Apprenticeship opportunity opens door to full-time position at Novo Nordisk
Former Durham Tech student and adjunct professor Paul Weinhold credits an apprenticeship with Novo Nordisk that he attained through the College with getting his foot in the door to a full-time career.
During the pandemic, Weinhold decided he wanted to change careers to enter the Life Sciences field.
Weinhold has a bioengineering degree, ran an orthopedic biomechanics research lab at UNC-Chapel Hill, but he decided he wanted to develop skills in automation and process controls and apply them in the life sciences industry, specifically in automation and process control areas.
He pursued a Controls Certificate at Durham Tech in the Electrical Systems Technology program while also working at the College as an adjunct professor in engineering.
“That’s how my journey started, in terms of the apprenticeship,” Weinhold said.
He was specifically interested in Novo Nordisk because he was really impressed with their ambitious and focused research to defeat chronic diseases, such as diabetes.
“Diabetes hits close to home,” he said. “My wife’s family has experienced some of the complications in living with diabetes. I really want to be involved with efforts to defeat that disease or help people live healthier lives who have that disease.”
He decided to apply for the apprenticeship with Novo Nordisk because he thought it would give him industry experience within the industry and automation and process controls.
Weinhold said he found the process for applying for the apprenticeship easy. He attended an informational session with Novo Nordisk representatives at the College, then submitted an application online. Within a few weeks he was invited to an in-person interview and then offered the apprenticeship opportunity a few weeks after that.
During the internship, Weinhold got to experience several different areas of the company.
“My role during the internship was focused on maintaining and repairing production systems,” he said. “I had a chance to rotate through different areas, one being the packaging line, another being utilities maintenance, and another being metrology, and then parts management processes.”
His biggest takeaway from the internship was that he got to meet different teams and figure out what he was best at.
“I wanted to use the skills I have for the most impact,” he said.
The plan had been for Weinhold’s internship to run a full year, but when a position became available 10 months in, he decided to apply.
He is now a full-time Novo Nordisk metrology technician, which involves calibrating sensors used in control systems. He ensures the machines used to make medications are running correctly within specifications.
“The apprenticeship let me get my foot in the door,” he said.
Weinhold said doing an apprenticeship is great because it offers firsthand experience. But, he cautioned others considering apprenticeships, to be prepared to balance school, work and life.
“There are going to be challenging times. You are going to class part time and working full time. That becomes difficult at times,” he said.
The apprenticeship at Novo Nordisk helped Weinhold gain experience employers value.
"Apprenticeships are invaluable for Novo Nordisk because they give potential employees the chance to truly experience a career from the inside. You can’t know if you’ll love the work or if you’ll thrive in the company’s culture until you’re shoulder to shoulder with the team, living the day-to-day,” said Dale Pulczinski, corporate vice president of Novo Nordisk’s facility in Durham. “It’s about more than learning the skills, it’s about discovering whether the environment and values fit who you are. For Paul and the team at our Durham site, we appear to have found a perfect fit!”
Weinhold said he is thrilled to be in his position at Novo and finds his career very rewarding.
“There’s nothing like you improving a system or repairing it and it’s working and helping produce medications that are going to treat people – that's just a great feeling when it all comes together like that.”