News from Central Denmark

32-year-old Marta Merino said goodbye to Spain and hello to a life with lots of spare time and flexibility in Denmark

Are you looking for a career with great freedom in your everyday life and a good salary? If you ask Coastal Engineer Marta Merino, you will find it in Central Denmark.

“Central Denmark has so much to offer! For instance, you are met with so much trust in your work. I register my hours, but there is confidence in the fact that I do it the right way, and I can come and go as I please as long as it does not conflict with my work. There is great flexibility and management simply trusts that you get your work done,” Marta explains.

Independent work environment

As a member of staff at the Danish Coastal Authority in Lemvig, Marta is a part of an office that works with erosion and flooding supervision of the Danish coastline. She thrives in a very independent work environment, where she can influence her work tasks, without her manager looking over her shoulder.

“Management is present in a very positive way. You eat lunch with the director and managers, and we are all just colleagues communicating on equal terms.”

At the same time, Marta highlights the salary and the many weeks of leave as something that makes Denmark an attractive career destination.

“I have heard from friends how it is to negotiate salary in Spain, and it is hard. In Denmark you don’t need to be afraid of not getting a fair salary. We also have a lot of leave and flexibility. This flexibility allows me to travel to Spain and work from there. So I don’t need to spend all my leave when I visit my family,” Marta says.

It is all about quality of life

The young oceanographer originally came to Denmark to study her master’s degree. After graduation, she considered whether she should search for a job in Denmark or in Spain. In the end, she enjoyed Denmark so much that she had to try out her opportunities in Denmark. Marta sent an unsolicited application for an internship at the Danish Coastal Authorities, who called her in for an interview.

“Even though I had only applied for an internship, they offered me a job – and my Danish wasn’t even great yet! They actually paid for my Danish classes. They placed trust in me, and therefore they wanted to invest in me. I think this is typical for a Danish workplace: they want to invest in their employees, and I think that’s great.”

Later, Marta met a Dane – but she stresses the fact that her boyfriend was not the determining factor in her decision to stay in Denmark. She just knew this was the right place for her.

“I already knew that I wanted to stay before we got together. When you have tried to live and work here, it is difficult to return to your home country. I live one hour from the airport, so I still feel close to my family, and with a good salary and flex hours, I can easily go home. I am so happy about living here, that I think I won’t return to Spain,” she notes. “At the end, it is all about quality of life!”.