Digital Nomad Interview – Erman Gultop [QA Tester]
Erman Gultop worked as a Quality Assurance (QA) Tester since 2014. After finishing his bachelor at 21 and working 6 years at the office, he wasn’t happy at all. He wanted freedom, work when and where I want and life in foreign countries.
In December 2019 he quit his office job and moved to Thailand to live his dream! Find out his fascinating story below!
1) Tell us a bit about yourself and what do you do for a living?
My name is Erman Gultop. I am working mainly on the Upwork-platform as a Software Tester/Quality Assurance Analyst (QA) and as an English to Dutch Translator. I am a Digital Nomad since 2019 and I have travelled to the Philippines and Thailand as a DN. Currently, I am living in Thailand.
2) When and why did you become a Digital Nomad?
I am a Digital Nomad since 2019. I have been working at the office since 2014, and I directly knew I am not the type that should work on an office. I wanted to gain working experience for a few years, and work online as a freelance after a few years experience of work. Since 2019, I noticed that I could finish projects individually as I have done this for several companies. Also, because I have worked with a lot of different clients during my ‘office-life’, I knew that I could communicate with my clients well. I have travelled to a few countries (Thailand, Vietnam, Morocco, Portugal, Philippines) during this period and I knew that I wanted to work in Asia and work online. In November 2019, I resigned from my job at the office and went to Asia.
3) We know from our own experience that being a remote worker is not only milk and honey. What are the main benefits and downsides that you’ve encountered as a Digital Nomad?
The benefits are that you have all freedom to choose your own clients, you can work when and where you want(no 9-5 lifestyle) and if you like to work individually, it is a huge benefit that you don’t have to work along with other people. It is up to you what you do with your time, you just have to be sure you make enough time free to finish your job and satisfy your client(s).
However, sometimes you really social interactions. You could miss the conversations with your colleagues, especially if you have worked at amazing companies ‘on-office’ before.
I have worked at places where work didn’t feel like work, because the work environment was so amazing.Also, it could sometimes be very hard to motivate yourself to go to work. It takes some time for me to be fully concentrated, because you have all freedom to do what you want.
It is easy to postpone something. I had a lot of problems with this in the beginning. Currently, I plan my time every week and reserve a certain amount of days to work on jobs. Also, you have a lot of more uncertainty, especially if you have no work for a certain period and you have to look for new clients/projects.
4) What’s the most frustrating thing for you as a Digital Nomad (except bad Internet 🙂 )
I personally do not think there is a frustrating thing about this lifestyle, because I have considered all pro’s and cons for a long time before I decided to work as a Digital Nomad. If I really have to name something: it is easy to be lonely and to miss your family/friends during your trips. It is important that you interact with other people and build up friendships when you are alone in another country, otherwise you could get homesick very quick.
Also, some people don’t take it seriously that you are a DN. I am working on my own company, but from a sunny place instead of my hometown. When I speak with certain people back home, there are still some people that will say ‘When are you coming back from your holiday!’.
5)What are your top 3 favourite countries to work from as a DN and why?
a) Thailand
b) Philippines
c) Morocco
Thailand is my favorite destination to work as a DN because the internet is very solid there. I have quick internet and it never shuts down. Besides the internet, it is very easy to meet other people in Thailand. Especially if you live in a city with a bruising nightlife (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Pattaya), you could make friends in a hour, where you could have unforgettable memories with.
Costs wise, Philippines would be a better choice, but the Internet is not as reliable as in Thailand (from my experience), that’s why I prefer Thailand over Philippines. Morocco is #3 because it is a bit more expensive to live there. You could have a very good life in Thailand/Philippines for just $1100 (you still spend a lot here then).
It is a matter of taste; I love to be ‘far’ away from home, and I love to live in Asia. I travelled to Thailand for 4 times before I came here as a DN, so I could be a bit biased.
6) Can you tell us about your professional experience and how did you build yourself up to this point?
I have completed the bachelor ‘Business IT & Management’ in 2014. I directly started as a QA/Software Tester at several companies (I switched every one or two year to a different kind of company to gain as much as possible experience in different environments).
I started translating content from English to Dutch on the office since 2015, since I noticed there is a lot of work in that niche and it is something I could do along my job as a Software Tester. I started working on Upwork in 2018, along my job at the office. I built up some relationships with clients till the end of 2019, and in that period I have decided to work as a Digital Nomad.
7) Our readers probably want to know how you go about finding your QA work and the translation gigs. Can you tell us a bit more about this process?
I am working mostly on the Upwork-platform. The clients post their projects on this platform, and you can submit your proposal on their post. I am also in the process of spending more time on LinkedIn, where I have landed some translation gigs with agencies by connecting with employees who work at those agencies.
8) What’s your favourite remote working setup when you are not working from “home” and why?
I prefer to stay for a longer period in a specific place, because of this reason. I love to have my own workplace, as I really need a monitor and my laptop when I am working. Also, I really love to be alone when I am working. I am renting my own condo and I always buy a desk and a monitor (if I can not bring these to my new place).
9) What does a typical productive remote workday look like for you?
I am very productive at night. Also, I really love to sleep, eat and to workout! My typical productive workday starts with a good amount of sleep, without setting the alarm (one of the reasons why I wanted to be a DN).
After a good breakfast, it depends what time it is. If it is still early, I love to go to the beach to let my skin kiss the sun for the vitamins. I love to workout around 17.00/18.00, when the sun is going down and it is getting cooler.
I usually start working around 19.00/20.00, when the heat is completely gone. I work for 5/6 hours a day, however this could be more or less depending on the project. I had days where I worked for 17 hours.
10) How do you manage to stay focused and productive? Can you give our readers few tips for being in top shape whilst working remotely?
Everybody has their own method to stay focused and productive. I get my motivation by planning activities/nights out. When I am working, I know that I can do fun things in my free time. However, I don’t consider working as ‘working’ when I work on my own tempo, with my own music, in my own environment, etc.
Ofcourse, if you drink alcohol everyday till the early mornings you won’t be productive. It is important to find a balance and to be good for your body. I do this by maximizing my nights out to one or two times a week, and I try to work out three or four times a week. I find it very hard to watch my diet, because there is good food at every corner of the street here!
11) Do you have any favourite software tools which are key in your life as a digital nomad?
For QA projects:
Excel/Word (for Bug Tracking + Bug Reporting), the different internetbrowsers (differs per project), JMeter, Skype/Teams/Slack (to communicate with clients), JIRA (for the project progression and information)
For Translational projects:
DeepL (Translational tool, this really helps me to check if I have translated it well and works as a ‘proofread’-checkup for me).
During my projects, I can’t work without media in the background. I use YouTube and Spotify for this 🙂
12) Can you name a few major challenges you have running a remote business as a remote entrepreneur?
I would like to have more long-term clients. I love to work on all kinds of projects, but if you have too many ‘one-time’-projects, it is more likely that you get stressed out once that specific project ends. For your state of mind it is important that you have long-term clients so you can plan a bit ahead. Planning ahead is not very common as a freelancer, and it is one of the ‘cons’ of being a freelancer, but it is certainly possible as I am working with several clients for a longer time already.
Also, you really need to like the lifestyle. It is not always a good life; the idea of being a DN may sound good (working where you want, freedom, do whatever you want, no one tells you what to do) but there are also cons. Could you back yourself up (financially) when you have no projects? Could you motivate yourself to keep on working instead of going to the beach? Could you work 3 days straight when there are fun parties going and it is hot outside? It could also be demotivating to find a new client everytime. It is very luring to think ‘I have seen this life now, I will go back home and go back to the office’. Getting homesick could also be major challenge if you are sensitive for that.
I have a stable internet connection, but if you have no internet connection you need to know places where you can work if you have any internet connections.
13) And lastly….What is your best advice on a few practical steps for someone who’s dreaming about starting to work remotely?
Find a niche (or multiple niches) you are very good at. Get experienced at it. While you work at the office (you need to keep on paying the bills), build up your profile and save money. It is extremely important to have money to rely on when you are taking a huge step like this, especially when you are in a foreign country. When you are confident enough that you can get clients (ideally have some long-term clients already) and work on with your built-up profile, it is time to just do it! You can read whatever you want, and ask whatever you want on every forum, but if you don’t try it you will never find out! Even if you will fail, at least you have tried it and you will have an amazing experience what not many people will have! You can always keep on working back home and go back in a later stage!
About Erman:
Earning a bachelor’s degree in business IT & management was the catalyst for Erman’s avid interest in QA. In 2014, he stepped into his first role as a software tester— during his work as a software tester, he discovered another passion of him: translating.
Over the next five years, Erman was recognized for his creative and results-driven approach to software testing. His adeptness as a QA engineer and as a Translator opened doors to positions in top companies throughout the Netherlands. Recently, Erman decided to extend his reach in the field by branching out as a freelancer.
Contact info:
One thought on “Digital Nomad Interview – Erman Gultop [QA Tester]”
Comments are closed.