Meet Mahreen! She’s a QC Engineer with many hidden talents and a detective of defects. She also sees the world differently than most people do. In this installment of Behind The Coding, Mahreen talks about expired chicken nuggets, Mr. Bean, and her secret dream jobs.
Hi Mahreen! What are the last 3 things you Googled?
Hi Sajeel, the first thing I Googled was about mobile phones.
Are you looking to get a new one?
Yeah, I am. I need a new one, and the OnePlus phones are what I have my eye on.
What do you like most about them?
The OS is excellent.
Ok! What else have you been Googling?
Headache medicine.
Oh no…do you have a headache?
Yeah, unfortunately, I do. Light and sound give me migraines. There is a lot of light and sound in my world today! Hence the headache.
Sorry to hear that.
It’s ok. I am used to it. Do you want to know what else I Googled?
Sure!
The accuracy of chicken nuggets expiration dates
Really?
Yes, because I fried some frozen chicken nuggets, and when I went to eat them, they smelled bad.
Were they expired?
The date wasn’t expired, but they smelled terrible. So I thought I would research that a bit. I didn’t eat them, though!
Hahaha! Probably a good idea not to
Definitely.
When did you last work after hours to solve a hard problem?
Three weeks ago. A WordPress site was built in Gutenberg with 90+ pages to test and review quickly. I spent several extra hours after my shift working on those so we could get the site done.
I remember that job. That timeline was very tough.
Yes, it was, but if we can quickly handle work, it opens up the chance for more work.
That is very true, Mahreen. Who are 3 people you'd like to have dinner with simultaneously, and why?
3 friends from 3 different chapters of my life – Iqra, Aqsa and Nida.
How are they from different chapters of your life?
They are my 3 best friends from 3 different school ages – one is elementary, the other is from college, and the other is from University.
Wow! That’s interesting. Do they know each other?
Yes, they know each other through me. And now they are all friends too.
Isn’t that nice? And do you see each other often?
We see each other multiple times in a month. Sometimes multiple times in a week if we are lucky!
That’s so cool! And what would you guys eat together?
Street food, for sure! We love trying different food stalls and food trucks.
Nice Mahreen. When was the last time you cried tears of laughter?
I am known as the funny one wherever I am. I usually cry tears of laughter every day!
Do you like to make people laugh?
Yes! Quite a lot.
Who is your favorite comedian?
Mr. Bean! He is always getting into trouble.
Speaking of trouble, what do you love about your job?
I am not sure how that is trouble! But I love that at Computan, we build a digital world. Then, I enjoy being the engineer who helps perfect that digital world with the proper testing and review.
That’s an interesting perspective! And in some ways, everything added to the digital world (app, website, etc) has had to go through a QC cycle first, right?
Exactly. I love the part about making the digital world perfect, Sajeel.
Interesting perspective, Mahreen! And when was the first time you saw a laptop/computer
I don’t remember the first time. I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by computers my whole life. As a child, I used Microsoft Paint and played games like GTA Vice City, NFS, and Super Mario Bros.
What is something your teammates don't know about you?
They don’t know I was a .NET developer before I started on the QC Engineer track.
Really?!
Yes! I know a little C# and .NET MVC. I also had a different dream job.
What was your dream job?
I interned at 7 News in school and wrote a lot of headlines. I wanted to be a newscaster!
That’s so interesting! You would be good at it. Why did you stop?
Most advisors said I should try something else. So I listened to them, and I did.
Do you regret it?
I love being in QC, but reporting is still my passion. I will start it again eventually. As a side hustle!
You definitely should, Mahreen!
