#NottsTest - Health as a Tester - look after your mental wellbeing

About the event

Come and experience the fabulous David Williams (@TheTestingMuse) tell the story of the stages of his testing career, issues he encountered in those stages, and how you can learn from the mistakes he made, so that you can avoid having to go through them in the first place.

Through hard work and encouragement from the testing community, David managed to claw his way back from that precipice and he now feel 's like his passion, his drive, and his career are at an all-time high. David is hopeful that his story will encourage others to look after their mental wellbeing and to seek help when needed in order to be the best version of themselves.

About David

In early 2003 I started my career as a gifted, but cocky young tester with steady career progression and a love of learning. I was confident with the skills I had developed but my “I know all the things!” attitude quickly disappeared as I started to realise how broad a tester's skill set could be, and how much I could still improve.

I attended the “Rapid Software Testing” course, taught by James Bach, and read all the books and blogs I could find, improving my testing skills further still. The sky was the limit.

Then, 6 years later in early 2009 everything stalled and went into year after year of flatline, culminating in my career, family, passion and confidence as a tester being decimated.

Coming to a crashing halt 5 years later, I went deep into depression and was affected by a stress-related autoimmune issue, requiring a physical operation to correct.

From that point I simply couldn't see a way to get back into the driving seat and decided I would quit my career for good. I resigned from my role with no job to go to, and no plans to continue my testing career, or in fact any type of technology role. I was burned-out.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Free drinks & pizza/sides not provided by our fantastic sponsors Rebel Recruiters and Experian. You'll have to buy your own for the time being. Sorry. Rebel and Experian are still ace though.

NOTE: Notts Test is now online only while Covid-19 is making physical meet-ups unsafe

------------------------------------------------------------------

Kindly sponsored by:

Rebel Recruitment (@RebelRecruiters)
https://rebelrecruiters.co.uk/

Experian (https://twitter.com/Experian_UK)
https://www.experian.co.uk/careers/working-at-experian/our-offices.html