In our ‘day in the life of’ blogs, we aim to showcase the work of our talented team and help you get to know the faces behind our projects a little bit better. This month, we sat down with Joe, one of our Registered Certifiers, to chat a bit more about the path that led him to the engineering profession, and what he enjoys most about his role.
Tell us a bit about yourself and what attracted you to becoming an Engineer?
My inspiration to become an Engineer stemmed from early days visiting my father laying bricks, from whom I still draw inspiration from today. While at school I worked weekends for cash, and later joined my father full time as a labourer and saving money to travel as this was my only goal in life at this stage. After working and travelling for a few years, I moved to Newcastle in 2005 to start university and from there it didn’t take long to realise that there was more to building than mixing mud. When I finished university in 2010, I lived in England for a number of years, working as a Site Engineer and Survey Assistant, saving money to travel. By the time I came back to Oz I had a pretty good idea that civil engineering was for me.
Can you tell us a bit more about your role as a Registered Certifier and what a typical day in your working life looks like?
My ‘day to day’ as a Registered Certifier in the Hunter office generally involves assessing engineering and landscape plan submissions for Huntlee Stage 1 masterplan residential subdivision, coordinating and conducting compliance inspections for road and drainage construction works at various subdivision sites, and assessing submissions for Subdivision Certificates at Huntlee as each stage reaches practical completion. My working day is generally split between desktop review, an out of office site inspection and correspondence with various stakeholders and peers.
Do you have a stand-out project that you’ve really enjoyed working on at Barker Ryan Stewart?
The Beaches Estate masterplan residential subdivision at Catherine Hill Bay was an excellent project. I maintained a great working relationship with the civil contractor, and developer throughout the works. ‘Surf checks’ were a ritual during every site inspection. The beach was across the road!
What do you like most about your role and working at Barker Ryan Stewart?
From the time I joined BRS to now, I have always enjoyed great flexibility and gelled easily with colleagues. Visiting sites and interacting with Project Mangers, Civil Engineers and Site Supervisors is what I get most enjoyment out of, and also what keeps me on my toes. Excellent practical training and support has always been offered by all Registered Certifiers at BRS over the years. BRS as a group are not opposed to change, exploring new opportunities, and introducing new approaches to business management which keeps things fresh.
What is something that surprised you about the engineering profession?
I am always surprised by the level of knowledge and experience of peers and colleagues. Never judge a book by its cover, everyone has their own path and story.
What would be your advice to anyone looking to become an Engineer or progress to becoming a Registered Certifier?
Everyone’s path is different, try and align your values and work ethic with a company that suits you. Don’t let yourself get burnt out but expect some challenges along the way.
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 team.
