Meet… Sam Brikowski! Sam is a Business Development Specialist with SE Automation. He works out of our Milwaukee location. Get to know Sam!
What is your role at Standard Electric and what do you specialize in? I am a Business Development Specialist for SE Automation. I am responsible for being a Siemens Certified Circuit Protection & Controls Specialist, which I recently finished in October. While I am relatively new to this position, my previous 11 years of experience as a System Integrator equipped me with enough knowledge to be dangerous in other areas as well.
How did you become interested in Engineering? My life as a bartender didn’t look promising and I found Intermediate Accounting to be boring (no offense accounting team!). Then, I took Circuits 1 out of curiosity. I was hooked after that!
What attracted you to this industry? The diversity of processes, applications, and problems. There’s never (mostly) a dull moment and always something new to learn.
What traits do you have that help you succeed in your role? I’m detail oriented and enjoy problem solving. I would say that I typically communicate clearly, efficiently, and effectively.
When you’re working with clients, how do you help them identify and solve the problems that they’re facing? It’s important to ask questions and patiently listen. Sometimes we get stuck on solving a problem quickly and wind up taking more time to effectively solve the problem. We wind up in a game of “ping pong” or “… and another thing…”. I’ve found that if we slow down and ask the right questions on the front end, it usually helps everyone involved in the long-run.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned while working at Standard Electric? How important and impactful company culture is.
What kinds of things do you like to do outside of work? I try to keep my sanity with twin girls that are 5. I’m an ex-sports fanatic, but still like to catch an occasional game (Badgers and Bucks mostly). I golf, not well, but have fun getting out. I have a semi-green thumb and mess around with a small veggie/herb garden every year. My wife and I like to entertain, and I like to cook so we spend a lot of time just hanging out with friends and their families. I don’t mind tackling the occasional DYI project around our old house.
What’s something most people don’t know about you? A “Covid Project” that I took a shot at was inoculating some logs with Shiitake mushroom spores. They’ve been producing in the back yard ever since.
