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Rohde & Schwarz Australia

  • 1,000 - 50,000 employees

Adam Lee

The easiest path may not always be the most exciting. If you’re fortunate enough to have free electives, make them count!

What's your job about?

Similar to phones, planes receive signal too! We make sure those signal bars don’t drop when planes are in the air.

Antennas are involved in sending those signals to the plane.

Where do I work? Rohde & Schwarz Australia is a solution provider in any industry that involves the frequency spectrum – for example in the communications segment - and my work is involved in the Air Traffic Control division where I help engineer solutions for clients.

To show me how the company operates and provides a solution to the client, I’ve been put on an ATC project.

Day-to-day, I have regular meetings with my team, discussing how we are tracking along in preparation for our next milestone. Some of the daily tasks I have at the moment include the procurement of various goods used in our project and creating engineering drawings. I learn how the company approaches tasks by working with colleagues and bouncing work back and forth so that it is to a professional standard.

What's your background?

I am a born-and-bred Aussie. I grew up in North-West Sydney and chose to continue my education at the University of New South Wales.  

Passionate teachers played a role in growing my interest in the sciences, from primary school right into the end of my high school years.

School: Here I was given a scientific lens to see the world, showing that patterns can be measured and that we have means of changing the world around us

University: At UNSW, I got my first taste of engineering and saw that I could take my scientific knowledge and start applying it to real-life problems. 

Work: My first job in the engineering field was as a cable assembler. I really value the hands-on experience I was able to gather there. Through working directly with the end-product day-in-day-out, my theoretical understanding from university was able to transition into a practical mindset of how things fit together.

A good friend of mine told me that he had been with this company for 5 years, and trusting his judgement, I applied for the R&S Graduate program. After going through rounds of face-to-face interviews, (surprise) they took me in! Since then, I’ve been working in R&S for about 3 months.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Yes. Although we get a range of work- from technical calculations to client presentations - being a problem-solver and a good communicator of your ideas will get you far in this field. The majority of training is on-the-job so an inquisitive mind that doesn’t mind asking questions is definitely an asset. 

What's the coolest thing about your job?

The coolest thing is the number of experienced people that you get to work with and learn from. I think having mentors who can guide you away from their mistakes, and affirm if a decision is wise or not is a great environment to learn in. For example, as a graduate, it is satisfying to see work i.e. engineering drawings undergo the approval process, and emerge as an official piece-of-work. 

What are the limitations of your job?

At times the work can be demanding which can involve sacrifices that other lines of work may not have to make. Since the nature of the work is delivering complex solutions, there are moments when the team is up late to meet the next milestone, making sure all the proper steps are taken to ensure all the client’s problems are resolved.

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

  1. Find out where your passions lie! University is a unique time when you have opportunities to interact with people from all walks-of-life. Getting to know the stories of the people around you can help jump-start and challenge what you want to make your life story all about. 
  2. The easiest path may not always be the most exciting. If you’re fortunate enough to have free electives, make them count! Perhaps learn a language or go explore a completely different field to the one you chose. 
  3. Start thinking about how your profession can help those around you. It feels good to give back, so why not start now?

See Adam Lee's video.