Engineering Queensland

ENGINEERING QUEENSLAND - FAR AND WIDE

In this new segment, we feature two engineers who share the benefits and challenges of working in rural/regional Queensland; one from the private sector and one from public sector.

Chris Smith and Sean Rice discuss life in the border town of Goondiwindi.

Chris Smith graduated in 2007 and spent the past 14 years in the private and public sectors. Chris is a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ) with varied experience from stormwater and flood modelling to road construction and rural engineering. Chris has been the District Engineer for Goondiwindi Regional Council since 2015.

Is your experience in the public or private sector or both? What differences, if any, have you noticed between the two when working regionally?

I have been fortunate enough to work in both, six years in the private sector and eight years in the public sector. I have found that working regionally brings the two sectors closer together. Often in rural and regional areas, the public sector does not have endless resources and therefore rely on the services of private consultancies to assist in the provision of quality and costefficient outcomes for projects. I have also found that working regionally, the focus of both the private and public sectors is not so much money driven but is more community focused by trying to develop engineering solutions and designs that are both sustainable and of great community benefit.

How long have you lived and worked where you are now?

I have lived and worked in Goondiwindi since 2015.

Have you always worked regionally, or have you also worked in metropolitan areas? If so, what are the more prominent differences between the two experiences?

I have worked in both regional

and metropolitan areas. I started my career in Brisbane working for a large global consultancy and after five years moved to Central Western Queensland, which was the start of my regional journey. The main difference is that in the metropolitan setting, you often work in one particular area, whereas working regionally you get to work as a multiskilled engineer across numerous areas. Working regionally has also allowed me to get out on site and gain more hands-on experience.

What first attracted you to working regionally?

I grew up on a farm, went to boarding school in Brisbane and then onto university, however, have always been keen to return to the bush. I enjoy the wideopen spaces, the people, the affordable lifestyle, the work life balance, and the benefit it has for raising children.

Are your experiences similar or different to what you anticipated?

I would say similar - I always envisaged working regionally would allow me to develop skills across a broad spectrum of areas whilst utilising my invaluable experience gained whilst working in Brisbane. Working regionally has given me more hands on, site-based experience whilst also allowing a good work life balance.

What has been the impact of working regionally on your engineering skills and knowledge?

Making the change from the city to the country has had a significantly positive impact on my career. I have been able to broaden my skills and knowledge across many different areas whilst also collaborating with and learning from highly skilled, respected engineers from a wide range of specialities and backgrounds.

What can working regionally give you that working in a metropolitan area cannot?

Working regionally gives you a huge variety of engineering experiences which require excellent problem-solving skills, creativity, and adaptation to challenges such as extreme temperatures. Additionally, you often have multiple projects on the go at once, all requiring different knowledge and skills, so you are never bored! Working regionally is also a lot more autonomous and travelling large distances to different projects is something I am accustomed to on a weekly basis.

What are some of the most enjoyable aspects of working in a regional area?

The community spirit, wideopen spaces, affordable living, no traffic, and the great work life balance are just a few of the benefits of living and working in Goondiwindi.

What are some of the challenges of working in a regional area? What do you do to try to overcome these challenges?

Working regionally has some challenges - you don’t have all the resources at your fingertips and sometimes have to make do with what you have. Good problem solving, thinking outside the box, excellent communication, creativity and the provision of innovative ideas and solutions become vital when working regionally. Distances are greater, temperatures more extreme, people resources are less and supplies often take longer to arrive.

What are you hopeful is the future of public works engineering in regional areas? What opportunities could be created with the right insight and investment?

I’m hopeful that public works engineering in regional areas will remain regional and doesn’t get outsourced to metropolitan consultancies. There’s a lot of benefit having dedicated, local knowledge and experience on the ground for projects to allow for optimum client and community satisfaction.

Ricey is the Managing Director of Proterra Group, a civil engineering consultancy based in Toowoomba. He is a qualified civil engineer with over 20 years local government experience. A country boy at heart, Ricey is passionate about rural and regional Australia with a vested interest in growing the number of engineers and technical professionals supporting communities and fostering collaboration between councils. Proterra Group has worked with over 45 councils across NSW and QLD and are committed to providing practical, cost-effective infrastructure solutions for regional communities.

Ricey has held full-time and seconded roles with several councils including Director of Engineering Services, Works Engineer and CEO. Although based in Goondiwindi, Ricey travels widely and is in regular contact with many councils. He also provides business coaching and mentoring and loves giving back to the communities which support his business.

Is your experience in the public or private sector or both? What differences, if any, have you noticed between the two when working regionally?

Most of my experience is in local government although half my career has been as a consultant to the public sector with Proterra Group. I still consider myself a council engineer even though I run a business. I also worked for two years as the general manager of an irrigation and AgChem business and two years as a project manager for a civil construction company, Sudholz when I first moved to Goondiwindi. Not many council engineers get to work with scrapers and laser buckets but they are amazing. Get on it.

In my experience there’s a lot more expected of you when you work in the private sector when it comes to hours, working weekends, and overall responsibility for budgets and profitability when compared to the local government works. The nature of the work is generally the same though, and I can say first-hand that most of the engineers I’ve worked with in local government also put in the big hours and work hard for their communities. I don’t tolerate those who insult council workers.

A key learning is the knowledge difference when it comes to contracts. When I was in local government, I thought I knew contracts but it wasn’t until I moved to private sector that I really understood a contract and I’m confident you wouldn’t cause me any surprises when it comes to a contractual issue. It’s one of the reasons I now love supplying services to local government.

How long have you lived and worked where you are now?

I have been in Goondiwindi just over 15 years and love everything about it … except it’s in Qld; I’m from Back O’Bourke in NSW.

Have you always worked regionally, or have you also worked in metropolitan areas? If so, what are the more prominent differences between the two experiences?

I have always worked regionally and don’t do cities. I am glad we have city folk for the nice restaurants and weekend getaways but I could never live there. Too many traffic lights, fast walkers and people who don’t wave to me when I drive past.

What first attracted you to working regionally?

I was born and bred in Bourke, NSW which had a population then of about 3,000. I love the bush and I can’t see myself leaving. And when you’re working you don’t specialise in anything, you have to become a generalist engineer, jack of all trades. You have to get it done and don’t have the liberty of calling on the multitude of consultants or contractors that you’d find in the cities. I love it and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Are your experiences similar or different to what you anticipated?

I think they are exactly what I expected and at the end of the day, work is what you make it. I love what I do and don’t know what I would do if I ever leave or sell Proterra. I travel, I advise, and I build stuff. What more could you want? In the early parts of my career though I struggled with spending weeks or months writing reports for councillors and having them make a different recommendation. “No, we won’t buy that grader because a mate of mine had one and it kept doing turbos. Let’s get this other one.” Then one of my bosses said, “Ricey, our job is to research and advise. It’s their job to make the call.” I’ve never lost sleep since.

What has been the impact of working regionally on your engineering skills and knowledge?

I think it’s given me the most amazing opportunities to advance my career, advance my salary and ultimately start my own

business. If I had taken one of those jobs straight out of uni for a city consultancy or a big firm, I’d still be doing basic project engineering sitting in a small office somewhere in the city. I’d hate it and I’d have nothing like the life I’m living now.

What can working regionally give you that working in a metropolitan area cannot?

Flexibility, amazingly diverse experience, more opportunity to get out in nature, zero commute and no traffic lights.

What are some of the most enjoyable aspects of working in a regional area?

Diversity, the bush, nature and the amazing flora and fauna, the friendly will do anything for you people, the challenges through lack of resources, the opportunity to learn, grow and progress, weekend sports and the smell of gidgee trees when it’s raining.

What are some of the challenges of working in a regional area? What do you do to try to overcome these challenges?

Lack of resources, lack of formal training opportunities, long distances to travel between projects, high costs in getting resources where they are needed, lack of mentors for our younger engineers, kangaroos!!

What are the sometimes overlooked opportunities about working regionally?

• Above market salaries and conditions ie often includes housing, vehicles, remote area allowances • Widely varied experience in different areas of engineering.

You can’t just specialise in one space you need to get across everything • Accelerated promotion through your business/council due to difficulty in attracting resources • Opportunity to travel across regional Australia and see our country • Fun and welcoming local communities that you don’t get in the cities • Little to no commute time • People say g’day and wave to you

What are you hopeful is the future of public works engineering in regional areas? What opportunities could be created with the right insight and investment?

Our regions are flourishing at the moment. Although many populations are in decline in rural areas there has been increases in GDP coming from these areas, so they are as busy as ever. The government is throwing buckets of money at infrastructure renewal projects and resources to deliver these projects which are already exhausted. Should some of our engineering colleagues choose to move to a regional area, the opportunities are endless, not just for them and their careers but also the lifestyle that their families will get to enjoy. There’s nothing like growing up in the bush and you get to see the real Australia, not just a concrete jungle with purpose-built parks to make you feel like you connect with nature. We have it all in the regions and I wouldn’t give it up.