Facilities @ Management

2.26 How I Came to FM

Karin Schaad

As a good student fluent in several languages, I was lucky enough to attend high school and aim for a baccalaureate with a focus on modern languages. Shortly before graduation, it was time to think about further training steps and career opportunities. After I had admitted to myself that teaching needlework was probably not the right thing for me, it seemed that being a translator or even an interpreter was the most obvious career choice for me due to my love of languages. I had even already tried to simultaneously translate for my siblings in front of the television and felt fairly confident, that this was it. So, I made inquiries and visited appropriate schools. It quickly became obvious that the knowledge I had acquired in French, Italian, and English was not particularly in demand for the translation business and that I would also have to complete a corresponding course of study both for translating and for interpreting specialist topics. However, the career counselor showed another option, which I found a lot more appealing, and which suited my profile even better. It was the training to become a so-called home economics manager, then called “Hausbeamtin.” This study course not only included my language skills, but also other strengths I knew I brought to the table, such as management and people skills. Luckily, I wasn’t put off by the terribly old-fashioned name and, after an informative trial apprenticeship and a pre-study internship ...