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Nicholas Aliwarga

Sydney
Graduate Structural Engineer

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...
One, I’d tell myself to stop leaving things semi to the last minute and even just 1-2 hours a day worth of work a day can help my assignment progress much more smoothly.
I used to struggle with deadline timings, and had to learn this skill at work, which is fine since better late than never. However, it would be much more ideal to be used to this mentality from my student days.

Two, I’d reach out to companies in a more direct manner for advice and networking.
Even though I attended career fests and did society work, I felt as if it wasn’t really clear in terms of setting my expectations of how industry works. Once I was in industry and started joining more professional networking events (e.g., EA, CIBSE, AAAC events, etc) that were also open to students, that I realised that people are more than willing to share their knowledge and give tips on how to succeed in industry to students than I though. I used to think that people would be less open to students and would just default to full “marketing mode”, just share enough so they’re interested but not really in detail.

Three, manage your stress and concerns in a healthier manner.
Yes, uni work can be daunting and pulling some all nighters can be an inevitability. You need to remind yourself that your health is also critical for your progression. Take proper breaks, don’t be afraid to ask help / advice / ask to work together with other students when doing assignments (not cheating!). This would have helped me experience way less burnouts. The more you break yourself for the sake of grades / goodwill, the more afraid you are going to be to look to the future. Remind yourself, taking a break is okay, people will not shun you out for “appearing” lazy as long as you still do your best. Combined with advice number 1, you’d have smashed university like it’s nothing and you’ll be able to handle anything coming your way.

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