Experience
Shell Global Solutions, situated in Amsterdam, has different consultancy- and research departments. Jaap: ‘We research opportunities for wireless instrumentation which could be used in the field. Sometimes Jaap has to travel abroad for his work; he went to Norway recently. The long working-days like he had with his former employer are over; He works normal hours and travels by train between Nijmegen and Amsterdam daily. And he earns good money, more than good. Fifty thousand euros gross a year. Twenty per cent of the Shell employees will lose their jobs soon, but Jaap is convinced he won’t be one of them. ‘My girlfriend and I are looking for a house in Utrecht’.
Making money
09-10-2009 @ 11:42:48 by Sensor
Two former HAN-students tell about their jobs, with which they earn their own money. Lots of money.
‘It wasn’t easy to start here as greeny’
Three years ago Jaap van Dijk (26) graduated as electro technician and now he works as engineer at Shell Global Solutions. Before he got this function, he had already worked for Shell Holland LPG. ‘I worked twelve, at least ten hours and sometimes eighteen hours a day. I didn’t get paid for the overtime hours. They called it a piece of extra investment.’ He also had a company car, which he doesn’t have anymore because all the employees travel by airplane or by taxi. ‘It wasn’t easy to start here as a greeny’, Jaap says. Experience is very important within this company, therefore mainly seniors work here. ‘I worked hard to get here’.
‘It is cool to have my own company’
Joli is an independent practice in Keldonk, Brabant, which looks after children with disturbances concerning AHDH and autism. The owner is Jolanda Kuipers (23) who graduated three years ago in educational studies. The question how things are going she cheerfully answers with ‘It is going very well. In a few weeks time a colleague will join me, because I can’t cope with it alone anymore.’ The advantage of living in a small village is that everybody knows each other. ‘I am so well-known’. Jolanda has many clients which she met by reacting on peoples’ advertisements for help with their children on the internet.
Undertake
She has her practice at home. The reconstructed garage and the garden are used for the small groups of children who come to do a program of activities. Jolanda also does sport coaching, counseling, and social skills-training. It’s in her blood to undertake things. ‘It is cool to have my own company. I like to arrange all things myself, also financially. If I do it myself, I don’t have to stick to certain protocols.’ How much she earns, she doesn’t want to tell. ‘But I can say I earn more than the average 1500 euros which I would earn if I worked for a boss.’
