Meet our Academy Consultants – Arrun Sandhu

Every year, we give people who have never worked in tech before the expert training they need to kickstart a brand-new career. Arrun Sandhu is just one example, who studied English at university but changed career paths to join the Ten10 Academy in May 2023. Now he’s working for a client in the aerospace industry, completing a range of software testing.

We’d love to tell you all about the work Arrun’s completed, but it’s better to hear it from the man himself! We caught up with him in our newest Career Transformation interview:

How do you feel you’ve transitioned from the Ten10 Academy to your client work?

The transition to client work has been challenging but rewarding. The Academy provided a great set of base skills covering a range of disciplines that I’ve been able to develop and apply while working with a client. It also provided me with a solid understanding of how the tech industry broadly works so I was able to pick up and use key terminology while working. I was required to relocate for this role; a process which the Academy Wellbeing team provided great help with. I’m still learning every day, but the Academy gave me the confidence to ask questions and adapt to technical processes within this new organisation.

Take us through your placement, where are you currently working?

I’ve been with a client in the aerospace industry since September 2023 in a testing role. This involves conducting tests on systems used in air traffic control before they go live at controller sites across the country.

The specific project I’ve been on since starting has been working on the simulator, which is used to emulate a live system which trains air traffic controllers, in a team of six other test engineers. Our responsibility is to verify the functionality of the system when a new update has been developed, and then deliver to an overall system release. The environment as a whole has been friendly and welcoming, with other team members always being happy to help whenever I require it. Management has also been keen to get me involved with wider processes within the testing practice, with a view to me being taken on permanently after this placement.

What parts of the Ten10 Academy training have been most useful in your placement?

The Foundations of Testing module has been the most useful to me in this placement as it provided a key understanding of the ‘testing mindset’ and how this can be applied to software testing in any context. It also introduced me to key terms and deliverables commonplace in testing practices, such as test plans and reports, and gave me hands-on experience in writing documentation like this.

The Academy also provided me with a foundation of technical capability, allowing me to quickly adapt to existing technical processes and tools within this organisation. This was reinforced by the continual learning of new topics and disciplines within the Academy; this ability to learn and understand within the world of tech is something I’ve been able to apply. Finally, the soft skills portion of the Academy training has meant I’ve been confident in asking questions, delivering presentations, and displaying the right attitude while working here.

What is a normal working day or week for you?

Our team has a daily stand-up meeting at 9:30 am, wherein the team touches base with each other and we give updates on what we’ve been doing. A normal day involves working through tickets assigned to me on Jira as part of our scrum board; the nature of the tasks is dependent on which phase of testing we are in. Usually, I will connect to our testing environment either remotely through VNC or on physical hardware if I am on-site and conduct a test by working through a written procedure.

I will then log results and raise any defects through an internal defect management system, relaying this back to our Test Manager and the other developers. Once a testing phase is complete, a usual day will be updating test documentation based on our findings, which includes rewriting test scripts, adding to test reports and providing feedback on upcoming test plans. I have also been able to get involved with interest groups, particularly in knowledge and training, and so I will often be creating learning resources as part of this.

Have your roles and responsibilities changed during your time on placement?

My individual responsibilities have gradually increased over time, in a way that’s been both challenging and rewarding. At first, my team were aware that this was my first technical role and so my main responsibility was to learn as much as possible about the functionality of the system we test. The wording of our test scripts has a certain level of assumed knowledge, so building up to this was the main priority for me over the first few months.

As my capability increased, I took on more responsibility by conducting tests independently. I’ve also been able to provide more feedback on overall project decisions as my understanding of the project has increased. In recent periods I’ve been tasked with helping the onboarding of new starters by directing them to learning resources and walking through testing the system with them, answering any questions they may have.

What technology, tools, frameworks, and processes have you gained experience with since starting client work?

Our system operates via Linux so I’ve been able to gain extensive experience with Linux command lines in accessing and configuring test environments. We also work in agile methodology so I’ve gained hands-on experience with sprint planning, reflections and retrospectives. I’ve also become adept with using SharePoint to document knowledge and create learning repositories. I was tasked with researching and implementing a test management tool, which involved working with TestRail, Zephyr and XRay.

How has your client supported your development?

Our client provided us with a buddy scheme which paired me up with another individual in the testing practice whom I’m able to ask questions and seek support from. I’ve also been having group coaching sessions with other peers from Ten10, which has allowed us to discuss aspects of our working life we’d like to improve and how we can do it. This has enabled me to understand further my long-term career goals.

In the first weeks, we were often invited to shadow team members while they conducted testing and they were very happy to answer questions we had. This has continued to today if we are being exposed to a new system/procedure. Members of my team are willing to provide help by either directing me to resources or answering my questions. My task manager often assigns me tasks which expose me to different areas of the business, allowing me to build a base understanding of processes within the organisation.

What support have you received from Ten10 during your placement?

Members of the Academy Wellbeing team regularly check in with me to see how things are going and if I need any support. They often remind me that I can reach out whenever I need to, whether it be just a question or to set up a 1:1 meeting. Ten10 has also asked for feedback from the client at certain points about my performance and has relayed that back to me so I can act upon it in my daily work.

Furthermore, I’ve been able to request and receive learning materials through Ten10 such as online courses, study guides and past papers to work towards attaining my ISTQB foundation certificate. The exam itself has also been funded by Ten10. The Wellbeing team has also arranged socials around the area that I’ve relocated to with other Ten10 Academy consultants and it’s been great to meet others who are in a similar position to me.

Think back to when you first joined the Ten10 Academy. How do you feel you’ve grown since then and do you have any goals for the future?

When I first joined the Academy I had no experience in anything technical or even STEM-based, having done a degree in English. Looking back on it, what has surprised me is how I’ve been able to develop technical competency in such a short space of time.

My confidence in regards to working with tech has grown massively and that’s definitely been down to the Academy training. I also feel more confident in letting my voice be heard in a professional environment. I wasn’t sure which direction I wanted to go down whilst in the Academy and was surprised by how much I enjoyed testing, so I’m now looking towards a long-term career as a software tester. Ideally, I’d like to be taken on permanently by my client in the next year and work my way up.

Given I had no real idea where I wanted to go career-wise before joining Ten10, I’m amazed by how quickly I’ve landed on a clear career path and am very much looking forward to what the future holds!