Inger Skjærholt

28, specialist engineer in the Technical Analysis Center (TAS) at Nexans’ facility at Halden.

Inger describes herself as a creative person who is passionate about and enjoys scientific subjects. When deciding on a career, she toyed with the idea of becoming either a tailor or an engineer. 
- I found that sewing made for a better hobby than math, so I opted for engineering. My study program was product development and production.  This allows you to use your creative side while still doing science. 

Why Nexans?
After studies, Inger worked for two years in Trondheim. One day, one of her best friends, who works at Nexans, sent Inger clip from the intranet and a link to a job vacancy. In a nutshell: the job fitted perfectly. – It was like it was made for me, says Inger, who applied, got an offer and eventually decided to pull up stakes from Trondheim and move to Halden. She's been there for six months now and doesn't regret a second of it!


What does your job involve?
– My brother teases me that I work in the 'Er, help, we need something difficult figured out' center, she laughs. Less flippantly: – I work on mechanical analyses of subsea cable accessories. A cable is typically suspended from a ship or platform or resting on the seabed. I do analyses and calculations which ensure that all the equipment withstands the weight, tension etc. When we have won a contract, a project group is established and I get seconded to the project to perform analyses for the engineer who is building the equipment. I'm responsible for everything to do with the strength of the equipment. 

Has the job met your expectations? 
– Yes, yes, three times yes. Totally! I have fun at work and thrive on the challenges. At times, the jobs are really difficult and can be frustrating, but the sense of achievement in solving them is amazing. I also have some great colleagues. There are around 20 of us in our professional powerhouse, which is very important to me. I haven't stopped learning and want to get even further ahead. The opportunity is here!
How is a typical working day?
– My working day is incredibly varied. I put in a lot of screen time, working on a project. I typically make plans for the day but then something nearly always comes up so I end up working on other stuff instead. It might be an urgent case that comes in, or I'm given an extra difficult problem to work on. What gives my job real meaning is that the work I do is important to the company and has a big effect on outcomes. Incorrect analyses might mean halting oil production, resulting in huge losses for the client. 

- Inger is from Rælingen near Lillestrøm, so how has she found it being a newcomer to Halden? 

– That's something that I think about a lot. It can be daunting to arrive in a new place and create a new network. Luckily, I also have a girlfriend here, who I also houseshare with, so things are working out well for me. But there are people from all over Norway and around the globe, so networking options within the company should be better organized. I'm going to get fully settled into my job first, but then that's something I'd like to get involved in, promises Inger.