Video has been shot, edited and submitted for the TestingGuild!

Think you know your stuff in regards to testing software? There is no better way to level up than attempting to explain what you think you know to others.

I have learned so much blogging these past three years about automation projects I have been working on, writing articles for LinkedIn Pulse and my Medium account, shooting video for my YouTube account, and getting paid to write articles on TechBeacon. 

The process of writing an article or a script for a video forces me to organize my thoughts and double check what I think I know. Are there gaps in my knowledge? Oh, I certainly find out if there are! If I am fuzzy on something, I make sure to do more research.

The best part has been all the connections that I have been able to make, and all the wonderful discussions I have been having on LinkedIn and Twitter. The software testing community is extremely supportive for people who put themselves out there, even to newbies like myself. It's hard for me to believe, but I've only been doing automation for the past three years.

This year, to try something different, I started giving talks at online conferences. The founder of TestTalks.com, the software testing podcast, Joe Colantonio, invited me to speak at two of his online conferences:

• January 2018, it was at the AutomationGuild.com
• June 2018, it will be at the TestingGuild.com

I suck at public speaking. I get so nervous, speaking out as if I am at a TED Talk. If only hiding behind podiums was still in fashion, reading off a script! I could do that. Trying to give a talk, remembering the exact phrasing as I had planned? It is so nerve-wracking for me.

An online conference is just my speed! All I had to do was shoot thirty minutes of video with my iPhone, edit it, and that was the basics of the talk. There is a 20 minute Q & A session after each talk, but I haven't a problem answering questions from an audience.

I am so glad that it is finally done! It has been hanging over my head for the past few months. All my energy has been sapped by either my new job -- which is why I haven't been posting weekly these past few months -- or reorganizing my life due to the new bouncing baby boy due July 4, 2018.

I am going to be a father! I am so excited. I cannot wait!

So, if you don't hear from me in July or August, you'll know why!

Thank you for all your support, and Happy Testing!

-T.J. Maher
Sr. QA Engineer, Software Engineer in Test
Meetup Organizer, Ministry of Testing - Boston

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