Issuu

2021

A deep dive into your career options

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Inside the guide C R ED I TS Managing Editor Grant Quarry Editor Sarah Duggan Journalists Geordie Little Deniz Uzgun Production Ben Nicol Business Development Sandra Colli Administration & Sales Mark Cunanan Zeny Manuel

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. Privacy Policy: To receive a copy of our privacy policy write to the address below. Student Guide is published by Tempo Media Pty Ltd ACN 100 789 848 +61 3 9229 6200 PO Box 231 Brunswick West VIC 3055 Australia student@educationhq.com

05. Journalist

Chatting to famous people & chasing UFOs

15.

Visual effects artist

18.

Sport scientist

28.

Tech entrepreneur

student.educationhq.com

Working on Batman and Star Wars

Inside AFL force, the Western Bulldogs

UN expert and in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list

36. Architect

Designing apartments of the future

44.

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Local councillor Different views, values and generation

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THE 2021 EDITION

From the editor

Whether you might have considered diving into law, labouring, literature or linguistics, or physiotherapy, pottery, pharmacy, presenting or professional pole vaulting, you’ll soon realise the range of career options out there are limitless – cue the overwhelm! You might not yet have a clear idea about what field you want to pursue after school, or perhaps you’ve got your heart set on a certain something. Either way, we’ve spoken with a diverse mix of people (who simply love what they do for work) to give you a little taster of professional life in a host of different industries. Remember, a job certainly doesn’t have to be forever, but you’ve got to start somewhere! So, let’s get you on the path to your dream career…

Sarah Duggan

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What’s your dream job? With seemingly unlimited options, it can be hard to narrow your focus to only a few career choices. This section includes a range of potential jobs, with info and firsthand insights.

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Journalist

From looking for UFOs in Japan to interviewing the leader of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement, David Allegretti has enjoyed a colourful, if a little weird, career thus far. He shares a few of the fascinating stories that have characterised his journalism success.

Hi David, tell me about your role with Pedestrian Group? I’m a native content editor at Pedestrian Group, working across PEDESTRIAN.TV, VICE Australia, Refinery29 Australia, Business Insider Australia, Gizmodo Australia, Lifehacker Australia and Kotaku Australia. The bulk of my role involves writing and planning native (sponsored) content across all those titles. What other publications have you written for? I’ve also written for The Guardian, The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, The Japan Times, Junkee, MTV, Channel Void, Beat Magazine, Jetstar Magazine, Concrete Playground, The Brag, Global Hobo, and a few others, but they’re the highlights. Do you have any favourite stories that you’ve worked on?

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I’ve been so lucky to have worked on some super fun stories in super interesting places all around the world throughout my weird career.

Honestly, I would need pages and pages to list them all — mostly because I genuinely really enjoy what I do, so every story is a highlight in a sense. I’ve been so lucky to have the chance to work on some super fun stories in super interesting places all around the world throughout my weird career. I try to have as much fun as I can, especially with VICE, who have always been so great in allowing me to go on very silly adventures – like eating nothing but Nutella for a week, or sneaking into the zoo and a Coldplay concert in a hi-vis vest, sleeping in display beds across Melbourne, hallucinating by eating the hottest chillies known to man, looking for UFOs in Japan, and just exploring so many abandoned buildings. VICE really has a thing for old mental asylums and graveyards. Working and living as a freelance travel writer in Japan for a while was also a fun career and personal highlight.

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I try, though, to sprinkle in some actual journalism when I can. Some stories I’m particularly stoked with include interviewing the leader of the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement during the 2019 mass protests, talking to dozens of refugees on Manus Island during the tense standoff that was the final days of the detention centre’s existence, interviewing Hiroshima survivors at the site of the atrocity on the 72nd anniversary of the day their city was destroyed, interviewing former Guantanamo Bay inmate Mamdouh Habib while at uni, and going undercover to interview Balinese drug dealers days after Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed for drugrelated offences. How would you describe your daily work schedule? It’s a cliché to say, but no two days are the same! Having said that, there is some pattern to the chaos. My first half-hour is usually spent catching up on email and other work-related messages, and planning what I want to tackle that day and in what order. After that, I’m in writing mode til lunch

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– I find the golden creativity window for me is 9am – 1pm, so I try to ideally use that for writing. The afternoon is spent either writing, uploading stories to the sites, meetings, brainstorming article and campaign ideas, and revising and editing content. Of course, this ideal daily schedule is constantly challenged by unexpected things that pop up throughout the day – but for the most part that’s the schedule I try to keep to. What do you enjoy about your job? The variety – you truly do not know what the next week will bring, who you’ll be talking to, who you’ll meet, whose story you’ll tell. As well as the constant challenge, the constant problem solving of how best to tell a particular story – and that great feeling when you finally get it right (or as right as possible), which is then quickly replaced by a new challenge, a new story. It’s fast-paced and very dynamic, which I love. When I was at school, I had no idea what I wanted to do in the future. I wasn’t a particularly great student, but I was curious. I couldn’t get enough of history and science, I was addicted to learning how the world worked, and why it was the way it was. I was also in detention a lot, which was great as it gave me more time to read the stuff I actually wanted to read! What advice would you give to high school students looking to perhaps pursue a career in journalism? I won’t sugarcoat it, it’s a tough road, but I think you’ll be fine as long as you’re curious. I think curiosity is the most important ingredient for any writer or journalist to possess — if you enjoy asking ‘why?’ then you’re already well-placed for a career in journalism.

My main piece of advice, and it may sound trite, but, you can do it. I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve heard the phrase ‘there are no jobs in journalism’. Sure, it’s a competitive field, but if I can do it then I’m sure as hell you can! My family moved to Australia from Rome a couple of years before I was born, I still speak Italian at home – we weren’t well educated, or well off, in fact things

Write as much as you can, for whoever will take you. Knock on doors, ring people up. Believe in yourself and make it happen.

were tough. I had zero connections in this industry, it looked hopeless. But that just meant I had to work my ass off. So my second piece of advice is intern, intern, intern! Write as much as you can, for whoever will take you. Knock on doors, ring people up. Believe in yourself and make it happen – because no one will make it happen for you. My life changed when I randomly walked into the Melbourne VICE office as a second-year uni student and asked for an internship. A few months before that I called SBS and asked them for an internship, before that I walked into my local paper, and before that it was tiny online blogs no one was reading – you have to build up your body of work and keep making forward steps.

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Yes, interning will suck — I studied full time and worked two side jobs while writing for free for over a year, and then getting paid peanuts for a further couple of years. But hard work, combined with a positive attitude, really does pay off. This also counts if you want to work in radio, or in broadcast — just do it for free until you get so good that people will have no choice but to pay you. And remember, there is no such thing as a

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boring story, just boring ways of telling that story. There’s always an interesting angle, an interesting hook — being able to find that hook when others can’t, that’s what will truly make you great. Oh, and last one — read! Read books, blogs, magazines, whatever strikes your fancy, but read, as much as you can. Make time for it, even 20 minutes a day before bed or in the morning will make the world of difference.

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Lawyer

Since starting out as a judge’s associate, 2020’s Australian Young Lawyer of the Year, Dean CliffordJones, has been a crown prosecutor, worked in child protection and now sits on Queensland’s Parole Board. He’s also the founder of Pride in Law, which supports LGBTIQ+ members of the profession.

So Dean, what attracted you to law? I think it was a number of factors, I don’t think it was one thing in particular. I grew up on the Sunshine Coast in the 1980s and ’90s and it was a very different space than it is today. I think there’s always been a little bit ingrained in me around social justice, equality, diversity, but also respect. And that respect, I think, has assisted me in getting to where I am today and in my studies. You know, respect for different cultures, respect for different peoples, respect for different genders – all those things are really important to me and should be important for people appearing before the law. Law is obviously a really competitive field, what are the best things that students can do while they’re studying to try and break through? I think dedication to your studies, but also

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dedication to spending time on yourself. Because when you enter the legal field, it’s hard then as well, it’s not an easy career. And [it’s about] making sure that you spend the time to not just read something, but to understand its parameters, the history of how it got to where it is today. For example, when you’re reading a case at university, don’t just read the case, understand how that case got before the court, what led up to that and really understand the history of something. Pride in Law is an awesome initiative. How did you come to found that? I had been living in regional Queensland, up in Rockhampton, for a number of years and

... respect for different cultures, ... different peoples, ... different genders – all those things are really important to me...

I was prosecuting as the crown prosecutor in Rockhampton, and my husband and I moved back to Brisbane. When I did, I was surprised to understand that there were a few of my friends who still weren’t out in the workplace, and this was around 2016, so we’re not talking a really long time ago. I really wanted to provide them some

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assistance to, if they wanted to, share that part of themselves. They shouldn’t be afraid to do so. Everyone has their own reasons for not wishing to be out in the workplace, but I certainly didn’t want it to be a fear of career progression or a fear of a glass ceiling, so to speak, or being pigeonholed as a lesbian lawyer or a gay lawyer or a transgender lawyer. There really needed to be some support for the unique personalities of the LGBTI community and there wasn’t anything in Australia. We have some great law associations; the Indigenous Lawyers Association, Women Lawyers Association, Asian Australian Lawyers

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Association, but there was nothing in Australia for the LGBTI community and that’s why I decided to start something. I launched it formally in 2017. Originally it started as a social media support network, but there was a real need to have educational events, in person meetings and networking. It’s grown really quickly over the last four or five years to now have chapters in Queensland, Western Australia, and more recently in Victoria. What’s the best part of your job? I really do feel like I’m doing something that’s making a difference. I’m having an impact. It might be small, but it is helping to change lives – that’s my hope anyway. Whether it was working in criminal law and then later as a child protection lawyer, and today on the parole board, I really think I’m having a positive impact. What’s the most challenging part of what you do? You have to prepare yourself physically and mentally for the words you’re going to read. There are some parts of society that can be quite cruel, and you have to be prepared for that, to be exposed to that trauma. Obviously it’s indirect trauma, but you’re reading about somebody’s life and lives in general and that can have an impact. There are many areas of law and I’ve chosen an area that really goes back to your first question around my desire for social justice and helping others in its most basic form. But you know there are other areas of law, whether it’s in litigation, environmental law and others. You can work in the corporate world and never be exposed to some of the trauma in the community, but even in those other fields, it’s really, really important

to have good personal skills, and the ability to speak to diverse people is also an important characteristic of a good lawyer.

I really do feel like I’m doing something that’s making a difference. I’m having an impact... that’s my hope anyway.

Do you have any advice for students who might be thinking about whether or not they want to pursue a career in law? Maybe they’re weighing up a couple of options. What makes someone well suited for law? I think good English skills are really important, communication skills that you develop over your lifetime, but particularly in high school. It’s not just around debating or history or English, it’s around a combination of all those things. You know, I really enjoyed high school drama and English, I think those things have carried me well when communicating with others. It’s not just about study, you want to enjoy what you do, you want to get involved in the things outside of study, whether it’s at university with university committees or law associations, unions, or anything else, all of these things really combine to make a great lawyer.

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Computer Systems Engineer Why did you pursue engineering at JCU? Growing up in rural In El Arish (in Queensland) I went to a regional El Arish, Melanie Olsen high school and there was no university nearby. Dr Peter Grabau, an adjunct senior lecturer in wasn’t sure what she JCU Engineering, visited our school and did an introductory session on engineering. He had this wanted to pursue at really cool quadcopter, and it was in 2000, way university. When an before quadcopters were common. He said that they work with robotics like this in JCU Engineering. engineering professor I liked maths and physics, so I thought that was so visited her high school awesome. I applied to JCU with engineering as my showcasing what was on first preference and the rest is history. offer at JCU, Melanie’s passion was sparked. With a career that Write as much as you can, has spanned from the for whoever will take you. Australian Defence Force Knock on doors, ring people up. Believe in yourself to protecting marine and make it happen. life through systems engineering, Melanie has truly found her dream job.

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What were some of the highlights from your time at JCU? The support staff were amazing. Being at university felt like a home away from home. When I needed help, they were there. The extracurricular support activities were really well done, too. Another highlight is that because JCU Townsville is in a regional area and I’m from a regional area, I felt like I was really well-equipped to handle the challenges that are faced in these regions. My family didn’t have a lot of finances to dedicate to my studies so it was helpful that JCU has great scholarships that I could work really hard for, that assisted me in getting through university. Between the financial support and the emotional and study support, the challenge of university study greatly lessened. What has your career looked like since completing your degree?

I worked with leading Australian and international researchers, spending time in the US, from Boston to Atlanta and Washington.

Straight after I finished studying computer systems engineering in 2006, I went into the Defence Material Organisation in Canberra. I had no idea what to expect, but I learned about all sorts of amazing defence capabilities, such as over the

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Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), which is based just south of Townsville. I joined the AIMS team, helping them integrate new technologies for protecting the Great Barrier Reef and further enabling our researchers. I now lead Australia’s tropical marine technology test range here in Townsville.

horizon radar, electronic warfare, and fitting out ships’ radar systems. I was really impassioned by electronic warfare and did my masters degree in electronic engineering and became a specialist in the area, helping equip our future navy for the challenges they might face. I worked with leading Australian and international researchers, spending a lot of time in the US, from Boston to Atlanta and Washington. After a while, I wanted a career change and saw an opening for a technology team leader at the

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How did your time at JCU equip you for the career that you’ve eventually had? JCU really prepared me for being quite solutions and technology agnostic. I developed these core problemsolving skills that allow me to jump up and go anywhere and apply them. Even though I moved from defence to protecting marine life and promoting oceanography, the same skill set applied there, so I could just hit the ground running. The broad and varied range of teaching at JCU also gave me the knowledge I needed to work in not just an evolving career, but an evolving industry. One day I could be working on robotics and the next I’ll be looking at hyperspectral sensing data. JCU equipped me with an approach to systems that can apply in any context.

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Visual effects artist

It’s been a wild career ride for Enrico Leasa, but now working as a visual effects artist at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), he can finally say he’s found his dream job. Working his creative talents on projects like The Batman, and The Book of Boba Fett, Leasa gives us an inside look at what it’s like to be in the industry.

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You’ve had quite an interesting career path out of school, can you step us through what you thought you wanted to do when Year 12 wrapped up? Yeah, so when I left school, what I thought I wanted to do was go to uni and study primary teaching ... but I don’t think I was ready for uni straight after school, just mentally I wasn’t prepared to kind of study, I guess, again. So I did my first year of uni in my bachelor’s degree, and then I took a gap year after that, and I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t think I’m ready for it’. So I worked full time in a childcare, which was pretty cool, and then I was like, ‘OK, my gap year is up’, so I went back to uni and continued my degree in teaching. Then I got to the end of my last semester, probably at which point I was very close to pulling out, but my wife and my mum and a bunch of people said, ‘just stick it out and finish it off, like you’ve got one semester left’. And so, yeah, I ended up finishing that and straight after I finished

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that I was like ‘OK, I think I’m going to study animation and visual effects’ – so I went straight into a course at SAE. What appealed to you about working in visual effects? I’ve always been quite creative in that sense. I did a lot of art in school and things like that, and I guess what switched it was I had a friend who was doing animation [but] it didn’t click until like the end of my teaching degree that ‘Oh, wait, you can actually do that as a job’. So it’s one of those situations where I was like, ‘man, if only I had realised this when I finished high school, then I would have had four or so years ahead of where I am now’, but you know, it all happened for a reason. Well, I guess hindsight can be rude at times! And you’ve also had a stint in Muay Thai boxing, can you tell us about that? I started Thai boxing when I was 14, so Year 9 in high school. I guess you could say it was kind of my saving grace that kind of kept me sane; it was probably the only thing I was invested in while I was in school, straight to the end of my teaching degree – it was just something that I was more invested in than studying, I guess you could say. What does your current role at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) involve? I guess my role is termed a layout artist. We pretty much work with cameras and so on, so in films where it’s a mix of cinematography, camera tracking, and a bit of animation in itself, like 3D animation, so it’s a mix of things. I’m the first point of the first department to touch all the shots before they get effects and added things. Essentially all

the animators and the explosion effects guys, they all need a 3D camera first to work from so that they can do their work. It sounds like it’s really quite technical work, is there a lot of creativity too in what you do? Yeah, absolutely. The cool thing about the layout department is it’s a very big mix of creativity and technicality. [With] the creative side of layout, I guess you can say it’s shot designing and things like that, so where if you’re working on a fully animated feature film, like Toy Story for example, you’re essentially just the cameraman within a 3D space, so you’re designing the shot and how you’re framing everything and animating this 3D camera on your computer. So, there’s a lot of creative input there.

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What are some of the more challenging aspects of your work? I think the technical side can get quite challenging in understanding how to do certain things. I’d much rather be challenged throughout my day and on a constant basis than just cruising through work. At work there’s a lot of support from the senior guys and many of my colleagues, which is amazing. It would be different if you didn’t have that support…

And what have been some of the highlights for you so far? There’s too many! I think one of the biggest highlights would probably be getting to work on the films like Batman and some Star Wars stuff at the moment. Also, I think working with the people that I work with; the company is really great and everyone’s really passionate. I guess that’s what you want: just being able to creatively bounce off other people that are just as passionate as you, that’s a big part.

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Many people leaving school might be a bit worried about not choosing the ‘right’ career or the ‘right’ path straight away – do you have any advice for those in this situation? Yeah, don’t choose until you know, because there’s no rush. If anything, coming from experience, I felt like I had to choose something when I left school because that’s just what you do, what they say you’re supposed to do. But there’s no rush, you’ve got such a long time, there’s really no rush to choose what you want to do, especially at 18, and put that pressure on yourself. You’ve literally lived for 18 years, its nothing in the scheme of it all. Some people don’t figure it out until they’re in their 30s or in their 40s, and there’s nothing wrong with that – we’re taught to leave school and just be like, ‘all right, now I’ve got to uni or I’ve got to make something of myself’. And yeah, you can, but it’s going to take longer than a year or a four-year degree to make something out of your life.

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Sport scientist Amber Rowell spends her days helping athletes achieve their best possible performance on the field. As a sport scientist with the Western Bulldogs, one of the top teams in the Australian Football League, she is thriving in the highpressure environment of elite sports. She tells Student Guide about what attracted her to sport science, her career path, and making it in a male dominated field.

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How did you become interested in sport science? Transitioning from high school to uni, I think sport was always something that I really loved doing. I always loved sport days in high school and loved doing those PE classes and learning about the body. I wasn’t really sure when I finished Year 12 exactly what I wanted to go into, but I had this real interest in sport. Originally, I was thinking about PE teaching or going down the teaching route, but then going through Open Days and seeing what courses were offered at universities, and also having discussions with those career counsellors at my high school, I was led a bit towards the exercise science, human movement kind of stream and that seemed a bit more broad, I guess, than just the teaching. So that’s how I got into it, but it wasn’t really until my third year where we had a placement at uni. I actually applied for a placement with the Bulldogs at that time, I was unsuccessful in getting it, but I ended up at Melbourne Victory and did a 360-hour placement there. I think that’s where I was really exposed to sport science and I guess just being involved with an elite team and seeing the ins and outs of how that was run. I also had a really great mentor at Victory, who was a female as well, so seeing a female in that sport science role and being involved in an elite sporting team, I was like,

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‘Yeah, this is definitely where I want to go and what I want to make my career from’. So yeah, it probably wasn’t until the third year of that undergrad degree that I really found out what applied sport science was, and that’s when it captured my attention and drew me in. You mentioned your mentor, is it, for the most, a male dominated field? I’d say yes. I think that now, even within the AFL, there are some really great females involved in a couple of the other AFL teams, but I’d say predominantly it would be a male dominated industry. And particularly, I think, within the sport science roles, although it is definitely a space where it’s growing, and I’ve got some really good female friends, colleagues and mentors who do have great positions as sport scientists in elite teams. But I think overall, it probably is more of a male dominated field. What does your current role with the Dogs involve? So my current role is basically around GPS analysis and load monitoring, collecting daily training loads, match-day loads, having live data come through at matches and relaying that information, and then also, looking at other monitoring areas. So working with the physio department, working with the strength and conditioning department, we have a head of sport science and physical performance, Mathew Inness, who I report to, so it’s just kind of relaying information to him and to those other areas, and the monitoring of the athletes’ loads. What’s the best part of your job? The most rewarding part is just seeing athletes

performing at their best and just being part of a really good team. Obviously, when you get that success on the field, playing a very small part of that, I think that’s the most rewarding part. Just having those moments as well. I’ve been very fortunate to be involved in a couple of championship successes at other teams, which I’m hoping I can do at the Bulldogs as well. That’s the ultimate goal, winning that championship (or premiership) title. And as I said, playing a very small part in a team success and helping those athletes achieve success on the field is the most rewarding part. But also, I think it’s just being part of the team and having really good people around you

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and being able to collaborate with them as well. I think that’s also a really rewarding part of the job, learning from others around you and being able to learn things off the physio, learn things off the strength and conditioning department. I’ve got a very curious mind, so I’m always really keen to learn more. Even the coaching staff as well, we’ve got a really great group of coaches here at the Bulldogs and learning stuff off them. I think that’s also a rewarding part, knowing where I can help contribute, but then also where that fits in with those other departments, too. That’s something that I really love doing and find rewarding. What would you say is the most challenging part of your job? For me personally, I always find it really challenging when a player gets injured. The players work so hard, so when an injury occurs, I feel really sorry for the players, and especially when you get some serious injuries happen, which I guess is part and parcel of the sport and the industry that I’m in – those injuries do occur. But I think, on the flip side, I guess one of the best parts is the winning and the success, and one of the downsides is the losses and when you go through those hard phases as well. It’s great when things are going really well, but when they’re not, I think it can be quite a difficult space to be in. There’s obviously a lot of pressure working in this industry for success and to have the team performing. As much as I’ve had success with other teams, we’ve gone through patches where there hasn’t been and it can be a really difficult thing to face. But you have to just keep going and hope that it turns around soon and just keep doing your little part of the bigger picture. But yeah, definitely, it can be challenging sometimes.

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So do you have any advice for students who might be thinking about going into sport science? My biggest advice would be to just follow your passion. If you have an area that you’re really interested in, it’s obviously going to help you learn more about that area. But I think always keep an open mind, even if you have your thoughts and mind set on one specific area, just to be flexible with it. Because, again, I spent probably about 10 years working in soccer, but now I’ve ended up in AFL. So I think you often have to be open to new experiences. I’d never really considered soccer as a sport that I’d get so involved in or invested in, but I loved learning the ins and outs of it. Now coming back to AFL, I think you can apply different skill sets across the different sports. So I’d say just follow your passion, follow what your interests are, but then also, I think the biggest thing that I’ve learned is about creating those really good connections within the industry, or if you’ve got an opportunity to have someone as a mentor or someone that you can look up to. I’ve been very fortunate with some of my experiences, and where I’ve ended up has been through connections with people. It’s not so much what you know, but also how you interact with people and how you fit into different environments. I think as much as people can learn the material at school, it’s also about being confident enough to have discussions with people or meet new people. Follow your passion and it will make work not seem like work, which I think is the biggest thing that I try and do. I love what I do, so it doesn’t feel like I’m going to work, it feels like I’m going to do what I love doing and I’m working with some great people as well – and getting paid for it!

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Bricklayer

After migrating to Australia from India, Mandeep Kaur has had her fair share of challenges in her quest to becoming a qualified bricklayer. The young talent spoke with Student Guide about how she overcame stereotypes to break through in a maledominated industry.

Hi Mandeep. So, what inspired you to choose a career in bricklaying? In India, I completed my Bachelor of Information Technology. After COVID-19 hit, there weren’t many opportunities to secure employment with companies moving to working from home or shutting down. I was inspired by my friend’s husband who is a bricklayer. He encouraged me to pursue a trade, so I enrolled in Melbourne Polytechnic’s Certificate III in Bricklaying and Blocklaying mid-2020. I initially moved to Melbourne after hearing of the great opportunities for career development here, I was in search of a stable job and felt that bricklaying would provide me with exactly that. What sort of subjects did you study at TAFE? We did varying subjects that covered the core skills every bricklayer should have, including how to handle and prepare bricklaying materials, con-

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structing walls, arches, fireplaces and chimneys, levelling procedures, and how to read and interpret plans. Did you have to overcome any stereotypes? When I started bricklaying, the kinds of things I would hear is that I’m not strong enough to be in the trade. I was often asked questions that doubted my abilities, and both my mental and physical strength. It’s been challenging as a woman pursuing a male-dominated trade. I was one of the only women in my course, but I knew I had to break the

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gender stereotype that was telling me bricklaying would be unsuitable for a woman. It was the support from my Melbourne Polytechnic teachers and my family that pushed me to keep trying and reinforced that as a woman I can do this. It was really satisfying for me to defy the stereotype and do what people thought I couldn’t achieve. What do you enjoy about bricklaying? I enjoy the hands-on element of the job. Coming from Melbourne Polytechnic and learning through practical classes, I’ve really enjoyed being able to

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It was really satisfying for me to defy the stereotype and do what people thought I couldn’t achieve.

apply my skills on a job site. I also love working outdoors. While my initial career goal was to work in IT, becoming a bricklayer has been great and means I’m not sedentary throughout the day. My job

requires me to be active and moving around, which keeps me feeling healthy. Bricklaying is also not the same thing every day, we work in different locations all the time and complete varying projects on job sites that aren’t simply basic wall constructions. What advice would you give to women looking to enter the trades industry? You have to be strong to face such a male-dominated environment, but trades for women is a great path. I would definitely encourage women to pursue trades. There’s been a shift of thinking when it comes to gender roles and anything a man can do, a woman can do. Any doubts will quickly subside if this is something you truly enjoy and want to pursue. There is hard work involved in being a bricklayer but it’s achievable and well within the realm of possibility for any woman.

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Graduate economist JCU Alumni Siddarth Roche completed a Bachelor of Business majoring in Economics and Financial Management (majors are now offered in the Bachelor of Commerce). In his third year, Siddarth completed an internship at the Reserve Bank of Australia and was invited to join their graduate program after he completed his Honours. As a Graduate Economist at the Reserve Bank of Australia, Siddarth explores and analyses the economy of the entire country. 24

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When did you know that you wanted to study economics and finance? When I was a kid, I developed the perfect business model in the eraser industry. My parents would buy me erasers and then I would sell them right back to my parents. My free supplier was also my buyer. So, I guess you could say I’ve always had a passion for understanding markets, innovation and entrepreneurship. What would you consider a highlight of studying finance at JCU? I really enjoyed being in a smaller university where people know you by name. In a class of 20 people compared to 200 people, you have much more one-on-one time with your lecturer. I love asking questions, so I was able to spend a lot of time with lecturers and tutors getting detailed answers to some of my really obscure queries. How did your study at JCU prepare you for your career? Having the opportunity to conduct a pioneering Honours research project while working closely with academic staff for a year was fantastic, as well as important for enhancing my skill set. The project instilled in me an immense respect for the rigour and discipline that research requires. I also learned how to work flexibly, which is a vital skill. Overall, the personal approach to education as well as the flexibility and discipline that I gained during my time at JCU has really prepared me for my current role.

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What do you do at the Reserve Bank of Australia? As a graduate economist at the Reserve Bank, I rotate through several teams within the bank. I am currently working as an analyst in the ‘Note Issue’ team. In my role, I get to undertake research projects into the future of cash in Australia and what that may look like. I perform a lot of data analysis on cash distribution and cash demand. In each of the teams I’ve worked with, I’ve had a good chance to break economic problems down to their working parts, think creatively, and then apply my learnings to policy. What really excites you about the future of your career? I think innovations in digital technologies are going to have a significant impact on the economy. I’m

looking forward to understanding — and possibly even help in shaping — the coming changes within Australia’s economic landscape.

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Teacher A long-time passionate supporter and advocate of student wellbeing, Oliver De Ionno’s career has taken him around the world, with teaching stints in countries as varied as England, Cambodia and Japan. Back here in Australia, after filming lessons to share with his own students, he was approached by the ABC to deliver mini-literacy lessons to kids across the nation during lockdown. 26

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Hi Oliver. Would you say teaching was your calling? I always knew that I really enjoyed working with children, and that I didn’t want to have an office job. As someone who loves to work with people and be social, my skills naturally led me to teaching. From a young age, I felt drawn to a field that would allow me to capitalise on those skills. Then in Year 10, I did work experience at a school. I remember feeling really nervous, but after my first day realised I absolutely loved it and could really see myself teaching. What did your study path look like after high school? After high school, I did my Bachelor of Education (Primary) at RMIT University. I specifically chose this course because it allowed me to do creative arts electives which were of particular interest to me. In my third year of my education degree, I decided that I wanted to take a break and travel overseas to teach. I travelled around South America, and then I taught students English in Cambodia. It was an enriching experience and cemented for me that I really wanted to be a teacher.

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You taught in London and Tokyo. How were those experiences? They were incredible. With an education degree there are so many opportunities to teach and work overseas. In London (2015-2016) [it] was the first time I’d taught a classroom by myself – it was daunting and so exciting at the same time. I got to spend a lot of time teaching students from diverse communities, which led to me securing a classroom teaching role. It was so similar to Australia, yet so different. I really enjoyed making the parallels between the two. In Tokyo (2017), I was an English teacher across a variety of ages which was a unique experience. My youngest student was a one-year-old and my eldest was 88 years old. While I loved teaching English, it made me realise I enjoy teaching young students in the classroom and being more involved in supporting their wellbeing. What was involved in your work with the ABC during last year’s COVID-19 lockdowns? We had to really adapt our teaching during remote learning and I had built up my confidence making videos to share with my students. I was then approached by the Department of Education who collaborated with the ABC to create short classroom lessons for students at home. It was a fantastic experience and was really rewarding to reach even more students with my teaching during lockdown. It was a real highlight for me to watch it with my students at school. What is the most rewarding part of your job? Being able to teach students as a whole. It’s not just teaching them English or Maths, but really focusing on a holistic approach and making sure the children are feeling happy and safe. I love supporting the kids’ wellbeing and providing them with the

tools for success that will help them achieve positive outcomes in life. Also, the connections and relationships you make, not only with students, but your school, are invaluable. Teaching for me is such a creative process and I’ve enjoyed expressing my creativity in multiple ways every day. What advice would you give to a student interested in becoming a teacher? Go into teaching with an open mind, knowing that it’s so diverse and has so many career paths within it. If you enjoy working with other people and you want a job that makes a tangible difference, I would definitely recommend teaching. It engages so many facets of your personality and you’re making an impact every day. Oliver is an advocate for the Teach the Future campaign. For more information, visit www.vic.gov.au/ teachthefuture.

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Tech entrepreneur

Jamie Cerexhe is co-founder and head of engineering at Sydney-based startup Mastt. He’s taught computer science, been a technology expert for the United Nations and has also been featured in 30 Under 30 lists by Forbes and ARN - all despite having no formal qualification in coding or tech. 28

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I saw on LinkedIn that you did Asia-Pacific Studies at university, did you do any kind of IT or tech course as well? No, only in my own time, I was pretty interested in a lot of software and coding while I was in uni, but I didn’t do any formal education on it. It must have been a lot of work to get that level of expertise independently. Yeah, well, basically after uni I moved to Indonesia, and then I didn’t find any jobs that I really liked, so I came back and spent about nine months just full time studying by myself and trying to learn as much as I could. Then I got lucky with someone giving me a job and it went from there.

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something, create something new that didn’t exist before, and then also being able to distribute it to essentially everyone in the world, if you want. Both those two factors were really interesting.

What was that first job? What were you doing? It was for a small startup in Sydney. I was just there helping as a software developer, and there was a more senior guy that helped mentor me into the role. What attracted you to the field? I really loved the idea of being able to build

Considering that you haven’t got any formal qualification, you’ve had a pretty remarkable career. How did you end up at the United Nations? Yeah, that was an interesting jump. After a few years, I ended up teaching a software development course at tertiary level. So I was teaching a university level course where I didn’t have the qualification, which was interesting. The UN reached out, a division of the UN called the ‘ITU’ – the International Telecommunication Union – so they wanted myself and some other people from the school to help set up a similarstyle education in the Philippines. We went over there and helped with that and from there, I got involved in a number of different projects, from teaching government workers in the Philippines or Thailand about different parts

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of technology, to developing a pig traceability app, a marketplace app for Papua New Guinea, for farmers to be able to sell their pigs outside of the country.

... find something you’re really passionate about, whether it’s building games or mobile apps, and just get started.

Could you tell me a bit about your current work with Mastt? Sure. So at Mastt, I’m one of the co-founders, we started the company in 2018, and I’m also the head of engineering. So of the three co-founders, I was the technical one that was responsible for the technical success of the product. We’ve got a software product that we sell. In my role, I have got a technical team that work on product development, so a mix of product managers, designers and software engineers. My role is enabling them to build the best product possible. What would you say is the best part about your career?

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One of the hardest things is hiring people and finding the right people, but I really like helping them grow and, I guess, the same thing that happened for me in terms of being mentored and given a leg up, being able to do that for people. And I really like just building something that people find really valuable. We do a lot of work with the Federal Government, and really help them improve the efficiency of all the construction work that they do, so it’s kind of nice to think that in some way, you’re helping the Government improve the way they work. What’s the most challenging part about what you’re doing? There are a lot of challenges, I mean, starting a company is not for the faint hearted. It’s been a very, very tough few years. I guess it’s good that everything good that happens, sort of comes from you and the team, but on the flip side, anything bad, it’s hard to hide. Whereas in a big company, there’s a lot of colleagues and it’s not always obvious who dropped the ball. So it can be really confronting sometimes, you’ve got to work really, really hard. It can be tough. Do you have any advice for students who might be thinking about pursuing a career in tech? Yeah, my path isn’t the only way. Getting a university degree is also a really great way to jump into it. But I think the best approach is to find something you’re really passionate about, whether it’s building games or mobile apps, anything like that, and just get started. The barrier for entry is relatively low and if you’re really passionate about it, you can get pretty far without having to do years of education.

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Researcher

In what could be deemed pioneering research, Carolyn Wang is completing a PhD investigating the link between obesity and asthma. She tells Student Guide about the incredible rewards and steep challenges of working as a researcher in the respiratory physiology field.

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How did you come to find yourself being drawn into the area of physiological research, Carolyn? My honours (at university) was actually in pharmacology, and I guess that’s where I really kind of immersed myself into the research environment. I was really able to learn techniques and things like critical thinking, and that’s really where I’ve cultivated my interest for research. In terms of looking into physiology, after I finished my honours I wanted to take a break from studying, so I actually was lucky enough to get a job in physiology – I worked in the respiratory physiology laboratory as a research assistant right after my honours, and that’s where I’ve stayed. I was really interested in the research that we’re doing in this lab, which is what prompted me to continue on and do my PhD. So can you tell us a little about your PhD and the type of research you’re undertaking at the moment? My research is looking into the association

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the line can potentially improve clinical outcomes for patients with comorbidities ... who experienced these severe symptoms and don’t respond to therapy.

between asthma and obesity, which is important because patients with both asthma and obesity have more severe asthma and don’t actually respond well to therapies. Our group recently discovered the presence of airway fat, which is actually more abundant in obese individuals. I guess my PhD is really exploring the role of airway fat and trying to determine whether it plays a part in the development of asthma, and understanding how this airway fat works down

It sounds like really fascinating work, do you come up against many obstacles? Yeah, definitely. I guess one of the most challenging things I’m finding is, because research involves exploring the unknown, that’s kind of where the challenge starts; we’re doing things that we don’t understand properly, and we’re trying different techniques. It can be a lot of trial and error and troubleshooting, especially when the experiments don’t really turn out. I’d say that’s probably one of the biggest challenges, just navigating your way through the trial and error. And what about the rewarding sides to working in this kind of research environment? It’s a bit of a double-edged sword, so they do kind of come hand in hand: the rewarding bit is overcoming the challenge, it’s also tackling the

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challenge. So you spend hours on end trying to optimise your experiments, and then once you overcome those challenges and produce meaningful data, then that’s really the reward at the end. So, what kind of attributes would you say a person working in this field would benefit from having? Research is so diverse, but if I had to pick a few things I’d say researchers are critical thinkers, they pay close attention to detail, and importantly,

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they have a thirst for knowledge – so they want to know anything and everything. Then it comes to interpreting data, they can make informed conclusions. Research also requires a lot of problem solving at times, which also requires a lot of resilience and patience. But it’s not all negative. The good thing about research, in science particularly, is that it’s so diverse. You can go [from] researching into how you can treat asthma in patients with obesity, to looking at things like reducing carbon emissions by developing renewable energy resources.

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Registered nurse Finding your dream job is not always a direct path. JCU Alumni James Tsakisiris knows this firsthand, as he’s no stranger to giving things a try in order to find the right fit for him. After a few wrong turns, he’s now in the place that suits him best — working as a registered nurse in a Cairns clinic with a small team and a great sense of fulfilment.

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Why did you choose to pursue nursing? I had actually started my time at JCU studying medicine, but it just wasn’t a good fit for me, so I had a crossroads decision to make: either stay on a career path I wasn’t sure was for me, or try something different. I wanted to stay in a health vocation, so I decided that nursing was the best way for me to do that. The other reason I chose nursing — and a career in health overall —is because I love helping people. I love science and the art of communication and care. It’s something that’s always been part of who I am. What stood out for you during your time at JCU? Definitely the connections I made with lecturers and fellow students. My time as a student ambassador was also fantastic. It allowed me to travel to high schools with the JCU team and help educate and inspire the next generation to pursue careers in health. I got to see some of those high school students go on to pursue health care at JCU and it’s so rewarding, because you know that all the hard work and enthusiasm that you and your fellow ambassadors and JCU staff members put into those school visits and events, really impacted the people that attended them.

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What has your career looked like since you graduated from JCU? After graduation, I worked in a rural hospital for a few months. The larger hospital setting as well as the rural location weren’t really for me, so I started a new job as a registered nurse at a general practice in the Cairns’ northern beaches area. I’ve worked there for nearly 12 months and I’ve learned a lot while working on the frontline during the pandemic. I’ve been a part of helping people get vaccinated, which has been quite rewarding, especially being able to encourage and educate patients who aren’t fully sure about being vaccinated, and helping them to understand how it works and the need for it. Seeing them get vaccinated is really fulfilling — it makes those tough days a little more enjoyable, because you know that what you’re doing is really making a difference. How do you think your time at JCU has equipped you for your career? I think all of the experiences that I had at JCU, from studying theory to gaining skills while on placement, have enabled me to work independently as well as collaboratively. When everyone in a team can rely on each other to work to the best of our ability, it flows into better patient outcomes. It also helps our patients have a better

experience at the clinic and have more confidence when coming in, because they trust our team. Often, in a hospital setting for example, doctors don’t have the time to sit and educate their patients on a condition or vaccine or medicine. That’s where the role of a general practice becomes really important, because the nurses and general practitioners can talk to patients fully, allay their fears, and encourage them to make the best choices for themselves. My time at JCU really honed my communication skills to the point where I can effectively speak to and encourage patients.

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Architect Maddie Di Salvo has found her way into a rewarding and stimulating career as an architect. Currently gracing Melbourne-based architecture and interior design practice Clare Cousins Architects with her creative and technical expertise, she speaks with Student Guide about her journey into the field and what she loves most about her job.

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Hi Maddie, so tell us, was architecture a field you had your eye on in high school? To be honest for a long time I didn’t really know what I was going to go into, but I knew that I loved design, that was my thing. I always had a passion for it and was on the school design team. But then also, my family’s got a bit of a science background, so I always loved science and maths as well. When I got to work experience in Year 10, one of my career advisers suggested I try architecture, just because it had that mix of science and creativity through it, and design. So I gave that a shot through work experience and loved it, and decided from then ‘yep, great, that’s for me!’ Can you step us through your studies then after leaving school? It was quite intense. I studied at RMIT, in Melbourne at the city campus. We had a range of, I think it was four, subjects every semester. You have to do five years study, full-time, to be an architect and do a mix of design exercises … we had history, we had a tech – which was more about construction, and then a mix of other electives, just to kind of mix it up a bit. There were also communications classes, where basically they teach you how to draw, how to use different computer programmes and different styles of drawing…

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Would you say it was a challenging course? Definitely. I think in first year there was a 50 per cent dropout rate. It’s not for the faint hearted. Very quickly you need to decide, ‘OK, yep, it’s going to be hard work, but I love it, so I’m going to stick it out’. But if you realise you don’t like it, I think you understand that pretty quickly and move onto something else. So there was a bit of that uncertainty happening through first year, because it is a lot of work, and it was quite a shock, because it’s a different sort of workload. There’s kind of different expectations on you (compared to Year 12), because you don’t have your teacher – it’s all self-learning at uni. You’re doing it for yourself rather than your parents or all those external pressures. So, it’s really yourself putting the pressure on. I found that was kind of interesting, but, I mean, the work was really fun. Even though the workload stays consistent, you just get better and quicker. It’s really rewarding by the end to see the development of [where] you’ve been … we had no idea how to draw a plan or anything, we’re all together starting from scratch. RMIT had a really good community feel and your teachers are like your friends, so it was really good in that sense. You’re working now at Clare Cousins Architects, tell us about your role and the kind of work that you’re doing now? I’ve only been at Clare’s for about four months now, so it’s a bit of a new role for me, but I’ve come in as a registered architect – I got registered last year. Basically, I’m project managing a few apartment buildings [and helping with] apartment developments. The projects that I’m working on are for people with disabilities, so it’s an accessible

development for the whole building … making the whole apartment accessible for wheelchair use or people with various disabilities, which I hadn’t designed before, because these standards are quite new. We’re all sort of learning together … we do a lot of socially minded work, so a mix of residential, restaurants, apartments and different houses. Do you find that it’s particularly rewarding work? Yeah, definitely … it’s certainly rewarding work, you take your client all the way through designing something through the construction phase, and all the way to the end. So it’s really rewarding

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seeing your project come to life and seeing how much the clients and stakeholders love your work, it’s something you can’t put a value on, so it’s really great. Has the pandemic changed the way that you work in any way? As an industry we’re quite fortunate because as long as you’ve got a good server, everyone has been able to work from home quite seamlessly … some directors have actually found they have more time, given that they’re not travelling to and from meetings, they’ve been able to schedule a lot more meetings than they normally would. But that being said, Clare has done really well and managed that transition really smoothly. And then in some instances, we are allowed to attend sites

still because that’s essential to the building, if you have to certify things or check on the progress of the works or assess claims for builders... What kind of person would you say is best suited to a career in architecture? I considered myself as an all-rounder in a sense. I like a lot of different things and there wasn’t one for the area that I was really passionate about. I had accounting as a (school) subject, I had chemistry as subject in Year 12, maths and design. If you have a lot of avenues that you’re interested in, I find that depending on what sort of architect you want to be, there are lots of opportunities to specialise in different things. There’s some architects who are really creative and some of their work you’d think of more like an art piece than anything else. Or you could specialise in civil jobs, so linked to really big, urban-scale city things. I think there’s just so many facets. So, given I didn’t know what I wanted to do, there’s certainly opportunity in the career to specialise into little niche industries. If you like spending time on the computer as well, you’ll definitely be doing a lot of that. And then once you get into the workforce, I really love going out on site and assessing all the construction side of things, too. So I think it’s certainly a great career if you’re interested in a few different things and not sure where to go. Are you happy with your career choice? I am, I think it took a while for me to realise that. But you know, it’s certainly rewarding and one of the things I love is it’s just so interesting every day, because you learn something new every single day and you’re always doing something different. I definitely recommend it.

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Soil scientist

Dr Samantha Grover’s fascination with the natural world led her to become a soil scientist. We spoke with the RMIT University lecturer about her journey and why soil science is key to solving some of our most important global challenges.

Hi Samantha. First off, can you tell us what exactly a soil scientist does? What I love about soil science is that it’s a very varied job. So, yes, I do go outside and dig holes in the ground and look at the soil, but I also get to spend time in the lab doing very detailed scientific experiments. I also spend time sitting in front of the computer writing, and, these days, also talking to people using my computer. But generally, soil science is a great mix of both outside field-based work and inside lab-based work, as well as data analysis, writing and communicating with people. I have recently discovered that I also really love teaching: I teach soil science to students studying a Bachelor of Environmental Science at RMIT University. Why is soil important in solving realworld problems? Did you eat today? Then soil is important to you,

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because more than 90 per cent of the food that we eat comes from soil. We’ve been degrading the world’s soils to produce our food and we can turn that around by managing soils differently, with the side benefit of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. So soil is really important to everybody who wants to live on a safe planet with a liveable climate. You can learn more about this in my TED talk. Soil is also important for a majority of the other species on the planet as well. Plants grow in soil, animals eat plants… you get it! Which career projects have really stood out for you? The National Soil Carbon Program and our

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research on how to store more carbon in Australia’s agricultural soils was definitely a career highlight for me. As part of a team of university and CSIRO scientists, we explored the soil chemistry and biology of cropping and pasture soils in Victoria and Western Australia. This work has contributed to national efforts to support farmers to earn carbon credits for managing their soils more sustainably. Australian soil carbon research is world-leading and has potential application in many other countries. My current career highlight is the research I lead on tropical peat soils. I am working closely with colleagues in Indonesia to apply some of the techniques developed as part of the National Soil

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Carbon Program to restoring tropical peat soils. While we can’t travel to Indonesia at the moment, we work in our own laboratories and meet online and discuss our research progress. We also have instruments installed in the field that continuously measure soil carbon and transfer the data back to us over the mobile phone network. This work is supported by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and the Government of Indonesia. What sparked your interest in soil science? I didn’t find out about soil science until probably my last year at university and it was quite by accident, actually. I was just flicking through the handbook of the student guide to try and find some subjects to finish off my degree and I found one called soil science. I had the appropriate pre-requisites and so I enrolled in that subject. Straight away I found it just incredibly fascinating. I had already completed almost a whole chemistry major, so I understood a lot of the soil chemistry. Having that environmental and applied context for chemistry was fascinating for me. My lecturers really loved soil science and they were really good teachers and really passionate about their subject. I got involved with Soil Science Australia as well while I was still at university, which is the professional association for soil scientists, and I learnt more and more about soil science. Is international travel one of the perks of your job? Science in general is a great career if you like to travel. Sure, that might not seem particularly real at the moment, but it will be again in the future because science is an international endeavour.

As I said earlier, Australian soil scientists have done some world leading research in the soil carbon space, but in a very internationally connected academic community and working closely with researchers from a number of different countries around the world. I’ve been incredibly lucky to be able to work on soil in New Zealand, Tibet, and now, more regularly in Indonesia. I’ve also had the opportunity to explore soils on every continent of the planet, apart from Africa. You can see me being amazed by Antarctic soils and working to restore Indonesian soils in the documentary film The Leadership. I was lucky enough to be able to travel to Antarctica as part of Homeward Bound, a leadership program for women scientists, and a film crew came with us and made this documentary. You can watch it on ABC iview. What do you enjoy most about being a soil scientist? I think what I love the most, is feeling that I’m contributing to something that’s really meaningful, that’s really important for the whole planet. Because soil is underground, people don’t actually see it very much, and so it just hasn’t got the attention that it really warrants. There are still so many new and exciting things to discover in soil science. It’s an old science, but there are still so many unanswered questions. It’s an area that’s absolutely full of new discoveries to be made and possibilities, particularly as new technology is enabling us to see these tiny, microscopic engineers of soil processes in the bacterial, fungal and archaeal worlds. We’re really just beginning to understand how soils function and how we can manage them sustainably to support both human lives and biodiversity.

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Pharmacist JCU Alumni Tegan Stark has a long family connection with the university and knew she wanted to study there. When her time came, it was pharmacy that sparked her passion. Now working as a specialised pharmacist in oncology, Tegan gets to make a difference in the lives of her patients every day.

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How did you know that you wanted to study pharmacy at JCU? My grandfather helped set up JCU many years ago and my parents actually met while lining up for their student cards when they started at the uni. I always knew I would go to JCU, I just didn’t know what I would do. In high school I realised I had a passion for science and desire to help people. That seemed to match up with pharmacy and I thought, ‘Yep, that sounds right to me’. Pharmacy was my first preference and as soon as I started, I knew it was exactly the right choice for me! What was the highlight of your time at JCU? Doing the pharmacy degree was an awesome experience, especially the placements. The support was amazing and by the time I started going on placements, I felt ready to take on my career. What has your career looked like since completing your degree? After finishing my degree, I moved back to Mackay for my intern year at a pharmacy that I had done a placement with. From there, my career took me to the Sunshine Coast, Townsville, out west and back to Mackay. I moved into management

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positions and went back to JCU to do my Master of Pharmaceutical Public Health, which has been a great experience. I now also sit on the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia’s Queensland branch committee, allowing me to advocate for the profession. I was one of the first pharmacists to be trained as an immuniser, which is not only a very cool clinical skill but has also extended my scope of practice. What is it like working as an oncology pharmacist? I’ve loved where my career has taken me, especially now, as I’ve been working as the pharmacy team leader at the Icon Cancer Centre in Mackay for 12 months. It was always a personal and professional goal for me to one day work in a hospital setting and specialise in oncology. It’s amazing to be here. Our patients go from diagnosis through treatment, so we aim to ensure their treatment protocol is right for them and that

the process is as simple as possible. I do clinical screening, coordinate with oncologists and nurses, ensure chemotherapy and charts are delivered on time and that patients have all the medication they need to go home with. I’m now stepping into the oncology pharmacist role. It’s been a steep learning curve, but I was ready for that because of my strong foundation through study and the experience I’ve gained throughout my career.

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Local councillor

Laura Mayne is one of Victoria’s youngest councillors. After an upset victory in 2020 – a win that surprised even Mayne herself – she was elected as a local councillor for Manningham at just 19 years of age. She tells Student Guide about why she decided to run for council and what young people need to know about local government. 44

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How did you become interested in local politics? I’ve always been interested in politics in general and I’ve always been quite a community-minded person. I was very involved with my community through sport, so I was part of six local sporting clubs. Also, my family was quite well connected. The reason I knew that this opportunity existed, is because I had family who’d been in local government so I had seen the pathway, I understood what was entailed and what was expected of me, and I thought that I should give it a go and just see what happens. Can you tell me a bit about the process? You just call up the Victorian Electoral Commission and say, ‘Hi, I’d like to enrol in the Manningham local election’ and then you book a date, you come in and meet with an officer, you give them $250 – which seems really strange – you give them a nice photo and your 300 words. It’s actually incredibly straightforward and quite an easy process, which is something that people wouldn’t expect and people

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have no idea how to find out about. It feels like inside knowledge almost, which is a kind of barrier to getting involved. I realised when I started putting together my questions for this that I really had no idea what the process was for the local council at all. Yeah, and you’re not alone. When I told people that I was running and when I got elected, they were like, ‘One, what is that? And two, I thought you needed qualifications to do that?’ Because I’m quite young and still at university, everyone was saying, ‘Don’t you need to need a degree to do this?’ and I was like, ‘No, you actually don’t need

anything, you don’t need a single qualification, all you need to do is put your hand up.’ What’s the best thing about your role? I’d say the best thing about the role is the interaction you get with the local community, you just get exposed to such a great variety of people. Also, the issues you deal with are so diverse. So, obviously you do deal with the classic, stereotypically boring things which are associated with local government, which includes roads, rates and rubbish etc. There’s a stereotype that local government is kind of boring, which in my experience, I haven’t found at all. You just deal

DREAM JOBS 2020 – STUDENT GUIDE

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your energy is important. Understanding what the pathways are to getting people help when they ask for it and just getting across everything is probably the most challenging part. Do you have any advice for students who might be thinking about going down a similar path? Yes, I would say my biggest piece of advice if you

... younger people in politics are really valued. We provide a whole different range of perspectives..., just a different generational view. with so much more beyond that. You deal with such a variety of issues, you deal with so many social issues, which is something I’m really passionate about, you deal with the environment and climate change and community grants and trying to help out with different initiatives. I would say the best thing is just the variety of people you meet and the variety of issues you deal with. It’s really very interesting. No doubt there are less enjoyable goings on – what’s the most challenging part? I’d say the learning curve is steep, especially for the first six months, which I’m kind of getting on top of a bit more now. Because it is such a diverse range of things to deal with, you also have to have a diverse knowledge of council. You can’t know everything and you’re not expected to know everything, but kind of understanding where to put

STUDENT GUIDE – DREAM JOBS 2020

want to go down this pathway is just to put yourself out there, absolutely just go for it. I ran nearly just as an experience, I was not expected to win, I was actually expected to come last. I thought that, my entire family thought that, everyone else running thought that. I got this amazing opportunity which I wouldn’t have had if I didn’t put my hand up. So that’s my biggest piece of advice. I’d also say that younger people in politics are really valued. We do provide a whole different range of perspectives, different values, just a different generational view, and there is a massive appetite for young people in politics. People do want young people in politics. Your values and your opinions are valid and helpful.

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