It is not always easy to decide on which profession to dedicate the rest of your life. After I had finished my technical baccalaureate, and even though I knew that I wanted to continue on this path –in the field of technology, mechanics, industry, etc.– , I was facing the dilemma of whether to get professional training or study to become an engineer.
The counselor at my institute, who knew me since I was small, encouraged me to study “Industrial Equipment Maintenance” because he saw it as a perfect match for me and, moreover, almost 100% of the students get a job as soon as they complete their studies.
This went slightly against the current with what most people were telling me to do with my career path. They told me that I was making a mistake by choosing a sector dominated by men and that they wouldn’t make it easy on me, but I took those first steps resolved to break the mould.
The students in the cycle were all boys except for me. In fact, I was the first girl to enter the cycle. My professors and classmates, although somewhat surprised initially, all welcomed me marvelously and soon I become just another part of the group. I was very comfortable studying something for which my appreciation would grow every day and that was a constant source of motivation.
Happy and proud with the choice I had made, I then had to face the real world of employment with an internship at a company, which is when I had my first experience with Iberdrola.
My internship brought me to the Puente Bibey power plant in the Sil valley. Walking into the plant on that first day was a real shock because, even though I knew the basic theory on how a hydropower station runs, I hadn’t the slightest idea of how it could have been in reality. I must admit that I was lucky to be part of a fantastic team of professionals who were also regular people. They made efforts to teach me everything about their profession from that very first day.
Three months of that internship sufficed for me to know that this was the type of work to which I wanted to dedicate my life’s work. I sent my curriculum to the company and soon received a call to participate in the hiring process to fill a vacant post, “Maintenance and Operation Support Specialist”. One month later, I was working in the same plant in which I had done my internship, where I learned from the knowledge and experience of coworkers during the five years I spent there.
For family reasons, I requested to be transferred to the Santo Estevo power plant, where I have now been working for almost a year and a half. Similar to the former plant, I am among a super group of people who immediately took me in as a member of the team. Additionally, I was lucky to be able to attend the construction and commissioning of the recently inaugurated Santo Estevo II power plant.
As maintenance specialists, my colleagues and I handle the general maintenance of the facilities, inspecting machinery and auxiliary equipment, repairing malfunctions and faults, etc., and attempt to keep the facilities running in optimum conditions for power generation.
I love my job, which is why I know that I was right to choose this career path. I think that I have been lucky to work in Iberdrola, where there is not a single iota of discrimination, and where I have seen firsthand the equality of opportunities for both men and women.
Although I am the first woman to be hired at this post, I feel very comfortable working with men who are, above all, excellent professionals and have always respected and valued my work.
Being the first female maintenance specialist in a hydroelectric power plant is a source of pride. I hope that more women will enter the field over time, since companies like Iberdrola give us the opportunity to prove that we can also do jobs that were once considered to be men-only. The world has changed and we must change with it.
