Gabriella D’Agata
Ask me about
- How working in retail got me an engineering job
- How graduates are underestimated in the workforce
- How I ended up working in the rail industry
About me
I had no idea what I wanted to do after school, I just knew what subjects I liked to do and that my dad wanted me to get a good ATAR. School was super stressful, and I didn’t get the score I wanted (but that’s ok) and I ended up applying to study Chemical Engineering and Science at RMIT.
After five years of studying, two years of lockdown and 8 years working in retail, I graduated. Now I work as an engineer in the rail industry and everything before that is like a weird fever dream. I honestly have such an awesome job now and I spend most of my time doing things I love – at work and at home.
About my role
- Creative
- Independent
- Passionate
- Perfectionist
- Practical
As an Assistant Consultant for just over 1.5 years, I am part of a graduate program where every 6 months, I move into a different project to get a good idea of what working in the rail industry is like. I have been working on projects all over the east coast of Australia – working on the Suburban Rail Loop in Melbourne, the Sydney Metro West line in Sydney and the Queensland Train Manufacturing Program just outside Brisbane. On each project I get to try something new, including, working in systems engineering, quality assurance in civil engineering and some project management.
In addition to my regular work, there are a lot of learning opportunities too like attending conferences, being apart of the Engineers Australia Graduate Program, seminars and more. Every day is different but it’s been a really great opportunity to learn about engineering in the rail industry.
Education
- Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) (Honours)
- Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology)
Subjects
- Biology
- Chemistry
- English
- Mathematical Methods (Maths B)
- Specialist Mathematics (Maths C)
Hobbies
- Art
- Cooking
- Gaming
- Gardening
- Travel
15 year old me!!
My career journey
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Got my first job at 15
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Finished VCE
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Started studying Engineering and Science
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Graduated and travelled for three months
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Got a role as a graduate at Systra