Young Engineers WA brought together four experienced engineers with varying life and career journeys to share their experiences and learnings. An audience of over 60 people joined us at GHD to hear the panel discussion and connect with other engineers.
Helen Forster, Suzanne Brown, Mei-Leng Yau and Laura-Kate King generously opened up to the audience – discussing their fears and challenges, sharing their conversations with leaders and teams and reflecting the personal commitments they have made to fit their lives with their engineering careers.
Key take-outs from the session
- Study/work at what you love to do, without others defining your limitations. Don’t think anything is out of reach.
- Have a career plan or don't have a plan, it doesn't make much difference as you can't control everything. It's more important to be adaptive and resilient to change and optimistic about what you have to offer, which is lots!
- An engineering degree and career is a fabulous option if you enjoy problem solving, but not just technical problems. If you want to make a difference this is an awesome career!
- Get a cheer squad! There are times when it can be hard, especially after being out of the workplace for a while and considering coming back to work. Reach out to friends and find people in your network who may have experienced similar anxieties and can offer help (or just a listening ear).
- Ahead of taking a career break, share with your manager YOUR preferences regards staying in touch (or not) whilst you are away from your workplace and what a transition back to work (part-time of full-time) might look like.
- Back yourself - if it feels like the right thing to do to get a better outcome then speak up – could be related to any aspect of your work – project delivery, technical or people!
- Regardless of your position or title in an organisation (small or large) don’t underestimate YOUR ability to influence change.
Thanks to Nancy Haddaden and Bruna Rocha from our Young Engineers Australia WA committee for being Chief Organisers of this event. The session was moderated by Susan Kreemer Pickford, General Manager of Engineers Australia WA.
Our panellists were:
Helen Forster - Director of Operations WA at JACOBS
As Director of Operations in a consulting civil design environment, Helen maintains senior Civil Engineer and Project Director/Manager roles. She has over 18 years’ experience in the water, transport and built environment infrastructure industries. Helen has extensive people management with her current role including developing and leading teams, multi-discipline resource management and recruitment. Helen's familiarity with the engineering environment has seen her develop a strong understanding of a range of clients including Water Corporation of WA, Main Roads WA and Public Transport Authority.
Suzanne Brown - Manager of Drainage, Waterways and Liveable Communities at Water Corporation of WA
Suzanne has over 25 years’ experience in water-related engineering, particularly in the area of environmental approvals and management of large infrastructure projects. She has worked at the Water Corporation of WA in planning, contract management, project management and was the Corporation’s Environment and Aboriginal Affairs manager for 7 years. She is currently in the newly created role of manager, Drainage and Liveable Communities. In her spare time she plays bass, cello and keyboards in a band, has two teenaged children and an elderly tabby cat.
Mei-Leng Yau - Water and Process Engineer
Mei-Leng is a Water & Process engineer at WSP Australia with vast experience in water engineering inclusive of treatment and civil works, which has led her to work on major and significant projects. She has also gained experience working in the Remote Area Essential Services Program (RAESP) for the Department of Housing, analysing problematic water quality, and designing systems to process the water to Australian Drinking Water Guideline standards. Mei-Leng has also attained project management skills in her role as Assistant Project Manager for the West Australian Department of Housing NPARIH projects.
Laura-Kate King - Senior Mechanical Engineer, Technical Resources
Laura-Kate is a senior mechanical engineer with 10 years of experience in a variety of industries including alumina refining, nickel production, uranium refining, oil and gas and gold refining. She has worked in project teams in both large project and small project environments throughout all phases of engineering from concept to commissioning.
Laura-Kate graduated from UWA in 2002, spent a brief period working in off-shore drilling and has worked in engineering consultancy since 2003. Laura-Kate is a parent to two girls aged 6 and 4 and has recently returned to the workforce after a career break.
Photo Credit: Lisa Perry GHD