Director and Studio Leader
Name: Sarah Kay
Career stage: 10+ years' experience
Working: Office
High School Subjects: Maths, physics, english, history
Favourite: English - because I found that easiest but also because I realised communication was the key skill in any career
Further study: University
where and what: Masters of Architecture - Auckland University
"My career has been a great way to travel and see the world. I have lived in four different cities for work and have travelled and worked in many more - Istanbul, Dubai, New York, London, Tokyo to name a few"
the inside scoop…
What does a Director and Studio Leader actually do? I run the office; I look after 170 people and make sure they are all growing and learning and doing great work. I also often meet with clients to convince them that they should chose us to design their future development projects. I also run a major project - the Western Sydney Airport project - ensuring the team has the resources they need and that the client is happy with the work we are doing.
What does a day in your life at work look like? A lot of emails, a lot of 'teams' meetings (with my colleagues around the world and with clients). I sometimes go to site, I often go to lunch or dinner with clients or teams, to build our relationship so that working together becomes more effective.
What's the best part of your job? Helping people to build and navigate their careers. People learn and get promoted quickly, one day they are a grad and it feels like the next day they are leading projects. In reality it takes a few years but its great to watch how much they develop and how good they get.
What made you realise construction could be for you? My Dad was a lawyer who always wished he was an Architect.
What would you tell your high school self about working in construction? My career has been a great way to travel and see the world. I have lived in four different cities for work and have travelled and worked in many more - Istanbul, Dubai, New York, London, Tokyo to name a few. This aspect has been amazing.
What's the best thing about working in construction? Driving past a building I designed and saying to my kids - 'that's my building'.
Tell us about a time you made a difference in your work. The Western Sydney Airport project is one that i love - because it will make a difference to so many peoples lives. Having better access to an airport for so many people in the west (and north and south) will unlock business and tourism and travel for the population. So much better than having to find a way all the way into Kingsford Smith to fly anywhere. It is a long overdue piece of infrastructure for Western Sydney.
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