Maria Jose

6.30 AM

My alarm rings on a Monday morning, and I’ll usually allow another 10 minutes to collect my thoughts for the day before jumping out of bed. If I’m the first up, my dog will usually come up for a few belly rubs before he’s let outside, and I get ready. I also always make sure I have enough time to get a good breakfast in before I leave for the day. I’ve just recently moved out into Docklands, so I’ve planned out my days to spend the weekends at home with the family in the southeast and the weekdays in the city, so I get that 8 hours of sleep!

7.40 AM

On Mondays, I usually drive or get dropped to the station which takes around 15 minutes in the morning with traffic. If I drive down, I’ll park the car and catch the train to the city. The train journey takes around 50 minutes to get to Flinders Street Station, from where I would either walk if the weather is good for around 7 minutes or catch a tram (just 1 stop away) to get into the Market Street office. On other weekdays, it's, just a 20-minute tram ride all within the free tram zone from my apartment. Either way, an office located so close to Flinders Street Station is very convenient in terms of transport.

8.50 AM

I’ll usually catch a quick chat with someone from the business while waiting for the lifts and once on my floor, I’ll start up my PC and head to the coffee machine. I’m not very coffee dependent, but since I’ve started working, I’ve got into the habit of grabbing a coffee/hot choc every other day since almost everyone else does. I then catch up with team members on any weekend news or go through the daily media clips to keep myself updated on the latest news within the power industry before settling in. I have a dedicated seat at my current rotation which offers some nice views of the Yarra River and city buildings all around, but some rotations can be in a flexible seating arrangement too.

9.15 AM

I’ll catch up on any emails and plan out my work for the day. As a grad, currently on a 6-month rotation with the technical standards team, I have been given a total of 6-7 projects/investigations to work on, of which I must prioritize tasks so they can be concurrently done as much as possible. Most of my work involves a lot of stakeholders from across the internal business and external as well, since technical standards apply to every part of the business. Hence, correspondence could be related to someone’s expertise on a project I am working on, or data being sent through for me to work through and report on. External emails include those on testing/investigations from universities, and asset development companies to sales representatives who want their products reviewed and approved for use on our network.

10.00 AM

I’ll usually focus on one of those assigned projects during this time, usually one that I have scheduled a meeting for that day. This tends to be my most productive hour of the day. On other days during this time, I could be out on site to see solar farms with the other grads, or out with another team member to check on a newly approved asset being installed. The company has EVs that I can book out if I need to do a site visit. My first EV drive was in a Powercor vehicle to see/evaluate a trial service pit installation. Essentially, we had an electrical pit manufacturer modify the design of an existing pit based on some issues with the current design. My task was to write a technical evaluation of their latest design, to ensure that the pit still meets design standards and to obtain feedback from the field crew before approving the pit for use on our network. This meant being out on-site to obtain that feedback, gather evidence of installation processes, take photos for the report and consult with civil engineers.

11.00 AM

On Mondays, I have my 1-1 catch-up time with my manager, where I can discuss general weekend activities, my progress with each of the projects, any support I need and get some feedback. I find this time very useful to touch base in person.

11.30 AM

I’ll usually be implementing anything suggested from the meeting while it is still fresh in my memory before heading out to lunch.

12.00 PM

One of the major perks of being based in the CBD office is the access to various restaurants and food outlets. If I haven’t already brought food, I’ll usually try to eat somewhere I haven’t before, depending on the time. Otherwise, I’ll heat my food in the kitchen microwave and head down to level 1 for lunch with someone who’s available.

1.00 PM

Being a technical standard graduate engineer means that suggestions for standardization need to be discussed with all relevant stakeholders. Often, stakeholder meetings need to be called to ensure that everyone is on board or to ensure we haven’t missed any details. This involves meetings with individuals across the business who can provide expert knowledge from their field. As a grad, my role is to facilitate these discussions to ensure all perspectives have been considered before finalizing any standard. What I find challenging/daunting as a non-expert, but also rewarding is processing the information coming from experts/representatives in relevant areas and then making a call on what to prioritize and set into standards.

3.00 PM

I’m usually a lot less productive at around this time, so I will have usually scheduled a monthly catch-up with one of my mentors or my senior/junior buddy that I’ve been paired up with through the grad program. I use this time (over tea/coffee) to find out what sort of work they have been involved in and share what I’m working on as well. This allows me to step out into the big picture of what the business is doing as a whole and gives me ideas on how I want to progress with my career.

4.00 PM

As I realize that the day is almost coming to an end, productivity seems to always pick up again to make sure I’ve completed the plans I had for the day. I use this time to catch team members about projects that I may prefer to talk about in person if they are going to be working from home the next day or to schedule times with people throughout the week. Tuesdays are our group’s official in-office day, so I make sure I set time with anyone if required in advance. As a grad, I prefer to come into the office at least 4 days a week but the teams generally go for a 3 office and 2 work from home day arrangement, which can be arranged with the manager as preferred.

5.00 PM

Time to pack up and leave the office. I head back to the apartment on weekdays, a nice tram ride along the Dockland ports. 

6.00 PM

I usually head to the gym at least 3 times a week, as a minimum for a yoga class to make sure my body feels rejuvenated if I’ve been sitting for too long during the day. If I’m feeling a little more energetic, I’ll sign up for Pilates, and get some cardio in (preferably in the form of Zumba) or a quick swim. The company can subsidize a portion of well-being costs as well!

7.00 PM

Getting the basics out of the way: shower, eat dinner and start winding down by watching a few videos, scrolling through social media, and responding to messages/texts.

10.00 PM

Preparing for the next day and bedtime!

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