His goal was to be chartered before he reached the age of 25 and Rupert Noronha MIEAust CPEng NER achieved just that, although cutting it fine and gaining chartered status a week before his 25th birthday.
A graduate of Queensland University of Technology (QUT) with a first class Honours in civil engineering, Rupert started his career as an engineer with Aurecon in 2013. He currently works as a bridge engineer, working on the major design and construction project, NorthConnex.
When did you begin the process to becoming Chartered?
I started as a graduate at Aurecon’s Sydney office in 2013 and enrolled as a graduate member of Engineers Australia within a few months. This gave me access to Engineers Australia’s eChartered Portal, and a wealth of resources. It took me three and a half years to complete the process and I became chartered in October 2016.
What were the challenges of becoming chartered at such a young age?
The biggest challenge was showcasing a broad range of competencies with limited experience and opportunity. It helps to be inquisitive and take a broad interest in not only your own work, but the work of your managers and other disciplines.
How did you juggle work with chartered process demands?
Some of my weekends were spent on building up CPD hours and learning technical aspects that I have not been exposed to in my role or technical areas I wanted to increase my knowledge in. For the reports, I would pick four competencies and think where I had exhibited that competency. I would write a draft report in half a day and spend the following few weeks tweaking the report, flicking it to colleagues for their advice and amending as required. I somehow managed to find time amidst a busy work and social life.
How important is a good mentor in the process?
It’s valuable to find a mentor who has been through the process themselves and recognises the benefit of being chartered. They do not have to be technical, but it helps if you can work with them to identify those 'next four competencies'. I also found it very helpful having other engineers my age to talk to about career development, as well as senior engineers for a bit of perspective. Be careful of 'advice in hindsight' - focus on what you want in your career. What does success look like and how will you get there?
What should other young engineers take into account when going down this path?
If you want to be Chartered, give it a try now. It could be harder to find the time down the track when family and managerial responsibilities come in to play. Break up your 16 reports into lots of four and focus on only them. Set yourself a timeframe to submit each group of four competencies. Do not leave your CPD until the last minute. The webcasts and the library of online technical seminars on Engineers Australia’s website are great places to start looking for CPD. I also recommend recording on-the-job learning, doing some private study and attending all-day technical seminars. Remember to log your CPD each week. Finally, join a Chartered group at your work or through Engineers Australia to broaden your support network, as you progress through acquiring this significant professional qualification.
Image: Rupert Noronha at North Connex Project Office, West Pennant Hills. Source Supplied.