Monika Clara Bak, Women in Service

Hey, I am Monika. Currently, I am working for High Voltage Service as a Field Service Engineer. In this job, I directly handle the gas insulated switchgears (GIS) we produce and make sure they are carefully handed over to our customers. Most of what I do is about installation and commissioning, which also includes customer communication. As a Field Service Engineer, it is a top priority that the customer can put their GIS in operation without any problems and that this status remains constant for the next years and decades. 

Being on-site means much too often being the only female person there. I strongly believe in the benefits of a diverse team. Especially in jobs like mine, where you must solve problems with creativity and have a hands-on mentality. Our diverse minds bring in many ideas and at the very end, the fitting solution.  

I see myself as a kind of on-site ambassadress. As a female engineer out there, I can show my colleagues, that I am a valuable team member – exactly as everybody else and regardless my age, my sex, my size, my background. Another really important point to me is, that I can share my experiences and hopefully be able to inspire other female employees to go out and to take on the fear and the concerns. 

What I really like about this job is the high level of responsibility which I have for our work, our products and the progress we make. We do this along with prioritizing the safety of our colleagues and customers on-site. The direct interactions with our customers and the relationship we build up is also important to me.

An experienced colleague told me after a successful High Voltage Test, witnessed by our customer: The customer was smiling all the time. Great job. 

The point is not the last sentence. A bit later we talked about it again and he mentioned, the customer was not only happy about the results, but also about having me on-site as a kind of proof that Hitachi Energy is a modern, open and future oriented company. That was a huge compliment for me and our company 

I am proud to be Hitachi Energy because it allows me to contribute to a reliable and sustainable grid and thus contribute to the future of all of us. Especially, I am proud to be Hitachi Energy Service, since there we build long lasting partnerships and for me, collaboration is the key.