I decided to study engineering because I always enjoyed problem-solving and finding out how things work, so engineering seemed like the natural thing to study. In fact, every time I did those job surveys in high school engineering came up, so I just went with it and earned a degree in electrical engineering.
On a typical day, I get into the office around 9 a.m. and check emails and my calendar. If I have no meetings planned, I continue working on outstanding projects or ask my manager if he has anything I can help with. Most of the work I do is lighting and/or power layouts for buildings. I use programs like AGI32, AutoCAD, Bluebeam and Revit. On the lighter side, I am working on my latte art on the coffee machine we have here. I recently made a fern, which was one of my goals for the summer.
I enjoy learning more about the technical side of engineering work from my team and then trying to figure things out using my skills and knowledge. It’s satisfying knowing that you’re working on a real project. I also enjoy our team meetings and seeing the excellent teamwork here at AECOM, and I especially enjoy the inter-office collaboration. I think being able to communicate and work in a team are the skills that I have used the most in my role. My team has supported me from the get-go, slowly helping me build up my knowledge and skills.
AECOM has a really welcoming culture. I was surprised that on my first day on the job, I was able to play in the work touch football team. I’m into sport, which seems to be a theme as lots of people here are as well. There are quite a few work teams in different sports, which is nice to see. I like to hang around with the grads and interns, although I have a missed karaoke session to catch up on!
In my spare time, I volunteer at Auckland City Mission one weekend per month, just helping out in the kitchen or wherever I’m needed. It has just moved to a new location, so that the old mission building could be demolished and replaced. I’m excited to see the new City Mission building start going up this year. It was a nice surprise to discover that AECOM was working on this important project. I also like how AECOM supports charities and provides a volunteer leave day employees can use helping a charity they support.
In the next year, I hope to finish up with university while keeping up with my extracurricular activities.