The power industry has so much diversity of opportunities. As an early-career engineer, it’s a great place to develop diverse technical skills as well as the soft skills that come with collaboration between different teams.
Who am I
I'm a Graduate Electrical Engineer living and working in Sydney. I was born in South Africa, my family moved to Australia when I was 10 and until I moved to Sydney to go to UTS, I have always lived in regional areas.
I've always been passionate about sustainability and renewable energy. Coming into the power industry, this has evolved into an interest in how the system will change in the energy transition.
Outside of work, I enjoy crocheting, hiking and camping, and I've teaching myself Norwegian with the help of Duolingo and some extended family members.
Why I chose a career in power
As a kid I was very passionate about sustainability and environmentalism, throughout school I found I was good at (and enjoyed) maths and science, particularly fascinated by the way things worked. I chose to study electrical engineering, originally planning to go into the renewable energy industry. With this goal in mind, choose Power, Control, and Energy as my sub-majors. Towards the end of my degree, I started seeing all this overlapping between the “specialised†subjects I was doing, especially around the power system and integration of renewables. It helped me gain a better understanding of the complexities of the power industry and how diverse the opportunities could be.
Where it all started
I studied a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering with Honours and a Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation. While studying, I worked as a U:PASS leader (aka peer tutor), open lab supervisor, and lab tutor. Towards the end of my degree I started an internship at a consulting company which focussed on energy efficiency and sustainability. I worked there for two and a half years, including one as a graduate consultant, before starting at Endeavour.
My work experience.
What's next?
I am working as a Graduate Engineer at Endeavour Energy. Most of my time so far has been in Secondary Systems and I just started a rotation in Capacity Planning. Although it's daunting, it excites me that we haven't solved all the challenges that we know are coming in the next decade or so. The energy transition is already forcing us to reconsider the way the system has been designed and operated for decades, and there won't be one magic solution that will solve everything.
Even though there is so much to learn, I feel a greater sense of camaraderie with people who are much more experienced than me because we're all facing this uncertain environment together.