Tell us about your job:
I'm a Graduate Electrical Engineer based in the Stratford office in Taranaki. My role includes tasks and projects across the thermal assets located on site in Stratford and Whirinaki in Napier. My main responsibilities include supporting projects by assessing and evaluating options, preparing business cases for investment decisions, managing contractors undertaking maintenance and condition monitoring, plus general engineering support of maintaining and improving power stations.
What's your background?
I'm originally from India and completed most of my education there including my bachelor's degree in electrical and electronics. I came to New Zealand for my postgrad study on February 2020 which was just before the first Covid-19 lockdown. I must admit it was tough being in a new country where I didn’t know anyone during that time. I was so happy to settle into the role at Contact as a graduate. Being part of this amazing team for the past year - all my hard work was worth it.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
My job is very exciting, but it comes with a lot of responsibility – especially when it comes to the health and safety aspects of the power station operations. I’d say people need a basic understanding of electrical engineering to do the work safely.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
The complexity of my job is what I love about it the most. Electrical Engineering is a challenging field where every decision we make has its risks - the exciting part of my work is problem-solving. Unless we consider all the factors with an issue, we won't know the true depth of the problem. It's like solving a complicated puzzle that has very few hints. All these challenges plus the element of risk associated with my work make it a cool job.
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