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Cecilia Fang

Bravely try new things. To accumulate experience in continuous attempts. Never be afraid and resist new things, because most likely you will have fun and find satisfaction in them.

What's your job about?

Powerco contributes to manage and deliver high-quality, reliable electricity and gas. I am a member of Powerco to help manage the electrical network.

My excellent graduate program gives me an opportunity to rotate between different teams and get different experience. I have rotated through planning team and am in the protection team. In Planning team, I mainly completed CIW (customer initial work) request by modelling the network in software and writing the report. I also conducted Auto-reclosing devices investigation study and updated the maximum demand for feeders in software. In protection team, I create network protection device settings by doing fault current analysis.

What's your background?

I was born in Southeast China. After completing my bachelor’s degree, I decided to pursue my master’s degree at The University of Auckland.

My grandmother was an electrical engineer and inspired me to become one.

The reason why I participated in a lot of internships during my university was so that I could focus on practical work and theory combination. I believe I can learn more by doing practical work. For example, I learned Auto-CAD during building service experience in terms of lighting and energy supply.

After my graduation I was offered my current job. I started in this role early 2020 and will continue to rotate through different teams to find my real interest as well as strength in work.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Yes. Although electrical background is preferred, people who have a passion for learning and pursuing continuous improvement can also try this job. Because there are many learning opportunities at working. But they need more time and energy to accumulate the relevant knowledge.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

The recognition and encouragement from my colleagues and managers at work is my favourite part. In planning team rotation, I did auto-reclosing study and created a spreadsheet with all auto-reclosing devices in Powerco network. Many colleagues are interested in it and I have done several presentations for them. From their suggestions and affirmations, I have gained experience and deeper understanding as well as the sense of belonging, which is the coolest thing as a graduate.

What are the limitations of your job?

As a graduate engineer, lack of practical experience requires me to spend more time reading relevant standards at the beginning of each rotation. After a lot of reading, I can start working. Each rotation is only 4-6 months. Sometimes I feel that I am just familiar with this field and hope to gain more work experience, but I have to transfer to another team.

It’s helpful to try different teams, but it would be great if I could rotate back to the team that I am very interested in.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student…

  • Bravely try new things. To accumulate experience in continuous attempts. Never be afraid and resist new things, because most likely you will have fun and find satisfaction in them.
  • Never give up. Failure and difficulty are normal. The important thing is to persevere in failures and difficulties, and to learn from them.
  • Make more friends. Whether at work or in life, the ability to get along with and communication with different people is very important.