Mansij Hans
POSITION: Process Engineer
EDUCATION: BS, Chemical
Engineering and Biology,
University of Virginia, 2007
HIDDEN TALENT: I have
talent for and understanding
of financial markets and
world economies-I'm even
a partner in my own hedge
fund!
ANSIJ HANS had a
good friend in college
whose father worked
for Monsanto, but it wasn't
always in his plans to work for
the agricultural firm. As he
learned more about the company,
however, he began to realize it was a great fit for him-the
projects Monsanto worked on were right up his alley and the
culture of the firm was just what he was looking for. So he
decided to apply, and accepted an offer for a full-time position.
Has Monsanto lived up to the way your friend portrayed it?
Definitely-the job has gone well beyond my expectations.
That's because there is an amazing sense of intellectual
freedom here. The intellectual freedom for entry-level
employees is profound, and the amount of respect you're given
right out of the gate is unique.
What do you mean by intellectual freedom? For example, one
of my first projects here was a pond in which we needed to
control the levels of acidity. The pond was relatively large, and I
was responsible for controlling the acid levels myself. Normally
that's something only a senior engineer would be considered
for, but Monsanto trusted me to succeed, and I did.
Describe Monsanto in three words: Goal-oriented, broad-
minded, responsible.
What does a typical day look like for you? I always keep a
running list with the things I need to accomplish for each
project I'm working on, and every morning I'll spend some
time on it. Then I'll go out onto the plant and speak with the
operators, asking about the kinds of problems they're seeing
so I know what to include when I'm creating a system for
them. Then I'll spend time working on the actual engineering
design of a given project, and I'll discuss my work with a
senior engineer to get some feedback and make sure there's
not anything else that would cause what I am doing to not be
effective.
What's the most fun thing you've done since starting this job?
We had interns this summer, and getting to spend time with
them and answer their questions about the company and what
we do has been great. I've really enjoyed getting to help them
better understand engineering and design.
Do you have any advice for students who want to work for
Monsanto? Work hard, know your stuff, and always be willing
to take everybody's input. That's the thing about Monsanto
people-they're very open to having an hour-and-a-half
discussion with you, because they know you want to learn and
they want to teach you.
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