Jesse McCall

6.00 AM

I reluctantly wake up and roll over to turn off my orchestral alarm, supposititiously aiming to start the day off on a good note. It’s Friday and I have a busy but interesting day ahead which I’m excited to get going!

6.30 AM

I pack my bag with the days’ work clothes and leftovers from the night before, while drinking down an elixir of electrolytes and protein powder. I then like to shamelessly enjoy some mindless phone scrolling while I’m waking up before starting the day.

7.00 AM

My home gym is conveniently situated in a courtyard directly in front of my front door… located so that it’s impossible to pretend like I don’t see it as I leave the house. I’ll usually have a short workout right before leaving for work as I find it personally sharpens my mental focus.

8.00 AM

I’m gratefully a short cycle away from the Stantec Brisbane office, so right after my weights workout I finish with some cardio as I ride into the office. The office is fully equipped with showers, lockers, and an iron, making the whole process somewhat effortless, apart from the hills on the ride in.

8.30 AM

I usually start my workday anywhere from 8-9AM, as my role allows me to be flexible with start and end times as long as I get my hours in. I begin the day going straight to the lunchroom for a cup of coffee and an ice-cold water bottle fill up. I then settle into my desk and computer setup, checking my calendar, emails, and re-checking my task list, and what I aim to achieve today.

9.30 AM

I have a project meeting with our Stantec team and an energy sector client where we give progress updates on the project. We work closely with the client to work towards their objectives. In this meeting I take the lead on the technical update as the senior engineer couldn’t make it. Clear communication and value proposition are two qualities which I strive to embody in meetings with our clients and these are two valued skills as a consultant.

11.30 AM

After the meeting I work independently refining some hydraulic calculations for the design of a pumped interpond transfer system for the energy sector client. I now have a Stantec design team catchup on the other project I’m working on; regarding a network-wide sewerage system upgrade. In internal team meetings, it’s important to be completely transparent about how you’re going on the project so you can get any additional support or information you require to help you work better.

12.00 PM

Lunch time! As I don’t have breakfast my stomach is usually grumbling hard at this point. I work my way into the lunchroom where I reheat leftovers and sit with a bunch of other young developing professionals yarning about anything but work. Stantec supports a committee for young developing professionals which funds social events, activities, and learning opportunities, so it’s never difficult to find someone you know around the office!

12.30 PM

Short lunch break for me today, it’s usually an hour, but today I have a site visit to attend on my sewerage network upgrade project. The site visit is to determine the scope of works for the rehabilitation of an old sewer pump station and is attended by the council project manager, council operations manager, who runs the pump station, a fellow Stantec Senior Civil engineer, who handles most of the questions on this one, and myself, the youngest but most curious of the group. 

4.30 PM

The site visit is a success, upon arriving back at the office I draft up the scope of works for the rehabilitation of the pump station based on the discussions and photos we took on site. I then send the scope of works document on to my fellow Senior Civil Engineer who will review it before sending it back to the council to confirm, and then forward on to the contractor.

Following all my pressing tasks done for the day, I respond to any outstanding emails and complete my timesheet for the week. My timesheet tracks all the hours I spent for the week, and allocates those hours to the applicable projects, so we can then charge that time to our clients.

5.00 – 6.00 PM

Workday done, and yet now the real work begins—Friday drinks in the lunchroom. In the office we have a foosball table, pool table, and drinks fridge which is ceremoniously unlocked every Friday at 4.30 PM. This time I meet some cool new starters from other business lines, and finally beat the reigning office pool champ! It was a one-off, but I’ll still claim it.

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