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 Ansie, one of our Senior Design Engineers, to chat a bit more about what led her to pursuing an engineering career, and what she’s enjoyed most since joining our team earlier this year.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your journey to becoming a Design Engineer.
I guess I always knew I would end up in the engineering field. It was an obvious choice for me as Technical Drafting and Civil Engineering were my favourite subjects. I was in a technical high school. After my studies I moved around a bit trying various roles within the civil engineering field. I quickly found my passion in Civil Design and started building my career from there. Learning and growing as much as I could as quickly as I could.
What does a typical workday look like for you?
A typical workday starts off with checking my emails and doing reviews, and then it’s on to the actual design work. Jumping back and forth between 12d Model and AutoCAD. Occasionally I will have a tender or fee proposal on my desk as well which involves a lot of research. I usually end my day by doing my timesheet and trying to write up a “to-do list” for the next day.
What do you enjoy most about working from your office share space in Townsville?
We all need a little social interaction every now and again, and working from home is nice, but I need to get out and talk to a few other adults that do not live under the same roof as me. Going to the office gives me that.
What’s it like being part of Barker Ryan Stewart’s engineering team? Are there any stand-out projects that you’re currently working on?
The engineering team has a friendly and supportive culture that I enjoy very much. Everybody is always happy to answer questions or discuss ideas.
I have worked on a few very interesting projects at BRS so far, but Gilmour Street in Kelso really stands out for me. With BRS doing both internal and external designs, and the fact that they are done in two different design packages has been very interesting.
Since joining the team earlier this year, what’s been the most memorable aspect of working at Barker Ryan Stewart so far?
The most memorable aspect for me is the amazing people I get to work with. Everybody has been so welcoming and accepting of me, it really is an amazing feeling to feel like you immediately fit into your team.
Looking back at your career, is there anything that’s surprised you about being a Design Engineer?
I am surprised daily by what I still do not know. After more than 10 years in this industry, I still find myself daily learning new ways to design. It honestly is a never-ending learning curve, and that keeps it interesting.
Finally, what advice do you have for anyone interested in becoming a Design Engineer?
I would tell anyone interested in becoming a designer to go for it. It’s hard work, but also incredibly rewarding. But remember your career with be defined by your ability to adapt, adopt and improve.
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.
