Updating Results

AECOM

3.8
  • 1,000 - 50,000 employees

Amy Forsyth

If I could offer some advice to grads, I’d suggest they try everything and say yes to every opportunity — you never know where you may end up!

When I went to university, I initially enrolled in a dual Bachelor of Science/Arts because I had no idea what I wanted to do, and studied languages, statistics, psychology and biology — really keeping my options open! After a month or two, I heard about what some of my friends were learning in engineering and it sparked my interest straight away. I sat in the back of a few of their lectures, then made the official move across after one semester and I graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil).

I am currently based out at a major project office in Melbourne working on the Rail Infrastructure Alliance (RIA) as part of the Metro Tunnel Project. My role is Deputy Project Manager for the design team, so I help to look after program, resources and budget as well as coordinating the design among all of the disciplines. Being part of delivering a project means you are in a very fast-paced environment, with constant challenges, which is my favourite thing about my current role. I also really enjoy the client-facing aspect and working with different people to solve problems.  

I lead AECOM’s Connect Committee in Melbourne, which is our early professionals’ committee. Getting involved in the committee and attending events is an easy way to form friendships with grads and networking with senior leaders and clients. I love the support network that Connect provides for early professionals as we find our feet in the business and the industry.

Last year, I received a Blueprint Travel Grant to spend time in India, participating in Pollinate Energy’s Professional Fellowship. Pollinate Energy is a social business, based in Australia and India, that delivers life-changing products to millions of people in India’s urban slum communities, while building community resilience and empowering locals with meaningful employment opportunities. With likeminded professionals from around the world, we collaborated to offer fresh perspectives on Pollinate’s business operations and to develop recommendations and strategies for making an even greater impact.

If I could offer some advice to grads, I’d suggest they try everything and say yes to every opportunity — you never know where you may end up! The industry is so varied and there are so many diverse and interesting career paths you can take. I’ve actually just been given an opportunity to step into a design management role at the RIA, which is really exciting as it gives me the chance to combine the project management skills I’ve been developing with my technical engineering background.