start?  

Martin was born in France and moving to Germany created new horizons for him. From his early childhood, he had a knack for cultures and languages, which led him to study languages and history for his bachelor’s degree. As he was finishing his degree, he started testing software, which opened up a whole new challenge for him. As Martin was in the application process for another job, the potential employer suggested he sharpen his skills by freelancing for test IO. After joining test IO in September 2020, he was promoted as a Game Localization Tester at EPAM in less than four months. After having studied languages and working as a software tester, he is now able to combine both skills—plus his hobby—by working in gaming. 

While shaping his role at test IO, Martin came into contact with our specialists, who saw an incredible opportunity to strengthen their team by hiring Martin. Martin was thrilled when he was offered a full-time position at EPAM. Martin admits he was even more excited when he realized he could use his original strength: languages! Martin has proven to be an irreplaceable member of our community.  

Who is Martin outside of work? Besides gaming, he loves sports like speed skating and fencing. He is also a book and food lover!  

A Long, Winding Journey

Uladzislau from Minsk, Belarus, started his testing career in 2018. At that time, he was a third-year student and took the ‘Software Testing Introduction’ course offered by EPAM. He didn't join the EPAM family then, but he sensed that this interaction would be the first of many with the company.

After the course, he was struggling to find a job. He decided to try freelancing as he continued his search for full-time employment. Fortunately for us, he chose to work with test IO, where he says, “A little big world opened up in front of me.” He gained a lot of experience and was able to participate in testing a variety of products and applications on different platforms. He used the opportunity to hone his written English skills and get his first full-time job at an IT company in Minsk.

Uladzislau continued to test with test IO, and, in 2020, he started taking part in special tests on the test IO platform for mobile phones and TVs. Our colleague Anuar reached out to him with a proposal to fill out a questionnaire to work on a gaming project. Uladzislau was very excited because he always dreamed of working in game development.  

After a positive consideration of Uladzislau's candidacy, he finally found out what kind of project he could take part in: a project for one of the biggest video game and software development companies in the world! After a successful interview, he was offered the job. How does he like it? He has a great team, works with one of the most exciting customers in the gaming industry, and has responsibilities that align with his skills and interests.  

Who is Uladzislau outside of work? Similar to Martin, he is also a fencer! Apart from that, he uses his free time to deepen his knowledge of 3D modeling and motion design.

Uladzislau and Martin are just two examples of how freelancing for test IO can catapult your career. Learn how you can become a tester with test IO here.