Growing up, I was forever changing my mind about what I wanted to be when I grew up – an accountant, a journalist, a lawyer…I still wasn’t sure by the time I graduated year 12, but I was accepted into uni and started a Biomedical Science degree. Tertiary-level science wasn’t for me, so I switched…
I had no idea what I wanted to do when I left school. I was good at maths and science but didn’t know if I necessarily wanted to work in that area. I felt like I wanted to explore my options and see what happened. I started studying human biology and chemistry in university but…
When I was in high school I was interested in math and science and also the environment, so I studied environmental engineering. When I finished university, I applied for various graduate jobs and was successful with Rio Tinto. I was not targeting mining specifically, but I immediately enjoyed the job, especially when I moved to…
In high school, I assumed my career path would be in physiotherapy or nutrition due to my love for sports. At the same time, I excelled in Maths and Economics, which broadened my academic interests. My mother arranged for me to see a careers counsellor, who conducted strength-based and psychometric testing. This process ultimately led…
In school, I assumed my career path would be in engineering because I liked maths. In Year 11, I attended an “Aspiring Women in Science” conference, which inspired me to study chemical engineering at uni, aiming for the food and beverage manufacturing industry. During my 3rd year, I realised job opportunities in that field were…
Since I was a kid, I loved maths, which led me to pursue engineering. From a young age, I was captivated not just by how things were built, but by how they were made. By 15, this curiosity drove me toward Industrial Engineering, where I could combine my analytical (math) skills with my interest in…
I enjoy being known as a bit of a jack-of-all-trades. I was raised as a kid to be a future medical student, and I loved math and science. It was only after my high school chemistry teacher recommended I attend a UQ Women in Engineering event, did I first learn what engineering actually was. After…
I enrolled in Industrial Engineering in Madrid after school mainly because it was a broad field, and, although I knew I had an interest in engineering, I wasn’t sure what career I wanted. Through various courses, I found Electrical Engineering interesting and decided to study it further. I spent a year abroad in the US,…
When I left school, I was set on being an electrical engineer, but through my undergraduate work experience, I realised that traffic engineering was far more interesting and tangible, so sought out work opportunities as a graduate traffic engineer after a three-year post-graduate stint overseas. I started out in a consultancy working on diverse projects…
In high school I wanted to be a pilot in the Airforce, so a good friend suggested doing an engineering degree first and then going to the Australian Defence Force. I started university at 17 and was away from home. It was difficult. I took some time off and travelled overseas before returning to university…
I vividly remember being in grade 4 and the teacher wheeling out the classroom TV and putting on An Inconvenient Truth starring Al Gore. That 118-minute documentary ignited a spark in me for helping the environment. Growing up I considered many careers – chef, paramedic, graphic designer – but none felt quite right. Clearly, I…
I grew up on the Tweed Coast and had planned to be a physiotherapist / exercise physiologist or a PE teacher after my undergraduate and post-graduate studies. I had commenced my career as an exercise physiologist, specialising in musculoskeletal injuries and occupational rehabilitation management. Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with a chronic illness in mid-2014 (end…
In high school, I wanted to study philosophy and economics but I was always very interested in geography and nature, loved the environment from a young age going camping with my family and exploring. However I never thought I would study it, so I enrolled in an Arts Degree to study philosophy and politics. I…
I wanted to be a teacher until grade 11, where I was exposed to some accounting and business subjects that I really enjoyed. I selected a commerce degree as I needed a higher year 12 result to study it. I didn’t really know what being an accountant would be like. I finished my university degree…
When I was in primary school, I had my heart set on becoming a fighter pilot with the Australian Air Force. This dream influenced the subjects I chose at high school and upon completion of year 12 I was still considering this path. When the time came to decide, I was hesitant to leave home…
I went to high school in Melbourne, then completed my last two years of high school in Gladstone. Whilst in Gladstone, I had to complete two subjects via online distance education, as well as three subjects at the high school I attended. When I finished high school, I was set on studying Economics at university,…
As an average student in Year 10 I hated Maths, Economics, Physics etc (anything with numbers) but coped well with other Science subjects like Biology and Chemistry. My dad was an agricultural scientist and I visited his University. I liked the campus and decided to take the entrance exam for Agriculture Science. To my surprise,…
My life didn’t follow the exact plan I had envisioned. I dreamt of being a princess, a marine biologist, an actor, even a 3D animator for Pixar. But unexpectedly, I found myself in the realm of fire, where incredible opportunities awaited me. Growing up in a small community in South Africa, I had a hunger…
The project manager is the key person for driving a project from start to finish, managing stakeholder/customer engagement and ensuring that the project stays within budget and is completed on time. Project managers handle the “project life cycle”. This includes the following stages:
I grew up in Central Queensland and had no idea what I would do after school. Never in a million years did I think I would end up working in a Government Information Technology (IT) department! Our department offers some really innovative services for government, in areas of connectivity, security and computer processing just to…