Career Bites recently featured a quantity surveyor and an electrician.
Terri-Anne Bolger, Quantity Surveyor
Terri-Anne Bolger is a qualified quantity surveyor and gained a Bachelor of Construction through Massey University, majoring in quantity surveying. She described her job as “a mix between a lawyer and an accountant” although she spends most of her time on construction sites. A quantity surveyor measures construction plans, makes schedules and then prices projects. Some of Terri-Anne’s projects have been worth many millions of dollars, so with that comes a sense of responsibility and stress. Working on construction sites means getting to know a lot about all the trades involved in construction, and the job is varied and constantly changing. Some quantity surveyor branches are more office-based, and there are opportunities to travel overseas with this qualification. Terri-Anne needs to be able to read contracts, understand the legal sides of construction, and deal with cash flow and forecasting. She spoke of her flexible work options and the fact that more and more females are entering the profession. The salary prospects are excellent for quantity surveyors.
Opal Vickery, Electrician
Our other speaker, Opal Vickery, is a qualified electrician who works on residential sites. What she enjoys most about her job is ”what I do affects people and can make them very satisfied”. Opal loves that she can leave a job knowing she did an excellent job for someone and there is something tangible to see. She explained the two pathways to being an electrician through ETCO or Skills NZ. For school leavers, ETCO is the pathway she recommends, as there is so much support around the qualification. There are many roles for qualified electricians, including commercial or industrial ones. It helps to be good at maths and English, and Level Two is the minimum qualification. Physics is also useful. It is possible to work in Australia with a NZ qualification and this can also be a pathway into electrical engineering.
Many thanks to Terri-Ann and Opal for their time and the fascinating insights into their professions.
