Applying for and landing your first job can be a daunting task. Thankfully, there are programs available for those who recently finished their studies and are looking for a challenge – like the Equinor graduate program! Each year, we accept more than 100 graduates into our ranks and somewhere around 15 graduates are accepted into Equinor IT.

Thor-André Aresvik is part of selection the committee for our IT graduates and is ready to give us a little insight into what they're looking for:

Wanting to influence change

After finishing her master's degree in computer science at the University of Stavanger, Malavika made it into the Equinor graduate program. Now, she's begun her journey into the energy industry that she wants to influence. 

“I think working in Equinor as a data scientist now is the perfect time. We’re finding more and more information and value in data that can help us improve even further,” Malavika says. 

She explains that the concept of fuzzy numbers, a value that refers to a connected set of possible values and not one single value, is an inspiring concept that could be applied to the challenges climate change presents us with. 

“Our world is becoming increasingly binary and polarized. I don’t think those arguing against fossil fuels are wrong in any way, but there needs to be a controlled shift or the world grinds to a halt,” she explains. 

“The cliché is that you have to be the change you want to see in the world, and that’s why I wanted to join an energy company: to be a part of a green shift. I believe that’s possible by working in Equinor,” Malavika adds.

Being hired as a graduate in Equinor is one thing but understanding the full picture of the organization can be quite a challenge. Malavika’s journey started near the end of the value chain in the trading and selling of oil and gas. 

“Now I’m in the operational end, trying to understand how we extract the resources we sell. I would like to work my way through the value chain and more towards renewables or carbon capture and storage. My goal is to help contribute to those emerging technologies and how they fit into Equinor,” Malavika says. 

This year, Equinor turns 50 and as we make our way towards our goal of net zero by 2050, we need to make the most out of the decades of experience we have. Which makes for an exciting time to be working in a field like data science.

Today, she’s working in a team that tries to detect anomalies that can cause downtime or incidents before they happen – all thanks to sensor data running through neural networks.

“While neural networks are designed to do one thing, they can also be generalized to do something else entirely. We can use experience from decades of drilling wells into setting up wind farms in the middle of the ocean and help us transfer that knowledge,” Malavika says.

Here to learn, not to prove yourself

Starting a new job can be a daunting task - maybe even more so if it’s your first job – but starting as a graduate is a little different. We want you to learn and grow as much as you can, not just show us that you’re “good enough”. 

“No one expected me to know everything, but it didn't mean I wasn’t part of the team and I felt really included from the start. If I needed help with anything I had my team or the whole software community to reach out to,” Morten explains.  

After finishing his studies in cybernetics at NTNU Morten began as a graduate in April of 2021. He wanted to work in a big company with seemingly endless opportunities while also being part of tackling the challenges climate change presents us with. 

“There are so many new technologies being introduced to the energy industry, and it has such a big momentum towards change. I feel like this is a very exciting time to be part of Equinor. Also, even though I’m a graduate my thoughts and ideas are welcome and heard. That’s very inspiring,” Morten says. 

Taking part in the community

With a steep learning curve and new challenges thrown your way, it’s nice to have a community around you to lean on. If your team colleagues don’t know, then there’s plenty of places to find answers. Slack is constantly buzzing with discussions.

“We have a great software community, and you can always ask questions to everyone through Slack. Chances are someone has an answer to your question, or can nudge you in the right direction,” Morten explains. 

You can also pick up new skills at EDC: the Equinor Developer Conference. This three-day internal conference is really a smorgasbord of knowledge and networking.

Exploring a universe of opportunities

Sometimes, we can find ourselves having planned a clear path ahead for ourselves – only to take quite the U-turn at some point. Daniel Sander Isaksen had plans to become an artist and left high school to pursue the dream.

When travelling as part of a UN program, he saw how vastly different life is for many, compared to life in Norway. As the son of an Iranian refugee, he realized how lucky he was to be born in Norway and have every opportunity to fulfill his potential available – and wanted to take a route towards bridging this gap. 

“Energy is such a massive part of our lives and one of the areas where we can make the biggest change. Both in terms of fighting climate change and improving the lives of people across the world. Just imagine the progress and potential we could unlock by bringing affordable, renewable energy to everyone,” Daniel says. 

After returning to Norway, he made his way to Trondheim where his life-long fascination for technology and sci-fi lead him to study cybernetics at NTNU. Come September of 2020, he had his first day of work in as an Equinor graduate.  

Finding the right pieces to the puzzle

During his second rotation, he found himself working with digitalization under the digital lead on Johan Sverdrup. When the digital lead went on paternity leave, Daniel quickly found himself filling the digital lead’s shoes and ultimately became his replacement. Working with technology management really hit home:

“I got to meet many people from across the company, work with them and learn what they need to make the most out of their work. That let me get an overview from a tech and organizational level," Daniel says.

"I really enjoyed putting everything into a context and try to find out how we could improve the work of everyone that’s part of the Equinor puzzle,” he adds. 

Piecing a puzzle together takes time and a solid framework is a good place to start. A graduate position can be a first piece but having a drive and eagerness to learn is something we look for in our Equinor IT graduates - whether your end goal is to become the world’s greatest developer or CEO.

Tackling complexities and emerging tech

When you’ve made it through the application process and the offer to work for Equinor comes your way, your first feeling may be pure joy. But for graduate Marta Benthem Muñiz, the initial reaction was reluctance.  

While oil and gas will be part of the energy mix in the future, Equinor is driving change by committing to sustainable solutions. We’re accelerating our growth in renewables, decarbonizing our oil and gas production, growing within wind and solar, and developing low-carbon solutions such as hydrogens and carbon capture on an industrial scale.

"All these challenges and tasks we’re facing are very complex, both in terms of actual engineering and making them all work together. Getting to be part of tackling these challenges is incredibly interesting," Marta says.   

With a master’s degree in physics from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Marta’s ambition was to work hands-on with data analytics and software development. But for her first rotation, she was offered the responsibility of leading the internal communication of our “Move to Cloud” project. There, she created communication plans, organized live broadcasts for the entire Equinor IT function, wrote articles and more. 

"It wasn’t the type of work I had in mind but knowing that I could rotate later gave me the confidence to try. I got to know and understand Equinor’s IT organization, and l recognized the importance of communication in projects as large as move to cloud. It opened my eyes to the complexities of corporate governance and leadership," she adds.   

Working with quantum computing

Despite having a great time working in communication, Marta insisted on rotating into a technical position. That’s what she came here for after all!

"Thankfully, you have a lot of options when you’re a graduate in Equinor IT. There are many ways to expand your network and learn about other sectors of the company. When planning your development with your leader, you can use that knowledge to influence your graduate journey," Marta explains.  

In her second rotation, she joined the software development department as a front-end developer in a project called Flyt. Now, she’s working in the emerging technology department, whose aim is to identify potentially disruptive technologies and assess if they should be deployed in Equinor. 

Her main contribution is in the quantum computing team, where she’s thrilled to finally exploit her physics and software development passion. 

"The quantum computing team’s mission is to learn about the technology, identify use cases that can potentially benefit from using quantum computing, and establish the external network with academic and industrial partners necessary to thrive. The challenge is to translate current classical mathematical models into quantum algorithm,", says Marta.