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 Jason, one of our Transport Engineers, to chat a bit more about what it’s like being part of our traffic and transport engineering team, and his best advice for anyone starting their engineering career.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your journey to becoming a Transport Engineer.
I became interested in Civil Engineering initially by playing Minecraft. I just thought it was neat trying to build buildings, and I liked maths in school.
I became involved in the Traffic and Transport sector when I did a 2nd year subject in Uni – it just seemed fun to be trying to solve multifaceted issues regarding traffic flow, and I found satisfaction in coming up with answers to complex questions. There’s a good bit of creativity, problem solving and variety associated with transport engineering.
What does a typical workday look like for you?
A workday is quite varied depending on different projects. It could be that I plug in my laptop and start writing reports, performing design reviews on CAD, modelling an intersection network on SIDRA… or I end up chasing clients the whole day. A lot of the tasks involve a podcast or music in the background, and the Sydney team can attest that the Sony WF-1000XM3s have excellent noise-cancellation. I generally work well in short bursts, so I constantly need to set immediate goals, reach them, and then get up and reset for the next thing.
If I have down time while waiting for something I have been working on, consolidating different Councils’ parking rates in Python. Hopefully one day I could just press a button and know how many parking spaces people need for their developments, but it’s still a long way off for now.
One time I was out on site and saw a wild rabbit. I wish that was a “typical workday” thing, but alas I am not a park ranger.
What’s it like being part of Barker Ryan Stewart’s traffic and transport engineering team? Are there any stand-out projects that you’re currently working on?
A benefit of being part of such a small team is that we have really easy communication and the team is always there to lend their experience to a project when required. Having a hand in projects around the Tallawong and Hills Showground Metro Stations is exciting, as we’re helping develop the landmark infrastructure for the Metro corridor for the foreseeable future!
It’s almost been one year since you joined our team, what’s been the most memorable aspect of working at Barker Ryan Stewart so far?
The conference getaway was heaps of fun! To those who have just joined and have yet to be on a BRS getaway, get in quick and pay your deposit to me personally (before I get in trouble, I’m kidding.)
Looking back at your career, is there anything that’s surprised you about being a Transport Engineer?
How many times people would presume I work for TfNSW when I tell them. I then get to correct them, and instead tell them I work for a State Finalist for the 2023 Telstra Best of Business Awards – Barker Ryan Stewart.
Finally, what advice do you have for anyone interested in becoming a Transport Engineer?
The graduate years can be a little rough. I definitely recall days where I was watching the clock and waiting for the day to end… but it does turn out that a lot of those more menial tasks and the learning curve do build up your skills and abilities to use later in your career. We also have a graduate’s program here at BRS so you can dip your toes for yourself.
Since I presume someone at the start of their career would be in their early 20s, I will now communicate in Gen Z: Just send it, fam. Transport Engineering slaps.
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.
