Jenni Ryoti, wind turbine technician for GE Wind, grew up playing with her skateboard in a very unconventional way: instead of skating, she would lie on it on her back and slide under the kitchen table with it. “I had seen car repair men do that when they were fixing cars, so when I was a child I pretended to do the same”.
Technician in Electronics and also Electrician, she has persistently worked to reach her goals, turning difficulties and prejudice into strengths no matter where it came from. And she encourages others to follow suit.
”Since I was a teenager, I knew my strengths and that I wanted to work on things that matter”, comments Jenni. “I graduated in 2009 as electronics technician, and for the first couple of years of my career, I worked as a meter-reader at a local electric power plant. Later, I went back to school and became an electrician in 2013. After graduating, I worked as an optical fiber welder and as an automation mechanic. Then, one day, I noticed that GE had a job opening. I had always admired the GE wind mills in my home town of Lappeenranta, dreaming of one day having a job there. When I saw that GE was looking for a wind turbine technician, I applied for the position and got the job.”
As a wind turbine technician, you cannot be afraid of the heights, as most of the work is done high up. In Lappeenranta, the wind mills stand 100 meters tall and some of the work is done on top of the turbine, so Jenni wears a harness and y-ropes to ensure their safety.
“I love what I do. Being quite short helps when I’m up there, because there is not much room. However, sometimes I rely on my colleague to help me out because the largest bolts require a torque wrench which is almost my size and considering he’s taller, he is a better suit in that case. Luckily, we always work in pairs. We all have our strengths!”, reinforces Jenni.
Most of Jenni’s work time, though, is spent in the office. She is responsible for orders, schedules, and reporting. She enjoys the versatility of her job, and to ensure a similar or even more demanding position in the future, she plans to go back to school one day to earn a Bachelor’s degree.
Someone once said to one of Jenni’s former employers ’Next time around, please make sure you send over a real technician, not a woman’. When Jenni was younger, she would sometimes let a hurtful comment get to her, but nowadays, she no longer cares. Any doubts anyone might have about her because of her gender only make her more motivated to do a great job.
“I don’t believe in the division of work into women’s and men’s jobs. I would say, go for whatever interests you! If someone asks me if I’m strong enough to carry my tool box, I tell them that I would stay home if I didn’t have the strength to carry my own tools!