What’s the coolest thing about your job?

Being able to see what you’re working on come together, with a real structure or system coming to life! (and not just on a piece of paper…) Being out on site, as part of a team making a difference is so rewarding, especially being a part of the critical water industry, makes it feel like all the work being done is helping to keep the Adelaide water system running.

Why do you enjoy working at Fulton Hogan?

The people and culture at Fulton Hogan are what make this job so great. Everyone is so welcoming and willing to help you learn, answer your questions and assist to make sure everything comes together. For such a large National company, everyone on all levels recognizes and appreciates you as part of the team, even as a graduate, which has really assisted my transition into full-time employment.

How has the Fulton Hogan Graduate Program been beneficial to your development?

The program has been beneficial in allowing myself to experience and work on a number of jobs throughout the 18 months, giving exposure to not only different styles of projects but also working alongside a large number of FH employees that are all so willing to help you learn and share their experiences. Fulton Hogan have also been very trusting and supportive, providing responsibility to complete sections of work from an early stage whilst still allowing time to learn on a broader scale.

What would you say is the biggest difference between what you were taught at University and the work that you are currently doing?  

There is a big difference between the theoretical side covered at university and that of the more project management, constructability, and communication approach required in the workplace. The university taught a lot more ideal situation problems and how to solve them mathematically, rather than how to manage quality, think about constructability, and work alongside people to solve real world problems and bring things together!

What three pieces of advice would you have given yourself when you were still a student?

• Look further into where you want to go in the future. I’m very fortunate to have fallen into the construction industry with a great company, but I could have done a lot more to make sure this was to happen. 
   
• Spend heaps of time working on other skills, outside of engineering. My time working in a team and talking to customers at the pub has come to be more useful than first believed—I wish I did more of this.
   
• Don’t be so focused on perfecting everything. Getting things done to a high standard is still important, but in the real world, being perfect is a near unrealistic goal. Especially when there is so many more assumptions made than the ‘perfect problems’ provided through uni.