In our ‘day in the life of’ 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 bit better. This month we sat down with Charlie, one of our Senior Civil Engineers, to chat a bit more about why he values workplace flexibility and the most memorable aspect of being part of our team so far.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your journey to becoming an Engineer.
I was good at science and maths at school so studying engineering at university seemed like a natural progression. As for the career, like a lot of life, it was mainly a combination of opportunity and necessity. I dabbled in marine science for a while, but I was offered an engineering position in Lennox Head in 2006 (the opportunity of a lifetime!) and one thing led to another…
Walk us through a typical day in your working life. How do you usually start your workday and what are the most enjoyable parts of your day?
I’m really grateful that BRS offers exceptional workplace flexibility, so I work mainly from home. This allows me to start early to get a jump on the workday – having 1-2 hours done before breakfast is a great feeling. The most enjoyable parts of a day would be the two ends of the spectrum – a really active and productive meeting with workmates and/or clients, or a decent spell of quiet time to geek out on design work.
What do you enjoy most about being part of Barker Ryan Stewart’s design team?
After almost a decade working by myself in my own business, it’s wonderful to be part of team – even better that that team is BRS. The design team is skilled and supportive, and management takes an active interest in the professional and personal wellbeing of staff.
Are there any stand-out projects that you’re currently working on?
The scale of some of the projects is really exciting (and sometimes daunting) – I’m currently working on CURA B, but after the recent BRS conference I realise there are numerous BRS projects even bigger than that! After years of doing mainly small projects on my own, it’s great to be a part of something big and see a range of skills come together.
What’s been the most memorable aspect of working at Barker Ryan Stewart so far?
That would have to be hooting with the wind in my face out on the harbour at the recent conference – but that’s a bit of an exception. It was probably sometime in my first week, when I realised that, despite the momentum of my own business, I’d definitely made the right decision to let it go and join BRS.
Looking back at your career, is there anything that’s surprised you about being an Engineer?
Like many jobs, the technical skills are almost secondary in importance as they can generally be learnt from colleagues or other resources. It’s the more subtle skills of connecting and cooperating with workmates, clients and authorities that are often just as important as technical skills.
Finally, what advice do you have for anyone interested in becoming an Engineer?
There’s a really wide range of professional opportunities out there for engineers, and building analytical skills through engineering practice can help with all sorts of aspects of life.
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.
