In our ‘day in the life’ blog series, we aim to showcase the work of our talented team and help you get to know the faces behind our projects a little better. This month we sat down with Ignacio, a Graduate Engineer in our Coffs Harbour office, to chat a bit more about what led him to work as an Engineer in Australia and what he enjoys most about being part of our certification team.
Tell us a bit about yourself and what interested you in engineering.
I’m a 30 year old Chilean living in Australia for nearly 5 years now. Always liked sports, mainly soccer and surfing, and any outdoor activity. Very social person always surrounded by friends.
The main reason why I studied engineering was because I like maths and physics. I wasn’t quite sure I wanted engineering, but I was pretty positive I wasn’t going to do well in any other field outside maths.
What does a typical workday look like for you and what brings you the most enjoyment in your role?
On a typical workday, I start my day with an early surf (~6 AM) and then head back home to relax by the balcony with a cup of coffee.
I would then go to the office for my regular working hours. I really like the environment that we have in the office, where we manage to work at an efficient pace while allowing us to also interact with each other on work-related and non-work-related stuff.
Once my working hours are finished, I would drive to the beach to check if I can squeeze in a second session of surfing (if it’s not too windy!). If there are no waves I would either chill by the beach, go skateboarding or work out at home.
I like to finish my days with a nice dinner and a good TV show.
What’s it like being part of Barker Ryan Stewart’s certification team? Are there any standout projects you’re currently working on?
Working for BRS’ certification team has been such a good experience. The whole team is very easy to get along with, which makes the work environment and relationship between workmates really good.
We have a number of developments we are currently doing private certification work for. The largest project we are currently engaged for is the Moonee Parkland Estate which is a State Significant Development where BRS will be the Principal Certifier.
What’s been the most memorable aspect of working at Barker Ryan Stewart so far?
I think one of the aspects of the company that has impacted me the most is the relationship between workers. Noting the annual conferences, Christmas parties, Surfest, etc. I’ve come to realise how important it is for the company to maintain these sorts of activities which have a huge impact on the relationship between coworkers, of course in a good way!
Looking back at your career, is there anything that has surprised you about working in engineering?
I’m going to be honest here, I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to do engineering when I went to Uni. Once I finished Uni, I wasn’t quite sure which engineering field I wanted to work in and that’s why I decided to go overseas and do some travelling (reason why I ended up in Australia). After doing construction labouring for nearly my whole 3 years of Working Holiday, I ended up realising that the civil engineering field was something I wanted to try. I 100% do not regret it.
Finally, what advice do you have for anyone considering a career in engineering?
Go for it. Even if you are not sure of the exact field you want to work in, engineering will open so many doors in the future once you find out what you want to do (as long as you like maths lol).
Want to get to know our team a bit better?
Check out our other ‘day in the life of’ blogs to learn more about our talented team.
