Work

Experience: My Reflection

By <Student >

Duringmyworkexperienceat<company>,Iwasfortunateenoughtohaveexperienced
firsthandandlearned,manydifferentsidesofwhatgoesintoaproject,thegeneralprocess
ofhowaprojectisinitiallyplanned,developedandcompleted;aswellashowmuchwork
anddetailgoesintoeverystage.AnothervaluablelessonIhavelearnedduringthese12
weeks,werethemanydifferenttypesofworkanEngineerhastoperform,whichinturn,
haveprovidedmewithmoreinsightintothedifferenttypesofrolesandresponsibilities
thatIcouldperform,asaCivilEngineer.

Reflectingbacktomyfirstdayat<company>,itwasoneofthemostmemorabledaysofmy
timeatwork.Afterbeingintroducedtoeveryone,Iwashandedatendertoworkon,in
whichtheyhadaskedmeforrecommendationstoimprovecertainaspectsoftheproject
whereverIseefit,aswellasmyopinionsontheprojectasanentirety.Theywereveryopen
andhappyformetocontributeasmuchasIwantedto,andwereopentoanysuggestions
andideas.ThisinstantlymademefeelcomfortableanddefinitelymademefeelasthoughI
waspartoftheteam.

Duringthefirstweekofworkcompletingthetender,Iwasoverwhelmedbytheworkand
theresponsibilitiesthatwereplacedonme,butwiththehelpofmysupervisorsandthe
directors,whohavehadyearsofexperienceintheindustry,Ifeltmoreconfidentand
supportedasIknewmyworkwouldbedoublecheckedandanyuncertaintieswere
explained.Byobservingandlearningfromthem,Imanagedtopickuptipsandlearned
differenttypesofskills,fromlearningtocommunicateanddealwithothercompanies,to
readinganddecipheringmanydifferenttypesofplans.

Workingontendersforthefirstfewweekswasenjoyableformeasitdidmakemeuseall
thetechniquesIlearnedatUniversityineverystreamofCivilEngineeringthathadbeen
taughttous,namely;Geotechnical,Structural,HydrologyandTransport.Irealisethismight
notbethesameeverywhereandusuallyCivilEngineersmightfocusononetypeofstream,
butIwashappythatIhadtheopportunitytouseallofmytheoreticalknowledgeand
appliedthemtoreallifesituations.

Throughexperienceandobservation,anothervaluablelessonthatIlearnedwhileworking
at<company>wasthatinprojects,especiallywhenworkinginprimarystagesofcertain
project,thingscanchangeveryquicklyanddramatically.AnotherlessonIlearnedthrough
thiswasthatifthereareanyuncertainties,fromwhetherasurveywasoffbyafew
millimetres,toifmaterialschosenforacertainaspectofaprojectwereunsuitable,italways
hastobecheckednumeroustimesandfromseniorlevelsourcesbeforeanyconclusionscan
bemade,especiallyiftheyaretobepresentedtoaclient.
IfoundthattheworkplaceitselfwasrelativelydiversefromwhatIhadobservedworkingat
<company>.Therearesurveyors,projectsupervisors/managerstocivilengineersall
workingintheoneoffice.Thislargerangeofpeoplehavedifferentstrengthsand
qualificationsandtheyworktogetherandorganisetheirworkinsyncwithoneanotherso
thatworkflowsandtheyareabletocompletetheirworkefficientlyinordertopresentitto
theclientontime.Thisinturn,managestohelptheworkplacebecomebetterasteamand
thereforecreatesagoodatmosphereintheworkingenvironment.

TheworkthatIhadtocompletevarieddaytodaydependingonwhatprojectwasaboutto
begin,orwhattenderwasdue.Somedayswerequiet,andduringthesedaysIwouldusually
creategeneraldocumentsthatthecompanyneededtoupdate,suchasforms(workingat
heights,workinginconfinedspacesetc)andmadesurethateverythingelseinthedatabase
wasuptodate(Whitecards,PlantOperatorCardsandMedicalchecks).Thishelpedme
learnmoreaboutthecompanyasabusinessitselfandIfeltlikeIhadaninputintothe
developmentofthegrowingcompany.

Thereweremanydaysthatwerebusywhereatenderdeadlinehadtometoraclientmight
needsomethingcompletedurgently,andthesedayswerestressfultothepointwherethere
weretimesIdidhavetostaybacktogettheworkdone.Thisinsomewaysremindedmea
lotofmylatenightstudysessionsatuniversityandhowevenintheworkplace,itdidnot
change.

ThroughoutthefewweeksIalsohadtheopportunitytoobtainawhitecard(or
constructioninductioncard)inordertobeallowedonsite.ThisisanotheraspectofCivil
EngineeringwhichIwasgladIhadtheopportunitytoexperience.Ihadtheopportunityto
goonsiteontotheM80RingRoadwithseniorcivilengineersandlabourers.My
responsibilitiesweretolocateundergroundservicesandensurethatanyareathatwasto
beexcavatedwerefreeofanyopticfibrecables,networks,pipes,etc.Thiswasprobablythe
mostenjoyablepartofmyentireworkexperienceat<company>becauseIfeltupliftedto
getoutoftheofficeafterweeksofcrunchingnumbersatadesk,andtoactuallyseethe
workthatIwasworkingonintheory,broughttoreallife.Thishelpedmetounderstandjust
howimportanteachstageofaprojectreallyis.

Overall,myworkexperienceat<company>waspositive.Iwasveryhappywiththeamount
ofthingsthatIhavelearnedandexperiencedinthe12weeksofbeingaStudentEngineer
withthecompany.IbelievethatVictoriaUniversityshouldkeepthisaspectofthe
Engineeringcourseasitdoesprovidestudentswiththeexperienceneededinordertofinda
joblateron(eveniftheexperienceisoverashortamountoftime).Also,itcanbevery
beneficialasitcouldleadtoamorepermanentposition,whichiswhathappenedwithme.I
endeduplearningalotmorethanIthoughtIwouldbeabletointhetimespan,andmy
hardworkpaidoffastheyofferedmeajobattheendofit.Iamsohappy,andproudthatI
havecompletedmycourse,andIcannowgraduateandcallmyselfaGraduateEngineer.