Environmental scientist upskills with project management

Postgraduate study will take you places, as QUT Online student Anna discovered. Upskilling with a postgraduate degree is a great way to not only acquire work-relevant skills, but also to open doors for your career and formalise your existing professional knowledge.

Formalising your expertise with postgraduate study

Postgraduate study isn’t always something we expect to do, until the time arrives when the advantages of returning to study become difficult to ignore. This is what environmental scientist Anna found when she decided to study a Master of Project Management through QUT Online.

Anna works in the environmental management and consultation space, a career pathway that blends her passion for minimising harm to the environment and working with people face-to-face.

The role gives her the opportunity to employ her problem solving skills on a daily basis, balancing the needs of environmental and commercial stakeholders. It wasn’t long before Anna recognised that project management was an inherent talent, and a talent well worth cultivating for her career.

The desire to formalise and extend her expertise developed soon after she began working. The only difficulty was finding a practical way to do it.

If there’s a will, there’s a way

QUT Online’s Master of Project Management turned out to be exactly what Anna was looking for, equipping her with practical skills that help her coordinate and manage large projects in order to help clients obtain environmental and planning approvals in a variety of industries, and finding ways to minimise environmental impacts.

Online study with QUT Online opened the door for Anna to return to study while continuing to work full-time.

“I wanted the flexibility to study at the times that suited me, whether it was a Sunday afternoon or an early session before I went to work. I like keeping busy, so the flexibility to catch up on lecture recordings I missed was fantastic.”

It was the self-directed nature of studying online that appealed to Anna most, along with the flexibility to study anywhere, anytime – making further study not only possible, but convenient.

Lightbulb moments: the benefits of postgraduate study

Partway through her course, Anna has recently moved companies to an environmental consultancy firm, taking the next bold step in her career. She credits her commitment to bettering herself through additional study – along with the project management skills she has gained – as being instrumental in helping her secure the new role.

Even more importantly, Anna has seen direct improvement in her ability to appreciate the complexity of problem solving challenges and situations with more nuance.

“The subjects that I’ve completed in my masters are already creating many lightbulb moments at work. I speak more holistically about project management, and I have a deeper understanding of the interdependencies at play in the projects I’m tasked to deliver.”

What’s next for Anna?

By upskilling and formalising her expertise with QUT Online, Anna was able to cleave a new career path in her industry, allowing her to more effectively pursue her passion of environmental protection and bring about meaningful change.

As for what comes next, Anna will soon relocate to Toowoomba, and no doubt her newly-acquired project management expertise will help her continue to deliver positive outcomes for both her clients and the environment far into the future.

 

Start your own postgraduate study journey today, studying with QUT Online while you continue to work . Whether you wish to follow Anna’s example and study the Master of Project Management, or choose another of QUT Online’s postgraduate courses, speaking to a course consultant on 1300 104 196 is a great first step to take.

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