Joel Willey
Deputy Project Manager, Transport for New South Wales
Ceremony: 10 October 2019, 5:30pm - Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
Speech
Welcome Pro Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor preceding Dean, presiding director, members of the university executive and academic board staff, family, friends, and graduates. Before I begin my speech, I'd also like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land, which the UTS campus stands, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation and pay respect to the elders, past, present, and emerging.
I'd also want to extend my congratulations to our new graduates. I know having gone through an engineering degree, how challenging it can be so well done. I'd also like to take this opportunity for you to thank the people that have helped you get here today. So I think we'd start off by giving a clap to your family and friends who supported you on this journey.
I'd also want to give a clap to all your lecturers and tutors who provided with the knowledge to get your degree today.
And lastly, just one more clap. I'll tell you what it's for after.
So in the case this speech goes poorly, I can at least say I've got a round of applause. So thank you in advance.
So I think today we've got a lot of engineers from a broad range of different disciplines and a broad range of different cultural backgrounds, but we all go through those same processes to get your degree, those same challenges, the same hoops, all those assessments. I know there's a lot of people in this room that have more experience than I do, so I don't plan to lecture you. I plan just to give you a few pieces of advice that's helped me in my career and hopefully it can be helpful to you. I've called these the 10 rules for engineering, but I'm sure you'll find some of these quite interesting. You may find a little bit boring, but I'm hoping that you remember at least one of these rules going forward.
So here we go. Number one, trust your gut. When I first took my role at transport for New South Wales, my friends in the private sector thought I was crazy. They thought I was taking a step back and going into early retirement.
Firstly, who doesn't want to retire early? That's an awesome idea. But working for government has actually been one of the most rewarding things that I've ever done. Although sometimes it can kind of feel like you're stuck on ABC TV in Utopia if you've ever watched it. It gives you the ability to make decisions, guide and assist people and be on behalf of the community.
So the whole idea of trust you gut is there's going to be points in your life where people tell you not to do certain things, but they may have not done them themselves. Only you know what is right for you. Trust your gut and make those decisions and back yourselves like I did. You won't regret it.
Number two, say yes to everything. Who has seen the movie "Yes Man" by Jim Carrey? Anyone?
Few of you. So one of my favourite quotes from that movie is: "The biggest risk is taking no risks at all." You need to take risks in your career and as well as your personal life. One example in which I took a risk was when I did a hiking trip in South America with 11 other engineers around the world. I couldn't speak any Spanish, I had never even met these people, but it looked like a fantastic opportunity, so I just went, “Yes”, bought my ticket.
It was actually such a great rewarding experience and it's allowed me to have a lot of connections around the world. You'll have your own opportunities where you'll need to say yes and put your hand up. You may have those self-doubts of, I don't know this or that, but back yourself, say yes and work out how to do it after. This will allow you to build a broad range of experience.
Number three, something I call the 70-30 rule. Everyone has, I guess, that 30% they don't like in their job. It might be some administration or that colleague that just really bugs you, but that's okay. As long as you like your job 70% of the time, you're doing pretty well. If you do like your job 100% of the time, I might be interested in a job there too. With our career, it's a personal journey. Sometimes I like to think of it like a game of snakes and ladders.
You might travel horizontally, move up the board and go down, but as long as you enjoy what you do and you want to turn up and make a difference, you're in the right place. So that also kind of links back to my first point of trusting your gut.
Number four, under promise and over deliver. Working in project management, this is probably one of my favourite sayings and it's very valuable in a workplace context. When you're setting deadlines, imagine you have a report due next week and you think: "Oh, I can get it done by Thursday."
Actually set the deadline for Friday. Tell everyone it's coming on Friday. If it comes on Friday, that's fine. You're giving yourself an extra day to think about it and get it done. However, if you do it on Thursday, you've exceeded expectations. You've actually gone ahead and delivered it above when you were meant to do it. So it's actually really important on how you frame it and this can help kind of establish your reliability within an organisation.
Number five, your network is your net worth. Graduates, can you look to the person to your left for me? And now look to the right? These people sitting next to you will be leaders in their field in the next five years. So stay in touch with your colleagues. I also encourage you to try and build your professional network not only in your industry but other industries. These people will give you an ability to ask questions and get advice, which will be valuable in your career. It's also worth noting that 70% of all job opportunities are found through networking.
Number six, mistakes compress learning. This is actually one of my dad's sayings, which I actually found useful. So with this one here, it tells you that the more mistakes you make, it actually gives you more learning opportunities to learn from. When you're early in your career, don't get focused on, "I don't know the answer."
Back yourself and ask for the support of others. You're there to learn and there to guide and assist you. By making these mistakes, you'll learn for next time and you'll be able to improve. Think of it also like when you start your career is like an all you can eat buffet. Hopefully like something will be provided after this ceremony. Big table in front of you. Have a scoop of every little bit of thing similar to I guess trying at all the different engineering disciplines. Work out what you like, then come back for seconds, thirds, fourths or fifths of the things you really do like.
The next one, number seven. Find a mentor. I strongly encourage you to find a mentor. Mentors provide you guidance and assistance. They can share their time with you and explain how they got to where they are and how this may assist you. I've been very fortunate to have quite a few mentors in my career and the provided invaluable experience to me. You might think, "why would someone share the time with me?" And this leads me into my next point.
Number eight, share your knowledge with others. One of the most self-fulfilling things you can do in your life is share your knowledge with someone else. I've been very fortunate in the last 18 months that I've had a refugee from Syria been working with me in my team and being able to guide and assist him has been a great honour. He learned how to speak English by watching American sitcom TV shows. I keep telling you, everyone, Netflix can be educational.
So by guiding and assisting him, it's really giving me a sense of self satisfaction from my work and I really want to see him achieve great things. As a mentor you also learn different things cause he'll ask me questions that I may have not considered coming in with those fresh eyes. So we actually go and we learn those things together. So it's also helping to improve my knowledge.
Number nine, take ownership of your career. Speak up for yourself. If you don't tell your boss what type of work you like, how are they meant to know to give you that type of work? I'm very big believer in that you make your own luck. Some people look around and they go, "Oh, why did that person get that opportunity? Must've been the right place, right time."
I think it's no coincidence that that person was there at that time. They were there, they were talking, they were seeking out opportunities and they made themselves get there and get that opportunity. So I don't think you should keep it inside. Tell people what you want and bring them on that journey.
Lastly, number ten. How did I get here? So this is for any graduate sitting down today. You might feel a bit lost or not sure of where to enter. Do not fear. Your degree you have chosen is a great place to be and it gives you so many foundational skills that you can do almost anything you want. For example, my fiancée often relates to my engineering friends thinking that the people on the big bang theory, which I think is total misrepresentation in my understanding.
You think about it, Sheldon doesn't know how to dress, he can't talk to people, that's only me on Saturday mornings. But the thing is she does have a point. Engineering teaches you how to think, solve problems, work collaboratively, and do things outside the box. My mother-in-law, who's also at the front here, could attest that you'll get me to do a range of things I have no idea how to do. The other week it was put together an internet modem, the other week, some flat pack furniture.
It's not that I'm wired in my head to know how to do these things. It's just I can break down problems, solve it step by step, and carry it through to the end. So, your engineering degree, no matter what you choose to do in life, it will be a great foundation. These skills and problem solving are sought out in all professions and it will help you to achieve great success. So, that's it. That's all the 10 points of advice that I have, and I hope that one of them stuck with you today.
Lastly, I want to congratulate you one more time for this momentous occasion. You've worked hard. You deserve it. Go and celebrate. Congratulations.
About the Speaker
Joel is the Deputy Project Manager of the Precincts and Infrastructure Division at Transport for New South Wales. In his role, he is responsible for providing better experiences for public transport customers by delivering accessible, modern and integrated transport infrastructure across the state.
He has worked as a structure and civil design engineering for the Robert Bird Group and AECOM. Joel worked on a range of projects, which include Northern Beaches Hospital Road Upgrade and the Warrell Creek to Nambucca Heads and Oxley Highway to Kundabung, Pacific Highway.
He is the Author and Module Coach of ‘Professional Networking’ at UTS, which aims to teach students about professional networking and how it can assist in their career. Joel is also the online Module Coach for ‘Discerning Best Practice’, which explores the notion of innovation and best practice within a workplace context.
He has been a guest speaker at seminars organised by Engineers Without Boarders, Engineering Education Australia, and Engineers Australia.
He sits on the UTS School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Professional Advisory Board.
Joel is a member of the Institution of Engineers Australia and the Australian Steel Institute.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Environmental Engineering with First Class Honours from the University of New South Wales.
