What's your job about?
To encapsulate my role, I am a civil engineer at BCD Group, based in Auckland office. My responsibility as a civil engineer is mainly around civil design of landforms, pavements, and the 3-waters.
A typical day for me kicks off with my commute to work on the bus, followed by diving into my work, catching up with the team, having some coffee chats and making some client/contractor calls. Most of my days are spent designing landforms, pavements, and the 3-waters. I also go to site typically at least once a week and write site reports. My day primarily involves problem solving, drawing and report writing the solutions to said problems.
What's your background?
I grew up in Tasman (Nelson) and attended Nelson College. I left the top of the South Island to go to the University of Canterbury and never really went back (I may eventually return but I am enjoying exploring the north for now).
I had a pretty normal step from primary school to being a graduate engineer. I didn’t do a gap year or study abroad or anything. I have always played did a variety of sports, always in a hockey team or two, skating, and biking. I also really enjoyed leaving home and immersing myself into the university culture and lifestyle.
I think growing up in a relatively normal environment with a strong emphasis on being involved in sports teams and social aspects in school helped me to fit into an office environment nicely. From a technical point of view, I think being involved in ‘Future Problem Solving’ in high-school and intermediate really helped with my critical thinking skills. I have always struggled with ADHD and was nervous moving into an office, specifically how I could be distracting to others and myself, but I feel that the people around me have helped me to deal with my ADHD and use it for my betterment, such as abstract thinking and having good client communication.
I first applied for an internship at BCD in the 2021/2022 summer. After my internship, I got offered a grad role as a civil engineer and officially joined the team full time at the end of 2022.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
I mean, anyone can do anything, humans are great at learning. I think the key skills for my job are being able to think for yourself, critical thinking, vulnerability, and communication skills. Being able to think for yourself is very critical, as an engineer you are paid for your knowledge and abilities, and you can’t rely on others thinking. Critical thinking is very important as there is not a lot of room for re-work and time-wasting and by critically thinking jobs get done in the right way, quickly and without much re-work. It’s important to be vulnerable in this line of work as everyone makes mistakes but by sweeping them under the rug no one can learn from those mistakes, so by being open to when you are correct or incorrect and being able to build on mistakes is very important. And lastly, I think it’s key to be social as engineers have A LOT of discussions internally and externally, be it with other engineers, co-workers, planners, contractors, or lawyers. So, communication is very key in the role. I believe that our shared experiences and upbringings should serve as valuable lessons that can be applied in real world situations.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
To me what I love most about my job is when I have a problem, and work to find a couple of solutions and provide a good mini presentation to the reviewer/mentor/superior about what I think is correct. Then working with that person to come up with a pathway and implement that through my drawings and reports.
What are the limitations of your job?
I do end up working a fair bit of overtime during weekends and after work but with being on salary there is no immediate financial incentive, but I think it will be worth it in the long run. The job can be stressful as there are real world implications. Money can also make people say and do some bad things which can cause a large amount of stress. I think another limitation is arrogance has no place in engineering as it is a team game, and it is best to share lessons, mistakes and success and arrogance will foster an unhealthy job.
3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student: