Leevi's story: From a builder to an electrician
As a child , I dreamed of becoming a policeman, but later in comprehensive school I started dreaming about carpenter work. However, I quickly understood that artisan training in the wood sector would have been an unprofitable choice due to my allergies. I also thought that employment in this sector could be challenging, so I kept my mind open to other profession options.
In addition to music, my favourite subjects at school included physics and chemistry, which in lower secondary school combined into an entity that interested me: electrical engineering. I now had a clear career focus and decided to train myself as an electrician.
I graduated from a vocational school according to my plans and was ready to start working. However, it was very difficult to find jobs that matched my education because most employers required rather long work experience: in the electricity sector, at least one year of work experience is required to ensure that the electrician is able to work independently.
I applied for an electrician's position as an unemployed person for about a month, and on the side, I earned income gigging with my band. However, the band gigs were not a sufficient source of income, so I decided to apply for work at a construction site as an assistant builder. I quickly got the job with my comprehensive technical training. I specialized in earthworks there. I worked on the construction for four years, until professional networking allowed me to carry out maintenance tasks in the electricity field, in the public sector.
Challenges and successes
My current work has brought me a number of challenges, the overcoming of which has given me great experiences of success. Every day is different, and I mainly have to make decisions independently, while considering the customer's wishes of course. This poses schedule challenges to the projects. Many installation and repair works are very complex at the design stage, but whenever things are resolved and the customer is satisfied with the end result, I feel that I did something meaningful. It encourages me to develop.
In working life, I have learned that flexibility is important. Flexibility has helped me advance in my career efficiently and, at the same time, given me several opportunities to try new things.
Dreaming of event and cultural sector
In my free time, I focus on my musical hobbies that help with general coping and inspire my life. I would like to work in the field of events and culture, but I feel that this dream will be realised if it is meant to be.
Leevi Visala