New knowledge and continuous development are the first steps of the career path
Santeri Kallio started his career at Aalto-Setälä as a structural engineer before he even graduated. At times you face very challenging situations, and at times you and your colleagues go for a round of frisbee golf.
It’s been just shy of a year since Santeri Kallio joined Aalto-Setälä as a full-time structural engineer. Santeri graduated as a civil engineer from Turku University of Applied Sciences in 2019, but before that he worked some stints at Aalto-Setälä alongside his studies.
Santeri ended up at Aalto-Setälä the traditional way: some employees from the company visited the school and presented various career opportunities, and Santeri decided to submit a job application.
”The main thing in Aalto-Setälä that caught my interest was that the company and team size seemed just right. I thought that I’d be able to develop my skills on many fronts in various tasks and learn a lot of new things”, Santeri says, ”and that’s exactly what has happened.”
Versatile tasks, collaboration and teamwork highlight the workdays
In addition to structural engineering and drawing, Santeri’s work tasks include locality inspections and review as well as revision plans. The days are kept interesting by the versatility of the work: some days you visit localities and get a first-hand look of how the project is advancing. It’s very rewarding to see your own drawings come to life and how they’re done and carried out in practice. Every workday at Aalto-Setälä starts with a common coffee room gathering, which is something Santeri enjoys. New people are warmly welcomed into the group and the spirit and feeling around the common table is always great. ”It’s an atmosphere where you can talk with anyone. And there’s a bunch of good humor”, Santeri laughs. When he started, Santeri didn’t have any predefined expectations towards Aalto-Setälä, but he has been positively surprised by the supportive and open culture. It’s easy to go to the manager, or anyone for that part, to talk and ask for opinions or advice. ”We’re told that you can and should always ask questions.”
The best payoff is new learnings
The fact that you are constantly learning and developing is what keeps work interesting, according to Santeri. What’s especially motivating is facing challenging situations where you’re able to stretch your capacity and learn new skills. But the bottom line is always getting the job done properly and within schedule. According to Santeri, good work performance requires good prioritization and collaboration skills.
In his free time, Santeri can be found in a workshop where he’s creating and tinkering with a new dining or coffee table. Practical hands-on doing brings a nice balance to design work, where you don’t necessary see all the intricate details of your work. ”Sometimes we also go out with colleagues and play frisbee golf”, says Santeri.
For people on the verge of stepping into working life Santeri gives the advice of courageously applying for work. ”You’ll learn great things by doing”, Santeri encourages.
