Ajith chats to us about being an international student and his love of physics. He shares a great piece of advice for young engineers. 

What was your inspiration for choosing a career in engineering?  

It all started with doodling as a child, which I still do to this day. Soon my interest in sketching things on paper turned into 3D modelling on CAD for fun. Ironically, being an architect was my ambition when I was a teenager. But l later discovered my niche was in physics, which was mostly inspired by my grandad who is a retired university professor.  

My love of physics drove my curiosity towards the mathematics and logic behind the building I was drawing. I wanted to choose a career path where I could use a combination of skills in which I was confident. Engineering seemed to be the perfect choice for me to combine all the things I loved to do.  

What have been some of the highlights of your career so far?  

When I was an international student still on the brink of my career, I experienced different cultures and had the opportunity to do work experience in different countries. 

Although I am in my early career phase as a graduate engineer, I have been given opportunities to work on numerous upcoming multi-million-dollar infrastructure projects. I see this as a great achievement and one of my career highlights to-date.  

Why was it important for you to volunteer your time to help engineering students through EA’s programs?

I believe most engineers need professional accreditation and a good network of people, so I wanted this for myself too. It is the graduate mentor programs within the workplace that are helping the next generation of engineers. I wanted the opportunity to be a part of this program, which led me to Engineers Australia. 

What has your experience been like as a volunteer for Engineers Australia? 

Volunteering with Engineers Australia gives me the opportunity to pass on the things I have learnt through trial and error, especially when I was a student trying to land my first job in Australia. Since I can’t travel back in time to help myself, the best I could possibly do is to help someone else who may be taking the same rocky road. 

My experience volunteering in the student mentoring program required some time for planning, scheduling and preparation. I found the time commitment to be around an hour per week on average over the past couple of months. 

What advice would you give your younger self? Or younger engineers? 

Spoiler alert: engineering is more about communication than mathematics at most times. So my best advice for younger engineers would be to develop people skills, in addition to honing the technical knowledge.