What's your job about?
As part of the Transportation team at Stantec’s Christchurch office, in the early stages of my career, I assisted in preparing transport assessments for private developments (such as residential subdivisions, retirement homes etc). These transport assessments ensure the developments will not have a significant impact on the road network from a safety and efficiency perspective. This often involved analysing traffic count data and ensuring the development met all the rules set out in the local council’s district plan.
Since early 2020 I have represented Stantec as part of the ‘Peloton’ alliance alongside GHD and Beca, which is involved in the development of eight of the 13 Major Cycle Routes (MCR) in Christchurch, from route selection and design through to construction completion. At Peloton, I have gained a broad range of experience including detailed design and community consultation, with my primary role being construction monitoring and contract management. In this role, I act on behalf of Christchurch City Council (CCC), the client, supervising the contractor as they construct the cycleway. If issues arise on site, it is my responsibility to instruct the contractor on how to proceed, as well as assess and approve the additional costs that arise as a result of variations to the contract.
What's your background?
I grew up in Hastings, Hawke’s Bay and stayed in the same family home until I graduated high school. At this point, I travelled to the South Island for the first time – to live in Christchurch while I studied Civil Engineering. After graduating I applied for lots of jobs so that by the time I applied at Stantec I had a breadth of experience with interviews, CV’s etc. which fortunately led to me being accepted into the Graduate Transport Engineer role. I now call myself a resident of Christchurch, and don’t intend to leave any time soon!
Could someone with a different background do your job?
While an engineering degree may be required for a particular role in transportation engineering, the field is very broad, so anyone with a somewhat relevant STEM background (maths, geography, etc) could likely pick up the required skills to do my job, just as I did. If you aren’t from an engineering background, there may be limitations to what types of work you can do later in your career, unless you gain additional qualifications of some kind.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
Working as part of an alliance between 3 major consultancy firms allows me to work alongside people from other companies, which is really refreshing. Each company has its own industry knowledge and skills, not always shared by Stantec, so it’s a great environment to be a developing engineer.
What are the limitations of your job?
I had limited clarity of my career path early on – it was difficult to know what I would be doing later in my career, working across a range of projects early on. I have a much better idea of my career path after a couple of years – so my job might not be optimal for someone who strongly prefers certain types of work or wants more certainty on their career direction. On the flip side, the work itself is generally not highly technical compared to other engineering fields, so you can direct your career path in a specific direction with much more ease, considering the wider range of types of work a transport engineer is exposed to.
3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...
Think about some of your courses at university and do some simple research to find some companies in the industry that do work related to these courses – this is a great way to start to get an idea of how your learning could be applied in the workforce.
I heard this one multiple time during my studies, as you may have, however, I did not learn my lesson before I graduated – talk to your teachers/lecturers more often. It can save you so much time and energy pulling your hair out over a tough assignment.
Try not to compare yourself to your peers in tertiary education – some top students will put in the effort that seems ginormous to you – comparing yourself to these students is futile as they are the best of the best (big fish – big pond). Try to maintain a balance of effort versus leisure that is healthy for you.