Business may have been slow of late, but Wanganui surveyor Michael O'Sullivan is confident the arrival of a new employee marks a positive new beginning.
Otago University 2010 surveying graduate Julia Glass started at Harrison & O'Sullivan just three days ago, but already she is making a good impression says Mr O'Sullivan, firm director.
Mrs Glass will spend the next two years at the firm as a surveyor in training. She will then undertake professional interviews with the New Zealand Surveying Board, where she will be examined on the various projects she will have been involved with.
She will then take law exams, which will enable her to become a licensed surveyor.
Otago University offers the only surveying degree in the country and firms hunting new talent advertise jobs at the school towards the end of each year.
"I applied when I was still studying and Mr O'Sullivan flew down to Dunedin to meet me for an interview," Mrs Glass said.
Thrilled to get the job, Mrs Glass got ready to move up to Wanganui with her husband of one year.
"I had no idea what Wanganui is like though. We definitely took a leap of faith coming here."
However, she says she is pleasantly surprised, having arrived only last Thursday, if a little shocked by the unusually warm weather.
"Everyone has been extremely welcoming and really friendly. My neighbours have even come over to wish us well and offer us help. Though, coming from down south, I am not used to the humidity we had on Tuesday."
Mrs Glass, who was born in Clyde and raised in Alexandra, says she is settling in and getting used to working in a professional environment.
So far she has tackled minor projects such as redefinition surveys, though some proposed sub-divisions are on the horizon, says Mr O'Sullivan, who reports an upward trend in the surveying industry.
"I think she'll settle in very well here," Mr O'Sullivan said. "She has a strong work ethic, all the academic theory under her belt and she asks all the right questions."
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