Timea Denisa Merca, originally from Romania, moved to Denmark to pursue a university degree within Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark, DTU. She is now working as a Mechanical Design Engineer at GN Hearing in Ballerup, just outside Copenhagen.

Scandinavia was the obvious choice

When it was time for Timea to choose where to get her university-degree she, like the majority of her friends, looked abroad and chose Scandinavia. Timea says that she has always heard many positive things about the Scandinavian countries, which made it easy for her to choose Denmark for her ERASMUS exchange. And the fact that Denmark is considered one of the happiest countries in the world is something that has kept her here in five years.

Moving to Copenhagen was not Time's first time moving abroad. At the age of 14, she moved to Spain with her family. What was different this time was Timea moving by herself. With little knowledge about her new home country, but with a great sense of responsibility and excitement, she is glad that she made the decision to move.

"No matter if it's Denmark or any other country, deciding to move, means taking your life in your hands and deciding for your future. Starting somewhere new also gives you the chance to grow and reinvent a better version of yourself. No matter where you go, your learning curve will be steep. It comes with some costs, but the positive outweighs the negative!"

Getting a student job was hugely important

The struggle of getting a job after graduation in Denmark are at times even harder when being an international. Timea is a great inspiration, landing both one student position and two thesis collaborations with GN Hearing during her studies at DTU. Upon graduation, GN Hearing offered her a fulltime job, and she is now working as a Mechanical Design Engineer with them.

Getting a student job was essential for Timea when starting her professional career. It was an opportunity to gain valuable insight into the labor market and get connections for the future. Timea explains that her colleagues helped her to develop and to grow, and that she had a very supportive manager that made her want to continue her career at GN Hearing.

"At GN the focus is on the team, and the contribution that you have to the team, instead of the successes and achievements you have on your own and I found that very motivating because it gives you a feeling of belonging and it's also very different from both Spain and Romania."

Companies in Denmark offer a flat hierarchy - a place where people can develop, where employers focus on the employees and where work-life balance is a central topic. These are a few reasons for Denmark being one of the happiest countries in the world, and reasons that kept Timea here.