Eirik: Being new in KONGSBERG

Profile:

Name: Eirik Opsanger
Age: 25
Position: Project engineer
Education: Master’s in engineering cybernetics from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
Employed in KONGSBERG since August 2009
Interests: Cross-country skiing. IT, photo

From studies of cybernetics to the world’s most advanced anti-ship missile

With a brand new master’s degree in engineering cybernetics, Eirik Opsanger came directly from NTNU to KONGSBERG and a job in the Guidance, Navigation & Control Department of the missile division in KONGSBERG. He has already realised that he is one of those fortunate people who at some time in the future will see their own thoughts fly – literally speaking.

“I’ll be playing my part in developing the world’s most advanced anti-ship missile, which we hope to integrate into Norway’s new fighter plane – the JSF. There are many challenges to be met, but one day I hope to see a missile I have helped to produce fired for the first time. That’s what is so exciting about working in KONGSBERG: we actually see the physical results of our labours,” Eirik Opsanger tells us.

Mentor scheme and project meetings

Eirik feels that the transition from student existence to working life has gone well. “I really put my education to good use here, and people appreciate me. On the first day I was assigned a mentor who showed me round, answered my questions and helped me during the first few weeks. And before lunch on my first day I was already at my first project meeting!”

An interdisciplinary environment

 “I hope to join in the fun in development and research. There are a lot of specialist environments gathered here in KONGSBERG, and we must all work together to achieve our goals. It’s a bit different from university life where the subject fields are very separate. It’s also new and exciting to see how different subsystems affect each other and how this puts great demands on cooperation. We have to make optimal use of all the subject areas in order to reach the customers’ goals,” Eirik says.

Career goals

Eirik has not set any clear career goals yet, but he does have an idea about the path he will take. “Some people want to rise in the hierarchy, while others prefer to be experts in their field. So far I am leaning towards the latter.”

But Eirik has plenty of time to mull this over, and in KONGSBERG the opportunities are numerous – whether you want to move upwards or across, or to hop around. “KONGSBERG offers very many opportunities, so if you get tired of one thing, you can change project and try something else,” Eirik says.
But he is hardly going to change project straightaway. First he wants to see his own thoughts fly.