Laitex Mechanical Engineer Toni Mikkonen assembling the device.
Toni Mikkonen's journey from summer job to mechanical engineering.

Toni Mikkonen advanced from summer job to mechanical engineering

MECHANICAL FITTER | MECHANICAL ENGINEER | SUMMER JOB

Mikkonen initially started working at Laitex assembly in the summer of 2020, while his engineering studies at LUT were on summer break. He continued assembly work after summer alongside his studies. In February 2021 he got the chance to move forward in his career and practice engineering, and now Mikkonen works part time for Laitex Service.

For me, the possibility to work in an environment like this is like winning the lottery: I get to do as much engineering work as I can without putting back my studies”, describes Toni Mikkonen his experience working as a mechanical engineer at Laitex.

Mechanical engineering remotely alongside studies

The work days consist of equipment redesigns and spare part engineering among other tasks. “For example, when a plant needs to modernise its equipment, I design the replacement parts using the measurements and process values obtained from our customer”, explains Mikkonen.

At Laitex Mikkonen has the opportunity to learn engineering in practice, as well as gain experience from the use of office and engineering software like Office, SolidWorks and Draftsight. He also appreciates getting the opportunity to learn to use common sense in his work. With growing responsibilities, he is also able to plan ahead his career path and studies.

Mikkonen combines his studies and work by watching lecture recordings, if he’s not able to join the lectures in real time. “Remote work gives me the freedom to work when it’s most convenient for me. If I’ve promised something to be ready on Monday, for example, I can work flexibly in the evenings or weekends”, he continues.

Two engineers looking at each other.

Engineering guided by responsibility and sense of appreciation

The best part of Mikkonen’s work days is succeeding at what he’s done. He’s also thankful for good colleagues and the nice atmosphere at work. “Even working remotely we keep in touch a lot. Working tightly together motivates me to work. When I feel appreciated at work, it makes me feel good and I will likely get more assignments in the future”, says the young engineer.

Mikkonen recommends everyone who works in engineering to start from practical, physical work. “It was extremely good to start my career from assembly work: when you know what the equipment is like in the physical world, it is much easier to design new equipment and it helps avoid design flaws”, he says.

Laitex spirit carries through the challenges in remote engineering work

“The corner stone of the work community, Mikkonen feels, is the Laitex spirit. “I’ve worked both at the workshop and at the office. All of us work together forming a chain the links of which never fail. You can go talk to anyone and ask anything – everyone is very helpful to each other”, he describes.

In Mikkonen’s view, Laitex is a very flexible employer. He appreciates the low bureaucracy in terms of local contracts and special arrangements.

Laitex Mechanical engineer Toni Mikkonen leaning towards a wall.

“Here you get to experience so many different kinds of work assignments. It’s nice to be able to contribute to decision making already. In the future I’d like to get closer to our customers and commissioning work, as well as product development and for example strength calculation“

Toni Mikkonen, Mechanical Engineer at Laitex