Soon's journey since UWA
Started a graduate program with Woodside Energy in 2014 after graduating and currently a Project Engineer delivering key Brownfield projects for the NWS Platforms North of Karratha (WA).
I’m also a business owner running 3 Chatime stores (Bubble Tea) in WA since 2017 and have been awarded 2019 Top Franchise Partner and FCA WA Franchisee of the year.
How did you choose your specialisation?
The interest started ever since I took up the unit “Project Management and Engineering Practice” back in year 3 of my undergraduate and it went off from there. Completing a final year project on project management and landed myself a role in projects in Woodside Energy.
What was your interview process like?
The interview process included both a phone interview and assessment centre. Questions that were asked are the typical technical and behavioural questions, which are mainly under how I would fit into the organisation and its culture.
Suppose a student was considering your career. What would you advise them to study?
Engineering is a good start to the project management world but nevertheless, anyone can take up the role of project management if the interest and passion are there.
Soft skills around dealing with people with different background and different experience definitely help in the role as we interact with a range of people, be it clients, contractors or vendors every day. I find it extremely helpful in having part-time experience as a cashier dealing with a range of customers while studying in the university.
What does your employer do?
Woodside Energy is the biggest independent oil and gas company in Australia and we supply both domestic gas and LNG to WA and our global clients.
What are your areas of responsibility?
Delivering Brownfield Projects which delivers value to our NWS platform through extending its life and increasing production.
Can you describe a typical workday?
A typical day includes a lot of interaction with different departments on project status, problem-solving and reviewing lookahead work while ensuring everyone has the correct tools and support required to deliver safe and quality work.
The last thing that I have worked on is delivering a new method of offshore execution which is safer and more cost-efficient for the company, which was extremely successful. The project was then nominated into the Woodside Awards and made it as a finalist for excellence.
What sort of person succeeds in your career?
Critical thinking, able to look for solutions for a problem and never afraid of making mistakes and learning from it.
If you could share one piece of advice with an international student at UWA, what would it be?
Never afraid to ask questions or speak up. You never know what you will learn by asking but you will regret if you never ask the question and the curiosity will forever remain.