Suvi Eväkoski, Normet Group Oy
“If you recognize the skills of logical thinking in yourself and you have a vision to work in international and interesting positions, mechanical engineering studies are an excellent choice.”
What have you studied and what influenced this choice back in the day?
I graduated from Lappeenranta University of Technology with major in Mechanical Engineering. Prior to that, I graduated from a University of Applied Sciences as BSc in Material and Wood Technology. During my BSc studies, I felt it might not be enough for me and ended up searching for options and decided to apply to LUT, which had a suitable major for me to deepen my expertise in the field of manufacturing. I chose Industrial Engineering & Management as well as New Packaging Solutions as my minor in LUT, because I felt it was a suitable option based on my background working in the area of manufacturing for some years already. Based on my previous engineering studies, I was able to skip the undergraduate phase and go directly to the master’s phase studies.
How did you become an IT director?
I have never had a clear vision of what I will become when I grow up. I haven’t got any particular ambitions to go forward in my career or move up in the organizations I’ve been working. Obviously, I have made certain decisions during my career that have led me into the current situation, but mostly I feel that my attitude and way of working have taken me forward in my career. I really get excited about new things easily and have changed positions during my career according to what has felt right at that moment.
What is the best thing about your job?
Absolutely people! Even though I have to handle large and complex cases in my work and be in a hurry, at the center of it all are the people I work with. Great people, different personalities and their skills complement my work very much. Even though I am leading, I feel that I don’t need to know everything or have to be able to do everything by myself – People around me are brilliant and I believe everything goes well when working as a team.
What have been the highlights and most important lessons of your career?
Definitely the most memorable and key lesson has been from the early stages of my working career, when I was a member of a project team travelling abroad into a country, which language I didn’t know well. I got into a work situation where I had to manage with my own skills without a common language or an interpreter. I later realized that my logical thinking ability led to an idea that helped me get out of the situation, I felt like I was part of something bigger and that my thinking and decision-making abilities are really valued in my work community.
What do you expect from the future?
Continuous learning is important to me, and I want to improve myself. I believe that working life is definitely changing rapidly with the help of new technologies, so learning new things and understanding them will certainly be an important part of work and challenge those of us already involved with working life.
For whom is this a suitable career option?
If you recognize the skills of logical thinking in yourself and you have a vision to work in international and interesting positions, mechanical engineering studies are an excellent choice. The studies provide a good basis for logical thinking and its utilization in working life, and you can build your future network already during your studies. Technical education offers a huge number of opportunities to end up in various jobs.
What message would you like to send to a young person pondering their career?
Working as a woman in the field of technology requires courage, but on the other hand, it is very rewarding. Working life develops at a fast pace and in the field of technology you get to be on the cutting edge of development. Search with enthusiasm to find your own path, in the end it's all up to you. However, working life is always a personality game for the most part, and great people are highly appreciated in the field of technology!