My journey from student to full-time employee has been pretty stock standard.
I finished high school, went to RMIT, and started at Ratio as a student in early 2022.
I started doing just three days a week, which wasn’t too much of an adjustment since everyone in the office made the transition period very enjoyable so it was easy to integrate into the team.
The offer of full-time work was a relief! I really enjoyed my time working last year and have become close with a lot of the team so when I was given the opportunity to stay on permanently it was a no-brainer.
My biggest learning is what planning is and how the industry works. Uni gives you a very broad idea of what the field is like, but it’s all theoretical. Coming into the job and working has taught me so much more than Uni ever could.
How relaxed everyone is, the culture within the office, and how different my idea of the corporate world was from what the office culture actually is.
Everyone, regardless of their workload made, time to help me learn new things (even if they had to explain it to me multiple times – shoutout to Jack Lyons and Paris Micelotta especially), and everyone made an effort to make sure I was doing something worthwhile and that would help me settle in and make the most of my time as a student.
Getting involved in more projects from the beginning and being able to build rapport with clients. I would also like to be able to get involved with VCAT hearings as much as I can.
Might be cliché, but ask lots of questions, make sure you enjoy the work you’re doing, go to lots of events, and keep Friday evenings free!
