Drei Ratschläge an Dein 14jähriges Ich!

On one hand I would tell myself to pull through with what I have started from the very beginning. I think it is very important to approach things with joy and vigour but not to forget to have fun, do sports and to go out because one has only limited time to do that the older one gets.

Was steht auf Deiner Visitenkarte?

My name is Andreas Altwegg and I am team leader for automation engineering at Bühler.

Was ist das coolste an Deinem Job?

It is always cool to be able to offer to clients what they wanted and they are satisfied. Naturally, this does not happen every single time but we push hard to reach this goal in the end. It is always a highlight if one is able to succeed with a project, even down to smaller parts of it and our client is satisfied with what we did.

Welche Einschränkungen bringt Dein Job mit sich?

I would say that one limitation of my job is that one has to like to work in an office. It is not a job where one is able to work outside and with his or her bare hands. Mostly, one works on the computer. That is why it is important to find an activity to compensate for it. This could be sports or other hobbies – I would say that it is important. But there are no real limitations apart from the aforementioned.

Worum geht es in Deinem Job?

Bühler designs sustainable solutions to provide the world with safe food and energy efficient vehicles. I am working in the die casting department which produces machinery that can cast aluminum and magnesium parts for the automotive industry. I am team leader of about ten colleagues and my duties are of a quite diverse nature on the one hand I am here to create concepts for our clients so they will get the solutions they need I have a lot of coordination tasks which means I organise my team so that each and everyone does works on the right task. We are in close contact with our customers which includes quite a bit of business travel. Either our customers will come to see us or we will visit them which is a very important thing to do to understand what our clients do and how they work so that we are able to offer the most suitable solutions. Most of our projects start with a visit to our customers. This is where we clarify the requirements of each of our customers and there is a lot of discussion required. On most occasions we need to set up a number of meetings where we go through every detail again.
Here, we clarify the wants and needs of our client so that we are able to offer the right solution. When an order is placed, we will get the information from our sales department and start to realise the project.

Wie sieht Dein Werdegang aus?

I grew up in Sulgen in the beautiful canton of Thurgau. This is where I went to compulsory school. Afterwards, I started an apprenticeship at a company in Sulgen to become an automation engineer so I did not have to move from my hometown. While doing my apprenticeship, I did my A levels extra occupational. After my apprenticeship, I went straight on to study mechatronics in Winterthur for three years. After my studies I had a very short first stop at Bühler but did decide for myself that it would be good to start at a smaller firm. This is how I could gain a lot of experience, including living abroad. Personally, I got a lot out of this time. At the end of this job I did an extra occupational Master's in business administration at the University of Applied Sciences in St. Gallen and switched to Bühler in the year 2011.

Ginge es auch ohne Deinem Werdegang?

I am sure that it is possible to do my job with a different background - it is not necessary to have a Master's or college degree. It is important to have a certain technical interest and understanding of it but I believe that, despite a different background, it is possible to reach a lot of things if one is ambitious and willing to succeed.