“There is such thing as too much office cake. You might think you can resist it, but you cannot.”
Application Engineer Memet Vural
Before his work for Bosch, Memet studied Electrical engineering at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). “I saw the job description on LinkedIn and decided to go for it – even though I did not know what an application engineer was back then.” And he is still learning more about his position as he goes.
When Memet first started at Bosch, all he knew about the company was that they make washing machines. “My mum still asks me to make her a new one to this day.” He quickly learned, however, that Bosch is so much more than just a maker of washing machines. Memet particularly appreciates the support he receives from his team – both at home and abroad. “The great thing about Bosch is that, somewhere in the world, we have an expert for almost every niche you could imagine.”
Memet finds the diversity of his work to be the most enjoyable aspect. It combines both travelling and individual work. “My working days can be quite diverse: one day, I might be in the office, programming a feature for the customer; the next day, I might travel abroad to implement and test it on their systems; and I’ll often spend the third day crying in the bathroom because they destroyed the equipment again.” His position as an Application Engineer requires skills in programming, electrical troubleshooting and communication. As he says himself, “it never gets boring!”
Memet’s biggest challenge when he first started was getting his colleagues’ names right, and convincing the service department to book extra legroom for his flights. Another early challenge was learning all the acronyms used in the company. Since then, the extent to which cake is eaten in his department has proved to be both a blessing and a curse: “There is such a thing as too much office cake. You might think you can resist it, but you cannot. Your colleagues will exploit every opportunity – every achievement and every disappointment – to feed you some sugary monstrosity, turning a once beloved comfort food of yours into your greatest nemesis. Slowly but surely, you watch helplessly as your once-vigorous physique from university dissolves into an unhealthy blob of sadness, devoid of any strength or hope. The cake tastes good, though!”
When asked about his hopes for the future, Memet says that his main ambition is to not electrocute himself.