“I enjoy my job, my team and look forward to waking up every day and starting my work”, – pre-master engineer Stephan Rahm reveals the spirit of Bosch Power Tools

Bosch Power Tools is one of the world’s leading suppliers of power tools, supplying power & garden tools, accessories and measurement technology. Today we spoke with Stephan Rahm — an engineer who is a part of the pre-master program at Bosch Power Tools. At the moment of the interview, Stephan joined Bosch just two months prior and not only exclusively shared the aspects of his daily life at Bosch, but also provided some great advice for participants of poly-E-fair – the virtual job fair of ETH Zurich. 

Path to Bosch

Stephan Rahm finished his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Applied Studies in Brugg AG, Switzerland. Stephan was thinking of making a master but really wanted to get a working experience first to feel what it is like being a part of his profession. 

“Knowing how to work in reality is slightly different from what you learn in the University.”

Stephan Rahm

After an almost 1-year internship in one of the big pharma companies, Stephan realised that his passion is in developing new things and, specifically, engineering parts. This is how Stephan turned his attention to Bosch: “I heard a lot of good things about Bosch: outstanding employment rating, innovative ways of thinking, constant eagerness to develop new products. You notice innovation from Bosch everywhere: simply look at all these e-bikes on streets”.

So, at the end of 2020, Stephan applied for a position in the pre-master engineering program at Bosch Power Tools, an ideal opportunity to combine the master thesis and a real job.

Pre-master program at Bosch

During a pre-master program, Stephan explains, a first-year is a full-time job only. Therefore, Stephan has a unique opportunity to become a part of his department developing bits for cordless encoder drilling machines. Stephan also will have an opportunity to work for up to 3 months in  different departments. The exchange projects should be within Bosch Power Tools, but in fact can be very different. Stephan will be given opportunities to learn marketing in his department, or go to other-purpose teams, which develop chainsaw blades, hammer drills or diamond tools. This exemplifies Bosch’s strive towards helping employees do what they are passionate about and to support mobility between departments of a big international company. As Stephan has a particular interest in going to a production plant, he can pick between locations in Switzerland, Germany, China, Italy, or even Spain. 

“You can’t become a professional without visiting places and learning from other people.”

Stephan Rahm

And from the second year, the Master’s education starts, so Stephan will combine his studies with 40-70% job occupancy.

Daily life

At the moment of our discussion, Stephan is just two months at his new job and already loves it. Stephan talks about his duties with enthusiasm: “Benchmark tests are a specific part of my job that I love very much because it allows me to work independently and self-reliably. We test our own solutions, the solutions of our competitors, and use this knowledge to improve Bosch products.” 

“You don’t want to react to changes; you want to keep ahead of them.”

Stephan Rahm

Continuing the topic, Stephan points out: “I just started working at Bosch a few months ago, but I already noticed one very important detail – Bosch always tries to optimize their products and the way of working. Being future-oriented, Bosch tries to make the whole company as agile as possible, so the company can faster implement market and customer demands into real products. “ 

There is a particular example of how this agile (r)evolution affects daily work — Stephan and his colleagues don’t have their own desk places. Every desk is equipped with an external display where they can connect their laptops. They can switch desks from day-to-day, and it is very convenient. 

“I can discuss my ideas with other teams and work together with them. I really like this flexibility.”

Stephan Rahm

Another example of agile thinking in Bosch is the collaborative environment and very inclusive decision-making process. Stephan says: “The way we work together in teams feels very comfortable. From my first day at Bosch, I feel as a part of the team, which listens to my ideas and opinions and always helps in case of questions. My colleagues and also higher management include me in making the key decisions. This great atmosphere is inspiring and helps me a lot to progress with my tasks.”

The main value at Bosch

“With our products, we always try to help the people.” 

Stephan Rahm

Stephan says that the distinctive feature of Bosch is developing products for life: “It is our wish in Bosch to produce the best product for the customer. Speaking of power tools, it simply makes the work easier for the people who will use the tools”.

Bosch appreciates its employees as much as its customers. That is why Bosch pays a special attention to helping his employees constantly grow. There is always something going on: online and offline trainings, workshops, courses. In particular, internal workshops allow different teams to regularly meet and freely share ideas on how to improve the work of each other. Bosch employees are free to jump on a project in another team if they want to help. “Bosch always tries to bring you to the next level”, – Stephan says.

Skills to succeed

Stephan mentions several skills that are very important at his job: “Working at Bosch means always learning new things. That is why the way you work is just as important or even more important as the technical things that you know. You should be able to work independently, like to work by yourself without supervision, be eager to implement your own ideas. I developed these skills during my studies, and it greatly helps me here at Bosch. And, of course, communication is vital for teamwork. You need to be open-minded, listen to other people. Sometimes other people are right as well, not only yourself”.

Stephan advises young students to first understand what they truly want. To do so, they should stay open-minded and be ready to try different areas of interest. Then, “simply gain your own knowledge about different areas and make a decision if this is the right thing for you”, – Stephan concludes. And adds: “A full-time job or internship is just a perfect opportunity for this”.

Stephan agrees that the poly-E-fair is a great opportunity to get to know companies better. “Knowing what you want, check company profiles in advance and try to find the most interesting ones. And just talk with company representatives on the day of the fair.

Why are you happy working at Bosch

Finishing our interview, Stephan replies with no hesitation: “I enjoy my job, my team, and look forward to waking up every day and starting my work – these are all reasons you need to have.”