I started as a tradesman working in a meat-processing plant.
I spent five years there, and I genuinely enjoyed the work.
It was practical. It was demanding. It taught me how machinery, production, maintenance and people operate in a real industrial environment.
That experience eventually helped set me up to complete my engineering qualification.
This is why I sometimes become frustrated when graduates fail to appreciate the significance of the profession they are trying to enter.
Engineering is not simply another office job.
You may be trusted to:
• Solve difficult technical problems for your clients
• Keep equipment operating safely, for your clients
• Improve production and reliability for your clients
• Coordinate contractors and tradespeople for your clients
• Manage budgets and schedules for your clients
• Deliver projects worth millions of dollars for your clients
That trust must be earned.
A qualification gives you the opportunity to enter the profession.
It does not remove your responsibility to prepare, communicate and pursue the work.
Do not underestimate what you have studied or the career it could create for you.
