“As an engineer I use my brain, my experience, communication and problem solving skills to help clients solve their problems. Being an engineer is also a lot of fun because I enjoy travelling and interacting with a lot of different people.”
— Nicola Wilkins
Q: Name of the town you went to primary school?
Wheelers Hill, Melbourne
Q: How would you describe yourself in primary school?
I liked playing piano, swimming and netball. At primary school I enjoyed writing stories and maths. I recall competing against a
particular boy in the class in a timed maths exercise (I would often win!)
Q: Which were your favourite subjects in high school?
Mathematics, Science, Technologies, Health and Physical Education, Languages, Music
Q: What further study/qualifications did you complete after high school?
Bachelor Engineering (Mechanical), Bachelor of Arts (Indonesian, German), Master of Science (Renewable Energy), Nicola is also a Chartered Engineer and Registered Professional Engineer in Queensland and Victoria
Q: What is the name of your STEM career?
Renewable Energy Engineer
Q: What attracted you to this STEM career?
Being an engineer means applying science to solve problems. I work in renewable energy, helping to design and build solar farms
and big batteries. As an engineer I use my brain, my experience, communication and problem solving skills to help clients solve
their problems. Being an engineer is also a lot of fun because I enjoy travelling and interacting with a lot of different people.
Q: What is some of the typical work you do in this career?
I work on solar farms and big batteries. As an engineer, I spend time performing analysis and calculations, communicating with
clients and people performing installation of solar farms and big batteries, mentoring younger engineers, writing technical reports
and emails. I also sometimes make presentations at industry conferences.
Q: What do you love about your job?
Being part of the transition to renewable energy and making a contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in our power supply is a big motivation for me. I get a great deal of satisfaction from knowing that the work I do is directly contributing to mitigating the effects of climate change.
I also love to travel to regional areas of Australia and work with lots of different people. I also spent 9 years overseas working as an engineer and completing my Master of Science in Renewable Energy. This included time working in countries such as Mongolia, Pakistan, India and the Fiji Islands. In remote areas of some of these countries, I saw first hand the difference electricity makes to improve the people’s economic prospects and quality of life.
Go with your passions! If you enjoy solving problems, then engineering is a great career, which can take you around the world and
Nicola Wilkins
make a real difference to people’s lives.