Hi Katrin, thanks for taking the time to have a little chat with us. Could you tell us what you did before General Aerospace and how you came to work here?

I haven’t been with General Aerospace very long. I used to work in the insurance industry doing project management and process management. That wasn’t a job that I wanted to be in forever. When I saw the job advertised by GA, I applied right away. Things went very quickly from there. An interview was scheduled via email, which I thought was a bit odd because, isn’t it quicker to do that over the telephone? But then everything was very personal and totally professional. My boss and I got along great right from the start, and after a multi-level selection process, they gave me the job. I’ve been here since the summer and I’m starting to hit my stride.

What exactly does a program management assistant do at General Aerospace?

Program management serves as an interface between our external customers and the internal departments here when new product programs are introduced. We organize and coordinate lots of different projects. Internally, for instance, it’s development, start of production, or logistics. Each process of course has to be adapted to meet customer specifications. The other part of my job is getting everything from the customer that we need. That’s a challenge, but I like my work here a lot more than I liked my previous job.

Why?

Well when you’re done, you can hold a finished product in your hand. You can really understand and see what you’ve created. My previous work in the insurance industry was rather abstract. The result was just on paper, it seemed unreal somehow.

JI can really understand that. It’s always nice to see the results of your efforts. But besides that, what do you like about working at General Aerospace?

I like the people here, all of them! It’s a cool bunch. It’s fun to work with them. I feel comfortable here. When I started at GA, my boss introduced me to all the people in the company. That gave me confidence, made me feel like I was no longer an outsider. And I also knew who was responsible for which areas right away. That’s not necessarily unimportant with my job. I also like the fact that I am relatively independent with respect to how my workday is structured and that I have a lot of responsibility.

Was it sink or swim when you got here, or did you have a lot of time to adjust?

It was a happy medium. My supervisor took the time to show me everything, explained a lot, and I had enough time to learn the ropes. On the other hand, I was able to handle a lot of things on my own fairly quickly. But my boss was always there for me if I ever got stuck. It was a good beginning.

Thanks for sharing your initial impressions with us, Katrin. I hope you continue to enjoy your new job and make lots of finished products that you can hold in your hands!