At solvatio’s, working student are a part of the team, just like the regular employees. Felix Breitenbach, one of our working student, has been a fixture for the last three years in our Testing department checking out software, and you also meet him quite regularly at our ping-pong table.

 What is your course of study, and when did you join solvatio?

I am taking a bachelor’s degree in computer science at Würzburg University of Applied Sciences. I have been with solvatio since February 2016 – for three years now, and thus during my entire course of study.

What made you go for a computer science degree?

Before opting for computer science, I studied music with classical guitar as main subject. But I’ve always liked computers a lot, and in my studies at the conservatory I was fascinated by topics dealing with structure and abstract concepts – qualities also to be found in computer science. After my rather practice-oriented first course of study, I was looking for some counterbalance. A friend suggested that I look into computer science, and that was spot-on.

Why did you decide to work as a working student, and which is your field of tasks?

Working here is a good way of getting an insight into professional life from an early stage. That has been important to me from the start. Here with solvatio, I am working in the fields of Quality Assurance and Testing.

What do you do there?

I have several tasks: manual and automatic testing as well as documentation and test descriptions.

Manual and automatic testing is a major component of Quality Assurance. When a new software version is released, for example, all processes have to run just as smoothly as with the previous version. So, the Testing department is always quite busy. For manual testing, I click by hand through the specified program sequences or simply try out the software myself. For automatic testing, on the contrary, the tests run autonomously. To ensure that this work properly, we write little programs in the Testing department which give us remote control over our products. I am always happy when every indicator is green at the end to show that the test has been successful.

The test documentation and description are also very important. They specify in detail which properties the software should have and how the respective test is carried out. Everything is recorded online so that everybody can see at a glance which tasks are still open and what the current progress is.

What is it like to work for solvatio?

The working atmosphere is very agreeable and relaxed. We working students have our own two rooms which we share. This is good because you can join a mate struggling with a complex problem to discuss the issue and exchange ideas.

I love the chance to get insights into different topics. For me as a computer science student, testing is of course particularly interesting. When programming, I primarily think of the goal and of the processes that should work in the end, the ‘happy path’, as they say. When testing, however, the focus is different: What should not work, what errors might occur? I am the developer’s adversary, so to say, and try to make sure the software is robust.

In general, solvatio gives me a solid basic knowledge and first insights into software development, as well as great personal contacts. My supervisor Dominik always watches out for us students and is ready to help at any time.

Have you got any suggestions for people who are thinking about applying as a working student with solvatio while they’re at university?

Just send in your application – everybody here is very friendly and happy to have some new people around. You should have some basic knowledge of programming, but nobody expects the students to be perfect. There is a lot of written documentation in the testing field, and you get a linear start into the job: I did manual tasks first before starting on programming.

What about memorable company events?

Yeah, I remember in particular the 20-years anniversary in the summer of 2016. We staged “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” for the boss with questions about known and more obscure details of the company history. The first prize was a ping-pong table which since has somewhat outranked the company foosball table. The Christmas parties and company trekking tours are also brilliant. At last year’s Christmas party, we went on-stage with some colleagues and played some songs, that was great fun.

What are your plans for the future?

In the next sixth months, I’ll be in Berlin for an internship in the field of web development. I’ll be able to make good use of the knowledge I have acquired so far, and extend it to interface design and functional programming, topics that I find fascinating. After that, I’ll return to Würzburg to finish my bachelor’s degree and maybe, who knows, also to solvatio: I’m always happy to work here.