DMO Materiel Graduate Scheme - Engineering (Aerospace)
I joined Defence so I could make a real difference to everyday Australians. After completing my aerospace engineering degree, I was fortunate enough to be offered jobs in consulting, technical sales and even a scholarship to study medicine and become a doctor. In the end, I chose to undertake a Development Pathway with Defence so I could contribute positively to Australian national security.
Working in a profit-driven environment and being accountable to shareholders didn't appeal to Boris. He wanted to make a difference.
I wanted to go to work each day and deliver unique systems to specialised military end users operating in complex environments around the world. Those capabilities help keep millions of Australians safe everyday; that is a small difference on a big scale.
He said the best parts of the Engineering Pathway were the 'diversity of the work and the cutting-edge technology'.
There's the diversity of opportunities both across the entire organisation and across the entire country.
This Pathway consists of three rotations and a final placement. You can join the Defence Materiel Organisation as a mechanical engineering graduate and complete your first rotation in Melbourne, prototyping and testing systems for the Army. For your second rotation, you could work in project management on ground telecommunication equipment in Newcastle, putting the 'nuts-and-bolts' aside to work with 'ones-and-zeros'
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You can then go to Canberra to work in Projects of Concern for your third rotation and brief the Minister for Defence Materiel on troubled projects across the entire organisation—as a graduate! Then you can take your engineering skills to the aerospace domain for your final placement and work on the Joint Strike Fighter, one of the sexiest and most complex acquisition projects in Defence history.
Boris said he worked with 'some amazing technology and equipment'.
The military requires specialised equipment to perform its unique role. As such, there is some interesting equipment that exists only in Defence. As an engineering graduate, you will work with some bright minds and talented people to deliver unique capabilities to the Australian Defence Force. You will have the opportunity to work with amazing technology and equipment that most people go their entire lives without ever knowing existed.
Suffice to say, Boris feels the Engineering Pathway has given him a 'phenomenal foundation' to build his career on.
I am a young professional engineer in my early 20s working on complex acquisition projects. My position allows me to gain valuable experiences and develop highly sought-after skills. People can spend an entire career working towards similar roles and still not gain comparative experiences or skills.
Boris completed this Development Pathway in August 2012.