Critical Analysis of Self

Blake

Student Number: U3202136

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Building and construction has been a part of my life and my family’s life for as long as I can
remember. This is why I have chosen to study a degree in building and construction
management at the University of Canberra. This degree appeals to me because I aspire to
be a commercial project manager with knowledge, experience and confidence. I hope to be
able to bring groups of people together to create structures that past generations could have
only dreamt about.

The biggest influence on this choice on of this career path is my family, in particular my
Father. He has been a builder for almost 30 years and so was his father before him. I have
been building with him since I was only 13 years old. We would spend entire weekends
building much more than houses but homes for families to grow up in. Watching my Father
take so much pride in what he built, top to bottom perfection, shaped who I am. The look he
had in his eyes when he finished a project made me light up inside. This is what drives me.
This is what pushes me to be the best at building and creating beautiful homes that will be
standing long after I am gone. Building is not just for myself but also for the people whose
homes I am helping to create. My family has always taught me that if you are going to do
something, do it right and make it strong. This degree will enable me to show my family and
my future children what I have built and hopefully inspire them as much as my Father has
inspired me.

Secondly, I am not starting this degree from scratch. I will be building from the foundation I
have already learned in classrooms and on building sites. This is an opportunity to add to my
practical learning I have experienced with my Father. I am keen to learn about the
economics of construction, the legal frameworks of the industry and how to better my
communication both on and off building sites. This will significantly add to my knowledge as
well as my practical training. It will boost my credibility and employment opportunities. I
aspire to attaining a tier one cadetship to deepen my industry experience. I am especially
interested in the company Hindmarsh which is the ‘leading property and construction
company in Australia’ (Hindmarsh, 2019). I hope to progress up through the ranks, from
assistant project manager to one day managing a construction project as the lead project
manager.

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I chose this degree to develop my experience and confidence in construction and project
management. Over the years, I have worked on a range of building and construction sites all
around Canberra and New South Wales. This has included house building, concreting,
electrical works, plumbing and even constructing dinosaurs at the National Dinosaur
Museum. During these years of building, I learned to interact with tradespeople as well as
manufacturers and job clients. These interactions developed my professional and personal
confidence so that I could express ideas in an engaging and easy to grasp manner. This
degree will allow me to further learn and refine these skills. Confidence is essential both for
my degree and for my ambition to progress from a cadet to a lead project manager.

Finally, my family life, especially the time with my Father, means that building is in my blood.
I have a strong desire to be in the same field, with the recognised skills and knowledge from
this degree. One day, I want to have a moment when I stand back and look at something
that I built. I want to have the same proud look that I have seen so many times in my
Father’s eyes. My passion for building means that this degree is the best option which will
enable me to achieve that moment.

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 Mapping ‘Self-assessment of career’

Reflection

Completing this career mapping task was a real eye opener. It has shown me that there are
things that I need to work on in order to follow the career path that I wish to travel. The areas
that I found myself most confident in is ‘Ethical, cultural and social literacy closely followed
by occupational literacy. My biggest weakness according to the mapping task is my
emotional literacy. This chart I feel is an accurate representation of me. Since doing this task
I have changed the way in which I communicate attempting, to become more allrounder as a
person to help me push my career in a positive direction.

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References

Hindmarsh, 2018, http://www.hindmarsh.com.au/leadership-at-work/our-vision Accessed on

20/02/2019

Employability Educator Site, 2017,

https://student.developingemployability.edu.au/employability-self-assessment-tool/ Accessed
21/02/2019