1. What is your job about?
My job is all about ensuring the structural integrity and safety of buildings within the community. During the design phase of a project I spend my time designing structural elements and systems to withstand general loadings that are set out in Australian building codes. During the construction phase of a project I am often heading out to site to oversee construction, where I will inspect structural elements to ensure that what has been installed aligns with our design intent.

2. What’s your background?
Throughout school I always enjoyed applied mathematics and had a fascination with the built environment, so I was fortunate enough to know exactly what I wanted to do after school. I studied a Bachelor of Civil Engineering at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, and in my final year I minored in Structural Engineering. I decided to pursue a graduate role in Brisbane to continue my learning of the built environment on a larger and more complex scale.

3. Could someone with a different background do your job?
Structural engineering is a great path to go down if you enjoy problem solving and are after a career that has a balance of field work and office-based design. The civil infrastructure industry itself has lots of wiggle room when it comes to specialisation, so even if you’re not completely sold on one aspect of the degree, there are so many alternate paths it can take you down!

4. What’s the coolest thing about your job?
Being able to head out to site and see the tangible results of your work is very cool. Seeing the plans you’ve been creating on a computer screen turn into reality will always be exciting.

5. What did you find challenging about the role and any advice to overcome this?
A challenging thing about being a graduate structural engineer is the very steep learning curve you face when you start off in the industry. Coming off the back of a four year degree, it can still feel like you know very little when you first step into the office. The job is all about continuous growth and slowly gaining a portfolio of experience, and I don’t think the learning ever stops!