Case study

Greg is a structural engineer with Lend Lease design

Job pathway

Check-out operator > tutor > structural engineer

Qualifications

BE (Civil) - 1st Class Honours

How did you end up working in your current job?

I was working as a consulting engineer for Hyder Consulting when approached by a recruitment firm acting for Bovis Lend Lease's design section, Lend Lease design. They arranged an interview. I was tempted by the large range of opportunities a company like Bovis Lend Lease can provide as compared to a pure engineering firm, so I decided to take the position.

What skills do you use in your job?

Structural design skills, HR, resource management, budget management, but most of all people and communication skills. Basically I am responsible for producing a co-ordinated structural design for a project. I have to complete the basic structural design and manage a small team of engineers and drafters to document it. I have a set budget to work within, so I have to manage resources to achieve the project construction deadlines within the budget limits. The greatest part of my work lies in meetings and negotiations with architects, services engineers, builders, clients and tenants to ensure the structure not only performs adequately but meets their many and varied requirements. The actual design is the easy part!

What are some alternative jobs that you would be qualified for?

Project manager, construction manager, and management consultant. Colleagues of mine have moved on from the general construction/engineering industry to a wide range of fields, from high school maths teacher to investment banker.

What do you think it was that got you the job over other applicants?

The requisite amount of knowledge and experience, but most importantly the ability to talk about it.

What advice would you give to students who have commenced an engineering degree and want to get a great job in engineering when they graduate?

Get involved in university life and life in general. Companies looking for future leaders are not going to be interested in students who had their nose in a book for four years. This also helps develop your interpersonal skills, which are vital in getting a job, as well as performing at it. Grades are definitely important too, but they are not the final word. Also get some experience as an undergraduate - any experience will help.

"I have interviewed candidates for graduate engineering jobs and the major things holding many back is preparation and people skills."

What were your biggest mistakes during your life when applying for jobs? How would you have done it better?

Leaving my applications too late. By the time I got around to doing my CV and letters, most places had conducted most of their interviews and several were not accepting any more applications. Construction and engineering are deadline businesses, so missing your first one ever does not convey a good impression.

Think about the interview beforehand. I used to just go and wing it but have learned that preparation is everything. Research the company and the person who will be interviewing you. If possible, find someone who has either been through many interviews or preferably does the interviewing to do a rehearsal. Sounds weird but it works - you study for everything else, why not this?

I have interviewed candidates for graduate engineering jobs and the major things holding many back is preparation and people skills. If you can't talk about what you know, the interviewer probably won't bother to try and find out another way. There are always lots of candidates so if you make it hard for the interviewer, you will get cut straight away. The best person on paper does not necessarily get the job. Also don't be passive - ask questions! If you don't show an interest in the job they may believe you are not really serious about it and look elsewhere.

What type of activities were you involved in at university and high school, and did they give you any skills that you use in your job now?

I was heavily involved in student associations - nothing political, just the engineering societies. I was a year representative every year for Civil Engineering in the Sydney University Engineering Undergraduates Association (SUEUA), which encompasses all engineering disciplines, and was vice-president in my final year. I was also the founding 4th year vice-president of the Sydney University Civil Engineers (SUCE) a society for the civil engineering department. I served on several student-staff liaison committees and participated in the Engineering Revue in 1st year.

All of these roles taught me some skills which I now see as vital to my career. Organisational ability is the most obvious, but I think the most important is the ability to deal with people. Communication skills and the ability to negotiate with people of opposing viewpoints are skills that can only be learnt through experience and these activities provided plenty of that.

What was the most surprising thing about working full time in engineering that you did not expect?

The proportion of time not spent doing design work. It still is a major component but having good people skills got me involved in client meetings and negotiation early on, to the point where now probably more than half my time is spent on non-design work, whereas my job is still a 'design engineer'.

If you could go back to the start of your degree and change anything you did since then, what would it be?

Get my first round of applications off in time! Other than that, maybe tweak a few grades, maybe correct a few errors of judgement early in my career. But it's true, you do learn from your mistakes, and overall I'm very happy with how things are turning out.

Where do you see yourself in five year's time?

If not a lotto winner sunning myself on my own tropical island … I'm leaving it fairly open. Perhaps moving up the management chain of a design firm, perhaps over to project management I'm happy for the moment, and will just evaluate opportunities as they arise.