From electronics mechanic to an AP Degree in IT Network & Electronics Technology

- Kasper Andersen

 

That Kasper Andersen, 26, is testing software with the international company ETI A/S in Nørresundby is a bit of a coincidence. First of all, he hadn’t imagined that he would take an AP degree in IT Network & Electronics Technology.

 

Secondly, he was specialising in hardware when he decided to take the higher education programme at UCN - University College of Northern Denmark.

Today he observes, however, that everything turned out to his complete satisfaction. The study programme was interesting and relevant and it opened the door to a job, which is both challenging and demanding. But the path to becoming one of the 200 staff at ETI A/S started in a completely different place – namely with an electronics mechanic education.

 

Back to school

When Kasper had finished his lower secondary education, he took vocational training to become an electronics mechanic.

 

When he was drafted for the army, they soon decided to put him to work in an electronics maintenance shop in Vordingborg due to his education. This was where he spent his military service, and after he was sent home he happened to see an ad from UCN - University College of Northern Denmark about the IT Network & Electronics Technology programme.

 

“After having left the army I had been without a job, and I wanted to get started on something. Educating myself was not exactly the first thing I had in mind, but IT Network & Electronics Technology sounded interesting, so I decided to enrol to the programme. Going back to school was quite a change, especially dealing with all the maths on the programme. But I managed.

 

First I got maths under control and then the other courses, and I started to really like it. Tuition was good and interesting and very relevant to what you see once you start working after graduation. I still use my notes and books from back then when I work”, says Kasper.

 

He decided to specialise in hardware because that was what resembled his electronics mechanic training the most, but he ended up working with software.

 

The be-all and end-all

“When I got a job at ETI, I was hired as an integration tester to test the analysis equipment they made for the telecommunications industry and develop automated test procedures. That these are two software areas means nothing in relation to my hardware specialisation. On my study programme, tests were something that I wanted to be over and done with as soon as possible.

 

That’s not how I feel here. Meticulous tests are the be-all and end-all, especially when several large systems are united in one large network. That’s when you want to be sure that it can all work together, and you will only find out by testing it thoroughly”, says Kasper.

 

One of ETI’s main areas is the telecommunications industry, and solutions for that industry is what Kasper usually works on. But he has many other tasks.

“At the moment, I am part of a team developing methods for rolling out software in networks where we need to install and configure hundreds of machines over the course of a single night. That is one of the issues that make it interesting to go to work”.