— Introduction

I moved to Switzerland from Hungary in 2018 with my family. Even though I had 3 years of experience in manual software testing and 5 years in IT project management, without a university degree and a banking/finance/medical IT background I could not find a suitable job in Switzerland. 

After an initial despair (as it is human nature), I started to develop my existing skills with professional certifications like PMP (Project Management Professional) in 2019. That was well-regarded, however it did not bring me closer to a technical position. With the worldwide spread of Agile methodologies the need for classical project manager roles declined significantly, and the remaining roles were mostly of an administrative nature. Unfortunately for me, my favourite part of project management was working with the developers and testers and so an administrative role would not have made me happy.

After a while I had to come face to face with the fact that I needed to change my career path towards more technical roles. It wasn't hard to say goodbye to project management - while I appreciate everything I have learned and experienced as a PM, it was never a dream job for me. And that is all well, but the variety of technical positions in the field of IT can be absolutely overwhelming.

I started to build a foundation with SQL, Java and Python; but the pandemic (and later the rise of AI) did not make entry level employment any easier. 

In 2024, I started the online "Statistics and Data Science" MicroMasters program at MIT (Massachussetts Institute of Technology) and I have only one course and the capstone exam itself left for some future time (I admit it is currently a low priority).

Parallel to that, I also returned to university studies in 2024 to gain a Bachelors degree at The Open University. It was the "Cyber Security" and "Systems penetration testing" modules at the OU that made me realize that I would very much like to work in cyber security. Although I have already finished my last exam papers, I will not have the results until December 2026.

I already have plans to further both my theoretical knowledge and my practical skills needed for this career pivot - so stay tuned and wish me luck (and lots of coffee)! 

— Skills

Python
Java
SQL

Basic HTML, CSS and JavaScript

Manual software testing
Test case writing
Test reports

Project Management
Planning in Agile, Waterfall and their combination
External customer-facing management
Communication and leadership
Business Analysis
Documentation and technical writing

Data cleaning and analysis with Python (pandas, seaborn, matplotlib, geopandas, folium)

— Work experience

2022 - IT Project Manager

Contractor at Swiss Life Asset Managers (2 months)

I had minor administrative/assisting tasks and I completed the team's process flow charts and process documentation for an internal risk assessments. Unfortunately, the position was too administrative for my career aspirations so I decided to leave.

2018 - Move to Switzerland from Hungary 

2017-2018 - Technical IT Project Manager (a.k.a. Producer)

Black Swan Data (9 months)

I managed web-based in-flight infotainment system projects for a variety of airlines with cross-continental teams in Budapest and Los Angeles.

2013-2017 - Project Manager

NNG (4 years 10 months)

I managed complex, high-risk and high-value navigation software projects for global clients from Europe and Asia for a variety of devices. While the communication with the customers was mostly on phone and online, I also had the pleasure of having face-to-face meetings and business trips in China, Japan, the UK and Belgium. Most of all, I loved working with the people in my team and business unit.

2009-2013 - Software Tester (manual)

NNG (2 years 8 months) and 7 months part-time at another small company

I tested basic and customer-specific versions of the iGO navigation software, was the Test Lead of many projects and authored over 400 test cases.

Before that, I tested AutoCAD software and websites.

— Education

The Open University

Bachelor's degree, Computing and IT / 2024-2026

Massachussetts Institute of Technology

MicroMasters , Statistics and Data Science / 2024 - ?

Probability, Statistics and Machine Learning courses already done

— Certifications

Certified Associate Python Programmer (PCAP)

Python Institute / 2023

Azure Fundamentals

Microsoft / 2023

Java Foundations Certified Associate

Oracle / 2023

Oracle Database SQL Certified Associate

Oracle / 2021

ITIL Foundation Level

Axelos / 2020

Project Management Professional (PMP)

Project Management Insitute / 2019

Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL)

ISTQB / 2012

Development Projects

— Unit Converter application

This project was my first standalone endeavor. Prior to this, I focused on smaller challenges, either those included in online courses or inspired by them, as well as problems on HackerRank.

I developed a Unit Converter app using Python and Tkinter, inspired by encountering so many recipes using measuring units like cups. 

The app supports six unit categories : Capacity, Mass, Length, Area, Speed, and the initial inspiration—Kitchen Units. When a category is selected, only the relevant units appear for conversion.

While the app leverages the native Windows UI and may not win any design awards, it's fully functional and serves its purpose effectively.

#python #tkinter #allhailthemetricsystem

— Website Projects

In November and December of 2023, I dedicated some time to learning the basics of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and worked on a few small website projects.

At first, I only used them to practice with Flexbox, and then to create a basic site as part of an application for a bootcamp programme.

Since then I put this knowledge to good use in my BSc studies.

#html #css #javascript #flexbox #iwillneverbeawebdesigner