Antti Kovanto: The best way to learn and develop is to listen people who already got it right
Antti Kovanto is a Senior Software Test Engineer based in Espoo, Finland, one of our most recent Etteplanians. Having been at Etteplan for only a few weeks, Antti is already making his mark supporting Trainees and being their go-to person for questions and sharing his knowledge. “It has been a flying start – I have been running around to client offices and participating in a couple of project initiations and getting to know the environment.” “Although my current role is Senior Software Test Automation Developer, the role and its responsibilities in the wider scope are still forming.”
Antti was recruited by Etteplan for his extensive experience and unique skillset in Software Testing. Antti had previously worked for both start-ups as well as well-known large corporations in gaming and digital marketing industries based in Finland. So, what motivated Antti to try something new with Etteplan?
“I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps, who had a lengthy career in a similar company. The reason for choosing Etteplan was its longer history in Digital Services.”
“My career path does not follow the traditional route; I have done things a little differently. What contributed to my success was all the knowledge that I gained from my dad, first of all, and my mentor.” Antti contributes a turning point in his career to his mentor, “He helped me to understand the best way of looking at the way my father had been building his software, from object-oriented programming perspective that made so much sense. I have then been able to use these skills in Quality Assurance and testing tools.” Highlighting that there is so much value in what you can learn from experts and understand more deeply the reasons for choosing specific techniques for the job.
“Both my dad and my mentor have had an impact on the development of my skills, learning from people wiser than myself.”
Antti is already contributing to the client relationships and projects. With a unique role that will continue to grow, Antti looks forward to dividing his time between client projects and developing more projects at Etteplan.
“I have had positive experiences and support from both my manager, and the organization itself. These experiences have given me a positive perception of Etteplan.”
“I have the impression that the culture is very systematic and direct, like a German football team, and well streamlined” as Antti puts it. While he appreciates that communication and project work is efficient, there is always time for coffee break conversations to get to know his new colleagues better.
Antti already feels like a valuable part of the team, and rightly so. With the knowledge and skills that Antti possesses, he truly is a chest of wonders (as well as a fan of Nightwish).
Diving deeper than his new role at Etteplan, Antti has an appreciation for the arts, from music, and literature to painting, "I have always been creative and interested in the arts. For the last few decades, my focus has been more on electronic music." His creativity is also exercised in programming with various smaller software/game projects and R&D (Research & Development) topics in his free time.