Marijke joined ABB seven years ago as a Service Engineer. At ABB, the Service teams support the lifecycle of various products - from installation to maintenance, repair and upgrades.
“Most of the time I was working at customer sites in male-dominated environments. I had to find my way in, but it all went well. I found it funny that on seeing a woman working in the field, men often opened doors for me and helped me carry equipment. I always wondered if my male colleagues got the same treatment.”
Joking aside, Marijke says that as a Service Engineer, you need courage.
“Most of the time you are the only specialist on site and the customer is looking at you to solve their problem, preferably as soon as possible. But of course, you don’t know everything from day one. Luckily, I found that at ABB you get a lot of opportunities to develop your skills and you are very well supported by your colleagues.”
Marijke spent five years working as a Service Engineer, an experience that helps her tremendously in her present role as Service Coordinator.
Today, she gets the most satisfaction when her team is able to help customers the best way they can.
“We have a team of skilled Service Engineers who take a lot of pride in their job and do everything they can to help out customers and each other. At ABB, you are never on your own, your colleagues are always behind you to help. I really believe that collaboration, one of ABB’s values, is our strength as a team.”
Although Marijke doesn’t see herself as a role model or mentor, she always tries to be supportive and a point of contact for her colleagues and new Service Engineers who still have to find their way around customer sites and within ABB.
“Every day, we have different challenges, every day is a new adventure, work never gets boring at ABB. That’s part of being in service, the work never ends.”