Having migrated from Sri Lanka, I completed my last two years of high school in Australia before attending university to complete my Bachelor of Civil Engineering. I started my construction career as a graduate engineer on a major highway project. Here I was exposed to bulk earthworks, concrete batch plant operations, and concrete pavement construction.…
In high school, I planned to study law but didn’t get the grades, so I started an Economics degree—and absolutely hated it! Luckily, I had randomly selected two electives in history and politics, loved them, and switched to an arts degree. After a few internships overseas and at home in Adelaide, I graduated with a…
My journey to becoming an Electrical Engineer has been anything but typical. Although I loved physics at school, my strength in English led me to study it at university. I quickly realised it wasn’t the right path and left to start an Engineering apprenticeship—becoming the only girl among 100 apprentices! After qualifying, I worked as…
When I was in school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I knew that I wanted to take a gap year after school and not go to university straight away. During that year I worked at Bunnings and began by working on the cash register. After 5 years with Bunnings, I decided to…
When I was in high school, I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do. I enjoyed graphics and physics, which naturally pointed me toward engineering. While I found engineering interesting, I struggled with the theory-heavy side of university, and maths was never my strongest area. To make sense of it all, I looked for…
When I left school, I knew I wanted to pursue a trade. I’d enjoyed technical drawing and applied to the Polytechnical Institute to study architectural design drafting. Over the years, I changed careers several times but I always found my way back to drafting. The tools of the trade have evolved dramatically, from pens, paper…
I originally wanted to be a pilot – I thought getting paid to travel the world would be amazing. I applied for the Air Force but didn’t get in, and suddenly I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I’ve always been good at maths and problem solving, so I spoke to my mum about…
I lacked a clear career path after school. In year 10, a 3-day multimedia class at the University of Queensland sparked my interest in the field, and I planned to pursue it after high school. However, family influence steered me towards an undergraduate degree in Information Technology (Systems). After graduating during the Dot Com bubble,…
After high school, I enrolled in university with an interest in fashion and marketing, though I wasn’t certain about my career direction. Initially considering a gap year, I chose to start university to broaden my horizons and meet new people. During my studies, I spent a lot of time traveling. It was in my final…
My professional journey began in Uruguay, working in my family’s business while studying law. After graduating and gaining legal experience, I felt a strong desire to broaden my horizons. Together with my husband, we ventured overseas to explore new cultures and improve our English, eventually settling in the vibrant landscapes of New Zealand. Our journey…
I never knew exactly what profession I wanted to be but I knew I was good at reading, writing and talking. So I followed this and initially went to university to study Journalism. I quickly realised being a journalist wasn’t for me, but fortunately, a teacher pointed me towards Public Relations and Communications. My first…
Growing up in regional Queensland, I didn’t always have a clear idea of what I wanted to do with my future. It felt uncertain – like a blank page. But over time, I realised that not knowing gave me the freedom to explore, to dream big, and to figure out what truly inspired me. When…
All through school, I was known as the sporty kid, I won age champion every year and just loved being active. I always knew I wanted to do something sport or exercise related when I finished school, but I had no idea exactly what that would be. I went to university and studied a Bachelor…
I had wanted to become a firefighter since I was a child! At the age of 17, I knocked on the door of the local fire station. This station was auxiliary firefighters (on call in small communities), and I was told that I was too young! With that in mind, I found a fulltime management…
When I left high school my plan was to go into acting, but my Mum wasn’t psyched at that idea and encouraged me to get a job that would pay money. So I did a dual degree in Creative Industries (Communication Design) and Information Technology, as I was pretty good with a computer and figured…
When I was in grade 7, I knew I was going to be a lawyer. Initially I thought I would become a divorce lawyer. But I quickly knew I wanted to do more than just be in a court room and argue about cases theoretically. While it took me a while to navigate towards the…
I was born in Poland and moved to a small country town in Qld when I was 4 before trialing island life in PNG at the age of 12. I loved these cultural experiences and it gave me a broad perspective when I moved to Perth half way through year 9. When I left school…
I was good at science and math and liked figuring out how things worked. My dad was an engineer, and I got to try out environmental engineering when I was in year 12 and decided it was something I could see myself doing for work. I didn’t quite get the marks I wanted so my…
Coming out of high school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. So I enrolled in a bachelor of commerce, majoring in actuarial studies. Later in university, I discovered a passion for econometrics—the use of statistics and data to understand and predict economic trends. I went on to complete honours and a master’s in…
I’ve always believed that when you take care of people, success follows naturally. As a child, I dreamed of becoming a teacher, tutoring kids who couldn’t afford lessons. Science fascinated me, leading me to a master’s in software engineering while keeping my passion for dance alive. Excelling academically, I secured top placements. After moving to…