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Gabriella D’Agata

from Checkout Operator to Assistant Consultant
I am a graduate engineer building trains and stations
Industry
Transport, Logistics and Warehousing
Company
Systra
Job Level
Entry
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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.

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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!!

“Your life was never going to turn out how you thought it to be, it's sooo much better than anything you could've imagined”

My career journey

Curious to know how I got here? Here’s a snapshot of my career pathway.
  1. Got my first job at 15
  2. Finished VCE
  3. Started studying Engineering and Science
  4. Graduated and travelled for three months
  5. Got a role as a graduate at Systra

My typical day

My employer

SYSTRA ANZ is a world leading consulting and engineering firm specialising in transportation, security and mobility solutions. We are part of the SYSTRA Group, which has operated globally since 1957. Working on more than 3,500 projects in 80 countries we have helped build over half of the world’s metro systems and high-speed lines and we are utilising that knowledge to also deliver some of the largest and most complex projects. Our challenge is to design and implement the safest, most efficient and most secure solutions for our clients. We want to be the signature team for transport solutions. Our services are unique, we work on all stages of projects: upstream studies and planning, design, construction, integration, test and commissioning, operations and maintenance. We are members of the Diversity Council of Australia, Pride in Diversity and have been endorsed by Work180.