Terhimaria Kaski, Cerenion Oy
“It's been great for my performance personality to learn that while you can be passionate about your work, it doesn't necessarily have to (and shouldn't) be your whole life and identity.”
What have you studied and what influenced this choice back in the day?
I have studied welfare engineering (Bachelor of Health Sciences) and medical engineering (Master of Health Sciences) at the University of Oulu. I got into my studies through trial and error. Prior to my current studies, I studied mathematics, physiotherapy, and environmental engineering, but none of these felt like my field. It took me several years to find what I was looking for, but I'm glad I dared to change when my studies didn't seem to be taking me in the right direction.
How did you end up in your current position?
I ended up in my current job through good timing and partly by chance. I had long been interested in Cerenion as an employer. My final thesis* (EEG-Based Automated Sleep Stage Classification on Healthy Subjects and Patients with Sleep Disorders) led me to discuss potential mutual interests with the company's CEO and CTO. Eventually, I was offered a position as a software engineer in the company and decided to take the opportunity.
* As a side note, I did not do my thesis for this company.
What is the best thing about your job?
The best thing about my job is the variety and the opportunity to influence the direction my career takes. I also find the work meaningful and that it allows me to continuously develop myself while working.
What have been the highlights and key lessons of your career?
I feel that there have been several small milestones in my career. The most important of these have been successfully completing projects with others and taking on responsibility. Positive feedback from colleagues and customers have also been great moments. Finding a solution to a long-standing problem also feels rewarding.
The most important lessons I have learned about the work itself have come from my colleagues. Through their actions, they have encouraged me to be open and ask for help when I need it, even when things get difficult. You don't have to know everything on your own and that's OK! It's also been great for my performance personality to learn that while you can be passionate about your work, it doesn't necessarily have to (and shouldn't) be your whole life and identity. This mindset has been encouraged by many of my colleagues and has helped tremendously with work-life balance.
What do you expect from the future?
I hope to develop my own skills and take on even more responsibility than before. However, I am happy with where I am in my career, and I feel that progression will come naturally as my skills develop.
For whom is this a suitable career option?
I think this is a particularly suitable career option for people who are interested in technology and how it can be used to promote health and well-being. The focus of the studies provides a good basis for roles like software development, physiological measurement and imaging, data analysis, research, and consultancy.
What message would you like to send to a young person pondering their career?
Do you already have a clear idea of your career choice? If so, great! But if you feel like nothing really feels like your thing, don't worry. A gap year can help, but you can also find your own thing by experimenting. There are many different paths to the same outcome, and sometimes that path can be a winding one. But at the end of the journey, you may have gained many experiences! 😊