“ My graduate year has given me a really good understanding of the State Government, its processes and people.”
I have a degree in Environmental Engineering from Monash University and my current role is as a project analyst in the Project Development Group at the Department of Infrastructure. The work that we do is generally for public transport improvements and involves identifying the problem, scoping the options and refining the preferred option. As a project analyst I support the project managers to develop the original initiatives into a project ready for delivery.
As an environmental engineer, I wanted to focus on developing projects that are not only economically viable, but good for the community and environment. Given that government and government agencies develop a
large number of projects, I felt that this was the best place where I could make a difference.
One of my most challenging projects so far has been working on an environmental effects statement – I had written these at university, but here was the opportunity to see how the process pans out in the real world.
I worked with others in the department on editing and refining the report prepared by consultants. It represented a big project for the State, and it was vital that the report was readily understood by stakeholders and the public. My role then was to take it from draft form to a stage where it could become a public document. This was an interesting process, as I learned about using language that was informative and straightforward. At times, technical language had to be simply removed – even if it was correct, it was meaningless if it would not be understood.
Learning about the interrelations within the department and externally between the different government departments and various agencies has been a real learning curve. Coming from an engineering background I did not have any exposure to government processes so my graduate year has given me a really good understanding of the State Government, its processes and people.