At the end of the 80s, in the far west of outback New South Wales, in an inland mining city known as Broken Hill, Cindy McGeorge embarked on an Electrical Fitting apprenticeship. And now, with an Advanced Diploma of Applied Electrical Engineering, she is an alumnus of the Engineering Institute of Technology.
Her life has been defined by becoming a mother, relocating, pursuing further education and her dreams in the electrical engineering industry. What follows is an interesting window into the world of a woman in the energy distribution world.
After her apprenticeship Cindy worked both above and underground at the local mines in Broken Hill and graduated to working with the mines’ SCADA systems. After spending some years there she felt it was time to move on. She said:
“After 10 years I went to work in the south west Queensland oil and gas fields as a contractor as well as working part time on a cattle station. I was lucky during this time to give birth to two boys. My eldest child and his nanny would travel with me to my jobs. When the second boy came along, it was time for a change.”
Cindy moved to a nearby town, Tibooburra. She continued to contract on a smaller scale, but also spent time raising her children and running a local shop.
But she was due for another shake-up. She said:
“After a few years in Tibooburra, I found myself contracting to the local utility Essential Energy and this turned into a casual position. Some of my jobs included all remote meter reads, fault and emergency work and meter installation.
“After 6 years I relocated to obtain a full-time position within Essential Energy, but also to access a better education for my children. This landed me in a town in the middle of New South Wales, where I continued as a full-time Electrical Technician with the distribution company.”
She then began studying through the Engineering Institute of Technology to further her knowledge and skills. She has since moved to Griffith in New South Wales, and is excited to see what the future will bring.
Cindy notes that it is interesting to see how technology is transforming the industry she has come to know and love. She adds that the introduction of small and large-scale solar and wind energy projects have been an impressive and exciting addition and believes these advances will, and should, attract young, passionate people to the electrical industry.
Cindy is not stopping or slowing down. She is determined to achieve great things, and further her career in engineering. She concluded:
“I have spent 30 years in the trade and always had a passion to do things better and different. Engineering will hopefully open the doors that can allow me to achieve this. With the aid of more study, I will see myself move towards a job that allows me to be creative and productive.”
All of us at EIT wish Cindy everything of the best. We know that her career will continue to be defined by the passion she brings to her work and her further studies.