What's your job about?
I’m a Cloud Engineer at Kasna, one of the brands here at Mantel Group. Kasna’s speciality is designing and building all things Google Cloud. We’re actually a Premier Partner of Google Cloud meaning Google themselves regard us as one of the best in the business.
There are a lot of different responsibilities that fall under the title of Cloud Engineer but basically, their job is to design and build cloud-based systems. This includes building new applications in the cloud, migrating old ones or setting up data pipelines to perform data analysis with machine learning. Some engineers like to narrow in on specific domains like data, machine learning or development whilst others like to do a bit of everything.
The interesting thing about working for a consultancy is that you get the opportunity to work on a big range of projects. Every client is different, meaning there’s always a new problem to solve and you’re constantly learning new skills.
Sometimes there’s time in between projects. Mantel Group encourages everyone here to use this time to learn new areas of technology. I’m currently studying for the Google Cloud Professional Architect Certification.
One of the great things about Mantel Group is our house of brand strategies. Each brand specialises in a different area. Mantel Group encourages employees to find the brand that suits them which means that there’s lots of room to try out different areas of technology.
What's your background?
Throughout school I enjoyed a wide variety of subjects, however, it was maths and science that won me over. Therefore, when I finished school I decided to undertake a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne. I started university with no coding or software experience. I never really saw myself as someone that particularly enjoyed computers and was planning on becoming a mechanical engineer. Despite this, I decided to take an introductory coding subject in my first semester because I wanted to know what the fuss was all about. I loved the subject and quickly changed my mind about what sort of engineer I wanted to be. I loved it so much that I decided to take up a Master of Engineering (Software), which I’m still completing.
Whilst studying I decided to take my skills a step further and started applying for entry-level positions. I worked as a Software Engineer for eight months before applying for the Future Associates program at Mantel Group. I applied to Mantel Group because of how much their values resonated with me. The most important thing for me was that they offered me the opportunity to learn and progress at my own pace. I also have complete control over which direction I decide to take my career and learning. Within the world of engineering, there is a wide range of roles that are constantly expanding and it can be pretty overwhelming to decide which direction to take. Mantel Group encourages us to explore all our avenues. I’ve now been at Mantel Group for three months now and am loving every minute.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Having some experience in a relevant field such as computer science, software engineering or data science is definitely a huge help, but it’s not the be-all and end-all. Mantel Group is looking for people that are keen to learn new things and solve problems. I’ve worked with a big range of people from a wide variety of backgrounds, including some that I wouldn’t have expected and all of them have brought something new to the table.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
The coolest thing about my job is how powerful cloud technology is. Anyone that’s had some experience with software development knows that sometimes it can be slow-moving. The cloud takes a lot of the nitty-gritty out of it and lets you focus on the cool parts. You can build enterprise-level applications from scratch and harness the power of things like artificial intelligence and machine learning within minutes. It’s really cool knowing the software you’re building is on the cutting edge of technology.
What are the limitations of your job?
Technology is an ever-evolving industry. This means in order to stay up to date and build the best possible solutions for our clients, we need to evolve with it. This means it’s our responsibility to be continually learning and upskilling. This might include things like learning new coding languages, frameworks or services. For a lot of people, this is a dream come true because it’s certainly never boring, however, if you’re someone that would enjoy a bit more repetition then this job might not be for you.
3 pieces of advice for your university-self?
My first piece of advice is to start a passion project. It doesn’t have to be complex, in fact, it’s a good idea to start with something small and achievable. It’s a great way of finding out what areas you enjoy working in and employers love seeing someone with some enthusiasm for what they do.
My second piece of advice is to read! The world of technology is enormous, meaning sometimes it can be overwhelming to decide which area is right for you. There are heaps of fantastic blogs online where people share their experiences and advice which have really helped me get my head around this constantly evolving industry.
My last piece of advice is to persist. Technology is complex and everyone gets frustrated sometimes. Keep working away at what you enjoy and it’ll be worth it.