My workplace is often 10,000 kilometers away from my home as the crow flies – it alternates between Europe, Asia and North America. I am on the road as a service technician for production machines that manufacture microchips. Every minute that these machines are idle costs our customers an enormous amount of money. So my resting pulse is usually a little higher when I’m on duty than it is after work.

But on one assignment in Asia, I was completely drenched in sweat. I was working in a cleanroom suit, and the heat builds up relatively quickly underneath. There was also pressure from the customer, who produces chips used in many modern smartphones. We had to replace a complex component to keep the system in production and allow the customer to deliver as scheduled. Even at the start of the shift we were already breaking out in a sweat, because the quantities involved were very high and time was incredibly tight. Representatives from senior management were looking over our shoulders.

But we kept our cool and put all our efforts into getting the system up and running again in what felt like an incredibly long week. Luckily, I don’t get so sweaty every time - but that’s also what makes the job so appealing to me.