Electrical Engineer Klaus Maicher

Klaus Maicher is an engineer through and through. After completing his basic military service in 2003, he hung up his uniform. Now, Maicher is a member of the intermediate-level technical-career civil service and is serving the Bundeswehr again – now as a civilian employee. He is a technical assistant for the functional area of electrical engineering and electric power engineering.

Solving the Problems of the Troops 

It was by chance that Klaus Maicher returned to the Bundeswehr. He was studying industrial engineering in Fulda and was looking for an internship for his final thesis. He stopped at a Bundeswehr stand at a trade fair. After a brief talk, Maicher knew that he could also work in the Bundeswehr as a civilian. He kept in contact and started his internship at the Bundeswehr Technical Center for Land-Based Vehicle Systems, Engineer and General Field Equipment (WTDWehrtechnische Dienststelle 41) in Trier a few months later.

Maicher liked it there so much that he decided to continue working for the Bundeswehr. He applied with his completed bachelor degree and passed the assessment procedure. Maicher underwent a career training as a Bundeswehr civil servant candidate and learned everything there is to know about administration, legal foundations and technical procedures. Since 2014, the 35-year old has been working in the area of electrical engineering, electric power engineering and plant engineering.

Editors' Comment: You may apply for the intermediate-level technical-career civil service even if you have not completed your course of study yet. The Bundeswehr cooperates with many universities which offer courses of study for civil servant candidates. Even during this time, you will be employed as a civil servant candidate and paid accordingly.

Variety is Exciting

Maicher’s agency, Bundeswehr Technical Center WTDWehrtechnische Dienststelle 41, tests and develops regenerative energy applications. "Our agency researches and tests improvements to facilitate the work of the troops, especially during operations abroad,” Maicher tells us. Is it a good idea to install a solar module into a tank? Which components are best suited to be operated by solar energy? How can vehicle components and vehicle technology be protected against extreme weather conditions, e.g. in the desert? These are some of the issues that are addressed by experts like Maicher in the Bundeswehr technical centers.

“For me, the Bundeswehr is a great employer because the work is diverse and I can freely shape my professional future, which also includes promotion prospects,” says Maicher. At the Center’s location in Trier, he is mainly responsible for electrical tests and standardization procedures. In his position as technical assistant, he also acts as a point of contact for the troops. “Whether the soldiers are members of the Special Operations Forces Command or of a tank battalion, I truly enjoy the exchange and the contact. I want to make sure that the problems in the troops are solved in our agency.”