Does an engineer's career end at the age of 40?
Not for Sture Eriksson, a technical engineer who still works at the age of 67.
Most people want to stop working at the age of 65 or earlier. But for Sture Eriksson, culture and development makes him want to continue working part-time for at least another 5 years.
Testing engineer within MedTech
Sture Eriksson's main area is testing and test development in several fields, such as telecom, automotive and medical devices.
“I have almost 33 years of experience in test and product development. My systematic approach and the simplicity of learning new things have allowed me to constantly evolve, something I can always apply in my daily work at AFRY,” Sture says.
For him, technical difficulties and challenges are what make the work exciting.
Age diverse workplace
I find it more interesting and rewarding to work in a group with different ages, Sture says.
He means that young employees often have new knowledge from the university and usually good at coming up with creative ideas. At the same time, young employees are often worse at dealing with setbacks and delays that can be expected in most projects. A group of mixed ages usually becomes more dynamic and more productive.
For me, it is also stimulating and revitalising to work with young employees. Their energy and enthusiasm are contagious. And to be honest, a group where everyone is 50+ is usually a bit boring, a bit too predictable, Sture says.
Ongoing assignment at Getinge Critical Care
Getinge Critical Care's ambition is that every major development project should have a dedicated environmental testing engineer. Sture belongs to a team who are responsible for environmental tests, biocompatibility and chemical compatibility (cleaning, disinfection) of their medical technology products.
My role includes developing environmental requirements, creating test plans, planning and conducting environmental tests and writing test reports. It also includes some work with the development and validation of test equipment, Sture explains.
A challenge that exists within Medtech is the special requirements with regulatory considerations, that everything must be described in well-defined processes and requirements for traceability at all levels.
It provides a fairly comprehensive document system that you need to master. There is a lot to get acquainted with when you come in as a consultant, Sture says.
Engineering – a lifelong learning
An important event that shaped him in his professional role today was an old tube radio that he found in the attic as a 10-year-old. It did not work as it should, but he managed to fix it and make it work.
It gave me a bleeding tooth for technology, and I started reading everything I came across about technology and science, Sture says.
Ever since, there have been many stimulating people I have met both at AFRY and with clients. There is always an opportunity to find a challenge, do something different, and learn something new, Sture concludes.
