What's your job about?
I am an Engineering Graduate at Fulton Hogan. Fulton Hogan is one of New Zealand’s largest construction and infrastructure companies and is heavily involved in the construction and maintenance of roads as well as all kinds of infrastructure all across the country. I am part of the Contracting division and based on the Auckland Airport project, and currently involved in the Ray Emery Drive Reversal as well as the reconfiguration of the Airport’s long term carpark (Carpark E). Most of the work I do has to do with quality assurance, which is just ensuring what we are doing on site follows what our designs and specifications state. Just recently I’ve taken up the responsibility of managing the reconfiguration of Carpark E which involves a lot of planning and programming all the works that have to be completed from start to finish of the project. I really enjoy the planning and programming aspect, so the weeks where I hit milestones like asphalt being laid or concrete being poured are what I enjoy most as it’s when you get to see the results of what you’re doing come to life.
What's your background?
I was born and raised in Auckland and lived here my whole life. Throughout school, I was dead set on becoming an architect but constantly having to produce technical drawings definitely wasn’t for me so I decided to go for engineering instead. When I got to university and started actually studying engineering I was drawn to every specialisation, from software to chemical engineering I enjoyed every part of it. In the end, I chose to go for Civil & Environmental engineering just due to the breadth of the field, from structural, to water, to environmental, and even project management. After completing my engineering degree I chose to go to Fulton Hogan to start my career because of the flexibility and variety of work they have to offer, and I’ve been working at Fulton Hogan and enjoying it for almost 9 months now.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Being an engineer in contracting doesn’t actually require as much engineering knowledge as you might initially think. A lot of the engineering knowledge can be picked up as you work. The big thing about working in my role is being organised and having great planning skills, which is actually much harder than engineering. If you can plan well and see the big picture then you can definitely take on the challenge of being an engineer.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
The coolest thing is definitely the environment we work in at the Auckland Airport, closely followed by the amazing team we have. The Auckland Airport is a very fast-paced and high stakes environment, our project scope can change rapidly as the client’s needs change, which with a pandemic in full swing and borders opening and closing is quite often. The most exciting part is definitely having almost unlimited access to everything around the Airport, from critical power and communication centres around the Airport area, MIQ facilities, and also the taxiways and runways themselves.
What are the limitations of your job?
While it’s really exciting and fact-paced working as an Engineer in contracting, it’s definitely a challenge. Depending on how things are going with the work on site and with our programme of work it can become very stressful and the hours can stretch when things need to be done. At the Auckland Airport project specifically, our deadlines have to be met so if things get delayed or pushed out and work needs to be done at night then we have to work at night to make sure things are still being done correctly and to design.
3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...
Enjoy your time, make the most of it and take a chance to meet new people and try new things, both career-related and not. School and university are a great opportunity to learn what you like and what you don’t like as much, it also gives you invaluable insight into where you would like to go with your career.