Mina Farmen was working as a flight attendant on routes throughout Europe when the COVID-19 pandemic changed the course of her career.
With travel nearly shut down at the onset of the pandemic, Farmen quickly found herself out of a job and in search of a new occupation. “I was without a job for a while,” Farmen said, “so I was trying to find a profession that was secure during this time.”
She soon stumbled on the idea of becoming a crane operator—a job that, as Farmen was surprised to discover, was relatively easy to transition into in her home country of Norway.
“I found that to become a crane operator, you don’t need any previous experience and the training course is four weeks long, and you were pretty much guaranteed a job after it because it’s in demand,” Farmen said.
Farmen is now operating cranes on construction projects near Oslo. She said she really enjoys being a crane operator, and she strongly encourages other women to consider the profession.
“For any women who’d like to become crane operators, there’s nothing stopping you from doing it,” Farmen said. “You’re also able to do it—you don’t need to be a man to operate a crane.”
