Tegan started with us at our Brisbane office as an intern almost 5 years ago.
She then became a full-time graduate and moved from Brisbane to Melbourne a year later.
Tegan’s passion for transport and developing others can be seen from her heavy involvement with Limelight, Aurecon’s emerging professional network, and ITS Australia NextGens, a group dedicated to connecting and providing opportunities for early-career transport professionals.
Why did you join us? How has your Aurecon journey been?
I started in the Brisbane office in my third year of university and was placed in the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) team. A few months after starting, the ITS team combined with the Integrated Transport and Mobility (ITM) team. I found the projects I worked on during my internship very interesting, so I accepted the offer to join Aurecon as a graduate.
A year after being in the graduate program, I thought that moving interstate would be a good experience, so I requested a transfer of location and teams to have more opportunities for working on transport planning and traffic engineering projects.
When the time came to move, everyone was extremely supportive. It was intimidating moving to a new city, but my new team welcomed me, and I quickly made new connections in the Melbourne office.
I am currently a civil engineer in the ITM team. The ITM team has one of the broadest ranges of specialisations in the business, covering transport planning, traffic engineering, and intelligent transport systems. Our team is very diverse and includes people who studied a range of courses including engineering, mathematics, data science, geography, and urban planning.
I work across many of the team’s specialisations, contributing to a variety of work including assessing the impact of new developments on the existing transport network and writing the associated reports, researching and understanding local and national plans and policies, undertaking traffic modeling and safety assessments of transport infrastructure, reviewing car park and road designs, and providing feedback on compliance and safety issues.
What kind of projects do you work on?
I work on a broad range of projects including public transport infrastructure such as train stations and car parks, renewable energy facilities, major highway upgrades, housing developments, and road safety audits of existing road networks. They can be at any stage of the project lifecycle from pre-business case through to construction phase support and existing infrastructure assessments.
How have you developed your skills from when you first started working with us?
I have learnt many technical skills required for my role on the job as they are not skills that are typically taught at university, such as how to undertake swept path and road safety assessments. I have also gained many professional skills through training sessions organised by Limelight on topics such as how we operate, how to maintain a healthy workload, and how to facilitate meetings effectively.
I have had many opportunities to develop my presentation skills at team meetings, Limelight events, and external industry events with guidance and encouragement from my mentors and colleagues. I have gained a lot more confidence and will speak up when I have something to contribute, have identified an issue, or need help from colleagues.
What’s the best thing about your job?
I would say it’s the variety of projects I get to work on, the colleagues I get to work with, and seeing the positive impact my work has on the public.
The culture at Aurecon is also one of the biggest drawcards. Everyone is very supportive and willing to help and share their knowledge. There are also many opportunities to build professional networks, such as at Limelight activities, office-wide gatherings and industry events and committees.
What is the biggest takeaway from the graduate program so far?
My biggest takeaway is learning from senior executives in the business who genuinely support us to thrive. They are always willing to share knowledge and get us involved in different project opportunities.
What is your advice to students thinking about applying for our graduate program?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions or ask for help when you need it. Asking questions is not a bad thing – it shows that you are proactive and helps you understand what is expected of you.