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 Cyrus, one of our Town Planners in our Queensland office, to chat a bit more about what led him to becoming a Town Planner and what he enjoys most about being part of our planning team.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your journey to becoming a Town Planner.
Town planning was not actually my first shot at university. My first attempt in university was to study a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Aerospace), however, after studying that for a semester I concluded that I’m not built for engineering. I remember in one of the engineering, mathematics and statistics units an hour had passed, and I was wondering if they were talking in French because I wasn’t able to understand a single word. At the time, I had a friend who was studying urban planning and I found myself interested in his university assignments, so I decided to pursue a degree in town planning which led me to be awarded a bachelor’s and master’s degree in urban planning.
What does a typical workday look like for you?
Like many others my day starts with coffee, then I usually check emails and plan the day ahead. One of the positive aspects of my job is the variety of tasks that it offers to me. Depending on the project, it may include report writing, liaising with Council/subconsultants, attending meetings, reviewing different legislations/plans, client communications, site inspections and drawing various plans and maps using ARC GIS or Auto CAD. Lodging development applications is also a delightful feeling, when you compile everything and lodge the DA as the last step and you know the job is finished.
What’s it like being part of Barker Ryan Stewart’s planning team? Are there any stand-out projects that you’re currently working on?
It’s wonderful to be part of a friendly, supportive, and experienced team of town planners where you know that you can always find answers. It’s delightful to be part of a team that always seeks to improve their skills and service. Probably, one of the most interesting projects in which I play a small role, is a major subdivision in an Urban Release Area in Ballina where so many challenges have to be resolved to achieve the best outcome. It is rewarding to see how our engineering team, along with the planning team, deal with these challenges and figure out solutions.
What’s been the most memorable aspect of working at Barker Ryan Stewart so far?
I think the BRS annual conference in Sydney was notable because I got the chance to meet the other BRS team members from other offices.
Looking back at your career, is there anything that’s surprised you about being a Town Planner?
The fact that many people don’t know what a town planner does! I’ve been in situations where after I’ve said I’m a town planner, I could see a question mark on the people’s faces followed by a question like ‘what do you do exactly?’ Or at best, something like ‘so you work for the Council?!’ If you are lucky enough, someone might start telling you about the potholes on their street and the fact that Council doesn’t do anything about it!
Finally, what advice do you have for anyone interested in becoming a Town Planner?
Try to explore as much as you can when you are a student so that you can find the area that you are most interested in. It could be DA, transport planning, strategic planning, urban design, etc.
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.
