An engineer knows, among other things, everything

Career

Petri Kauppinen

I’ve always been fairly unconcerned about the adequacy of my skills or whether I’m capable of doing something. I am, after all, an engineer. On the other hand, I make it my business to ensure that no project which I’m part of will run into problems due to something for which I’m responsible. At the same time, it helps to understand that you learn from your mistakes and that the only way to become an expert is to make nearly all of the mistakes there are to make.

I like studying everything in general, armed with cold rationality and spirited inquisitiveness. And when you’re learning something new, it doesn’t matter if you sometimes spend a little time on something that’s not of key importance. This reflects my belief that doing things is the best way to let new information sink in. The technology industry is advancing at great speed, and I think that staying genuinely on top of things requires something in addition to just reading articles. Besides, every now and then I’ve created something useful as a result of pottering about enthusiastically.

My education and career have always been characterised by a strong need to move forward. The road ahead continuously points towards learning new things and, consequently, increasingly challenging tasks and assignments. After I completed my degree in engineering, I spent the next ten years in diverse projects, ranging from small prototype projects to large-scale deliveries of automation systems in, for example, the paper and pulp industry around the world. A young engineer was being shown the ropes. Over the years, I gained experience comprehensively in all areas of project activities, from basic design to the supervision of installation. Software development and commissioning tasks have nevertheless remained my forte. Once I had gathered plenty of work experience, my eagerness to learn something new, also on the theoretical level, returned. So, I had to start studying for a master’s degree at a university of applied sciences alongside my work.

After a long stint in the industrial sector, my path, somewhat surprisingly, led me to Nodeon, to work on critical infrastructure. At Nodeon, my tasks have varied from consulting to project management, in projects involving smart traffic and the industrial IoT. Particularly the duties of a project manager have become more frequent as I’ve gained experience in the field of smart traffic. Nodeon provides you with a chance to be involved in challenging and interesting projects in a field which is one of the most rapidly advancing sectors of the industrial IoT.

Regards, An Engineer… only a couple of mistakes away from knowing, among other things, everything.

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