"Mommy, when are we going to have a look at another planet?" Julia was astonished when she was recently looking at the stars in the sky with her young son before he went to bed, and he revealed his travel plans to her. That her son, who is still in kindergarten should aspire to higher things comes as no surprise to Julia. "Just like his mother," she says. Always on the lookout for something new, for great things.
"Think big" is second nature to the 37-year-old: "Privately, personally and at work, I've always been interested in getting ahead, in change and in exploring far horizons." OK, this can sometimes be fairly tiring, both for herself and people around her, but it's unavoidable. "Standing still is something I just cannot do."
Julia is a team leader in EDAG's Dimensional Management department, where, among other things, the development process involves calculating tolerances for parts and components. "To put it in simple terms, we are responsible for making sure that the quality of the theory is translated into practice and that everything comes together," says Julia. "To this end, we have to look very closely and, with maximum precision, incorporate the particular OEM's requirements into the product design."
Years ago, Julia would never have dreamed that she would one day find herself at this crucial interface for quality in vehicle development. "After leaving school, I trained to become a carpenter," she reports. "Being creative, I really wanted to do something with my hands. I thought working with wood was great." Until at some point, her back began to bother her. The heavy lifting.
Of necessity, Julia changed direction and did another apprenticeship. This time to become a technical product designer. "This was where I learned how to bring technical drawings into the 3D world. Straight off, I found this really cool, and it opened the door for me to a wide ranging professional field that is full of variety."
Once she had completed her apprenticeship, Julia first worked as a technical product designer for an automotive company. This is also where she met her future husband. Her first child was born in 2013.
"For many people, working with in the same company as their partner is a no-go," she knows. "I always enjoyed it – provided we were not in the same team." Then in 2015, Julia's husband switched to EDAG. The working couple was separated. Before long, he was saying "Why don't you come, too, it's cool here." It took her a year. "Family reunion," Julia says with a twinkle in her eye. In 2019 , the next baby was on the way.
Balancing their jobs and their family is a matter of great importance to both Julia and her husband. "Two children and two full-time jobs are only possible if we, the parents, share the work. Fifty-fifty is our deal," says Julia. "While one of us starts work earlier, the other takes the children to school and childcare a little later, and can then stay at work longer. Whoever is on the 'early shift' later picks the children up. This arrangement works very well for us."
To begin with, Julia and her husband divided up the various tasks according to a fixed schedule. "But that really didn't work. If you take on managerial tasks, there are certain situations when you have to be flexible enough to ensure that a presentation or quotation is ready the next day," as Julia knows from experience. "So we now arrange things more spontaneously, depending on our workloads. This works very well and the children don't miss out. If one of the children is sick, mobile work is a good alternative."
The key to balancing work and family life in this way is a high degree of self-organization. "My philosophy is that I always want to give 100 percent - both at work and at home," Julia stresses. She finds it very easy to concentrate and block out background noise. "But this also means that after eight hours at work, it's really time to call it a day. Then, my family has my full attention. No ifs and buts."
That sounds like quite a lot of "iron discipline." But Julia immediately dismisses this idea. "I have no wish whatsoever to go through life with dogged persistence." That's not my nature at all." She is much more concerned with always getting the best from the different personalities working together. "And that's what I love about my job as a team leader. What I am interested in is taking responsibility for a matter and for the employees , employing them correctly in the project concerned, and bringing their strengths to the fore. Success is the result of constant sowing and reaping."
Julia therefore also seeks to constantly expand her own spectrum. As a team player and team leader – at work and in the family. "Really exciting developments always result from a colorful mix of personalities and skills. Everyone contributes their own personal strengths. By constantly keeping the bigger picture mind, we can learn an incredible amount, and maybe even reach for the supposedly impossible. That's awesome."
