Graduate Profile

Dina Carranza
Environmental scientist, IT Environmental ( Australia) Pty Ltd

 Bachelor of Science

“I find the work challenging as no project is the same.”

I completed a Bachelor of Science with a major in resource and environmental management; I enjoyed my study and knew it was the path for me, as I really wanted to make a difference in the environmental field. After completing my degree I worked as a volunteer for the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ) for a period of two months. This was great as it exposed me to a wide range of fields within the environmental industry. As a student I thought environmental graduates worked mainly for government departments. However working at the EIANZ enabled me to see that there is a lot of employment in consultancy firms and industry. After the EIANZ I moved to work with Civiltest, which is a geotechnical consultancy. At the time they were in the process of establishing an environmental department, which was the reason I was employed, I worked there for 11 months with a geologist.

I gained valuable experience in site assessments and ground water monitoring and found I enjoyed working on contaminated land assessments, which involves conducting the environmental assessments as well as suggestions for remediation. After Civiltest I moved to a larger environmental consultancy (IT Environmental). I am currently employed full-time as an environmental scientist working on environmental site assessments for the petrochemical industry. My role involves assisting in site assessments, which involves soil sampling, groundwater monitoring, chemical data analysis and report writing. I find the work is very challenging as no project is ever the same, and I am always gaining new professional knowledge and skills, and I have to adapt to change. What I most enjoy about my job is that there is agreat variety within projects. One of the main attractions of the job is that I am able to work outdoors conducting field work. It is very fulfilling being able to collectthe data and complete the reportsI enjoyed my degree at Monash Gippsland and the way in which the course was taught,and the whole feel about the place. I felt thatthe lecturers were very approachable and friendly.