For Edvinas Ivanauskas, a QA specialist at Adroiti Technologies, the answer came through an unexpected career change. After more than 12 years in tech, including five years building and leading a QA team at a market-leading technology company, he found himself at a turning point. What began as an opportunity to take a break and explore his own projects eventually brought him to Adroiti and back to hands-on QA.
His story offers a different perspective on career growth: how years of experience can transform a familiar role, sharpen decision-making, and create greater impact.
“After leaving my previous company, I wanted to take some time for myself and maybe finally start working on my own projects. For the first time in my career, I didn't have another job lined up. Then Adroiti reached out. What caught my attention was the people-first approach, the project itself, and the opportunity to join a small team where my experience could really make a difference.
Now I'm back doing hands-on QA, working directly with clients and alongside experienced engineers. And I realized how much I'd missed this kind of work,” says Edvinas.
Looking back on his professional journey, Edvinas shares six lessons about career growth, experience, and finding new challenges, even after more than a decade in tech.
1. Moving forward doesn't always mean moving up
“I started my career in QA over 12 years ago. Later, I moved into leadership, built teams, and took on more responsibilities.
Now I'm doing hands-on QA again. On paper, the role might look the same, but the value I bring to it is completely different. Today, I see the bigger picture, anticipate risks, make better decisions, and contribute far beyond testing itself. Everything I've learned over the years allows me to make a greater impact. That's why I don't think career growth should be measured only by job titles. What matters is how much you've grown, what you bring to the team, and the value you create.”
2. Experience becomes especially valuable when things move fast
“We're a team of just four people, all senior-level specialists. When I joined, we had extremely tight deadlines and a lot to deliver. There wasn't much time to figure things out as we went.
In this kind of environment, you need to understand the tools, the technology, and the bigger picture from day one. I honestly can't imagine someone without substantial experience handling the same pace we had during those first months. That's when I really felt the value of everything I'd learned over the years.”
3. Experience teaches you what NOT to do
“In QA, you can spend a lot of time documenting and testing every possible scenario. But sometimes you have two days before a live event, and testing everything simply isn't realistic. You need to understand which scenarios matter most, where the real risks are, and what could affect the customer. For me, this is one of the biggest differences experience makes. It's not just knowing how to test something. It's knowing what deserves your attention first.”
4. Don't lose your curiosity, even after 12 years
“I remember spending days working on a single automated test in my previous role. Everything moved slowly. Then I joined this project, and suddenly everything was happening at once. New challenges, unfamiliar tools, quick decisions. I realized how much I'd missed that energy.
AI has added another dimension to it. I'm now building things I previously thought would take months, and experimenting with ideas I never had time to implement. It's exciting to discover that even after more than a decade in the industry, there's still so much to explore.”
5. Technical expertise means little if you can't communicate
“I've always enjoyed working with people. During my years in leadership, I learned how important it is to listen, understand what motivates someone, and create an environment where people can do their best work.
Now, being able to speak directly with our client helps me understand what actually needs to be built and tested. You can be excellent at your job, but if you don't communicate, you might end up doing the wrong thing.
And I've learned that a strong team isn't just about bringing experienced people together. It's about people who trust each other, listen, and can challenge ideas without turning disagreements into conflicts.”
6. Listen to yourself
“If there's one thing I'd tell someone thinking about their next career move, it's this: listen to yourself. You don't have to change jobs just because you've been somewhere for years. But you also don't have to stay in a role simply because you've worked hard to reach it.
For me, returning to hands-on QA was a chance to bring everything I'd learned into a new environment, with new challenges and a different perspective. And, as it happens, the Adroiti office is in the very same building where I started my QA career over a decade ago. Sometimes things really do come full circle.”
Career growth isn't only about job titles or team size. A new environment can give experienced professionals the opportunity to use what they know in new ways and contribute more directly to the result.
That's how we work at Adroiti. Our teams are built around senior engineers who take ownership, act quickly when it matters, and keep improving how they work. They collaborate directly with clients, share responsibility, and enjoy solving challenges together. Edvinas has spent 12 years in tech, and he's still finding new things to learn.
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Adroiti is a Lithuanian technology company building AI-powered systems and running senior engineering teams that deliver real, production-ready results.