Annina Jansson: ”Every young person should dare to try STEM!”

In this series on young professionals in chemistry, we will present inspirational young individuals solving tomorrow’s issues. We will start with Annina Jansson, a Finnish engineer working in the energy industry in London.

After having completed her secondary studies in her native hometown Porvoo, Annina, then 19, was driven to continue her study path abroad, and chose Aberdeen, Scotland, mostly out of a coincidence.

– I explored possibilities in different cities across the UK, as it was an easy option before Brexit. I received my first offer from Aberdeen University, went to an open day -and yes it seemed like a good place to live and study in, so I decided to move there, tells Annina, now based in London.

It has been a long and interesting journey to her current role as a process engineer working in the London area for a proposed blue hydrogen project in England.

Upon beginning to study in a foreign country, she did not know Aberdeen was actually an “oil capital”. She quickly found out however, as the local industry was well present in study days and lectures at the university. It seemed a common practice to engage with many possible future employers at various events organized by the companies and create networks in sports clubs and societies. Annina had weightlifting as a hobby, and also served the sports club as a vice president. She was also an active member of the university’s Engineering Society. It was a good way of making friends and creating contacts for the future.

What comes to the study program itself, Annina has no comparison to Finland, but thinks it might have been a bit more pressure at her university in Aberdeen, as the system is based on completing the study course within a certain limited time, and passing all the exams with certain degrees.

– Everyone had the same experience and pressure though, Annina says. – It was nothing unusual, and at the same time the social environment combined to the studies made the time very interesting and rewarding. When we then started to apply for jobs, it got stressful.

It is a common practice in the UK to start a graduate program with a company after graduation. Annina also got that possibility, after having applied to companies interesting for a freshly graduated engineer.

– It is not easy”, she reflects. – There are many more applicants than graduate program possibilities, and some technical students end up changing their career plans. Either voluntarily or because they do not find an entry level position. It is common that the job market requires several internships, assessments and extracurricular activities and the competition is quite fierce. I was lucky to be chosen for my current role.

Annina started the graduate program in London, then moved to Rotterdam to complete a one-year refining operational assignment and returned to London to work as a process engineer for a proposed blue hydrogen project. After four years, she feels she is exactly in the right place.

– The UK Government has this target of significantly increasing the amount of sustainable energy sources, hydrogen playing an important role in this transition. I am very happy to be part of that development and this is surely going to be interesting for a while. I still do want to learn more about the technical aspects of this project. I think later it’s important to see what the offer is and then go for opportunities that seem interesting for your career then.

Annina would like to encourage all the Finnish young people to look for study possibilities also outside their home country and  is certain that the language barrier is not as high as many think, as many already use a lot of English in their daily lives in Finland. Everyone is new to the thematic at the university at first, she reminds.

Looking back at her study path and seeing where she is now, Annina has a strong message to any young (female) considering STEM subjects.

– If you have even a mild interest towards STEM, do give it a try. You do not have to be perfect or have top grades to be able to study engineering. It is enough you have the willingness and the ability to learn and work hard. Do not opt out from the possibilities you have for the future, because once you studied engineering, you will always be very employable – not only in technical, but also non-technical careers!”