Interview with Aleksandra Pasalic

Please briefly introduce yourself: What is your name? In which department and at which site do you work? What is your job title?

My name is Aleksandra Zupanek and I work in the technology department at the Leopoldsdorf site of AGRANA Zucker GmbH in the Marchfeld region. Specifically, I work as a chemical process engineer in the quality control department, which includes the on-site laboratory, the raw materials laboratory and the wastewater treatment plant.

I am currently doing an on-the-job training programme to become a qualified specialist for organic and food engineering.

I did my training to become a chemical process engineer at the Leopoldsdorf site between 2018 and 2020.

Why did you decide to work in a technical profession?

What I most enjoy about my technical profession is that it involves little office work and lots of moving around. You learn something new every day.

Which aspects of your everyday working life in a technical profession interest you most?

Every day at work is very varied and never monotonous. I am always learning new things, such as new analytical methods and technical processes, and also work on projects at the company. What I find particularly exciting and interesting about the work is the daily direct contact with many different people from the production department.

Can you share with us a tip why women should decide to work in a technical position?

I would encourage them to keep on learning, to always acquire new skills and to fight against prejudice in so-called male-dominated professions. It is very likely that a woman can also be very successful in these technical professions, perhaps even more successful than a man since women are responsible and very ambitious in order to hold their own against male colleagues.