12.30 PM
Today during lunch, other graduates and I play a round of Splendour. Sometimes there are also work functions and team briefs with food provided. But today we are self-catering.

1.30 PM
After lunch, I write up the inspection report from the bridge inspection earlier in the morning.

3.15 PM
My colleague Josh and I play a game of table tennis to take a short break from our screens.

3.30 PM
I’m back to the desk to continue with work. I am now working on a design calculation package in support of a footbridge design.

5.30 PM
Home time! After work, I like to play some sports or go for a run. Today I go to play some pickleball at a tennis court because we couldn’t book any pickleball courts.

7.30 AM
My journey to work starts off with taking the bus to the city, which ranges from one hour to one hour 15 minutes.

8.45 AM
Once I reach Britomart, depending on how early I am, I’ll either ride the CityLink to work or take a 15-to-20-minute walk by the Viaduct. I typically arrive at work around 9.00–9.15 am. Today I took a stroll by the Viaduct.

9.00 AM
Once I arrive at the office, I setup my laptop, check my emails for any updates from projects or requests from clients, and then update my to-do list for the day.

9.15 AM
In the morning, I’ll grab a coffee with the team. Today we head to Mibo, which is a two-minute walk away.

9.45 AM
Inspections! Today my colleague and I are inspecting a high mast near the Auckland Harbour Bridge. I’m checking for the presence of section loss, which is the decrease of steel thickness due to corrosion.

1.30 PM
Hitting 7 m, I take a break from logging the sediment to eat a lunch of homemade avocado sandwiches and check my emails and messages while enjoying a great view of Auckland city.

2.15 PM
Back to drilling, we continue until we reached 10 m, the target depth. Drill speeds fluctuate heavily through the day.

3.30 PM
Finishing off the drilling day, I help pack and clean the site and take photos of all the core boxes. Then I help my colleagues with the last scala penetrometer tests at the other investigation locations.

4.30 PM
After making sure the site was left as tidy as possible, we let all the contractors know we are finished and make our way back home.

5.30 PM
Back home, I go for an afternoon run, make dinner, and have a chill evening.

7.00 AM
My day starts with a quick breakfast of oats, making my lunch, and packing up my tools and personal protective equipment (PPE) to get ready for my colleague to pick me up to go on site.

8.00 AM
On the way, I chat with my colleague about our tasks for the day. Today we’re heading to Takapuna, right by the Waitematā Harbour, to assess the structural integrity of the soil and rock.

8.30 AM
Arriving at site, I put on my PPE before stepping out of the ute. I introduce myself to the driller, offsider, and traffic management team and get all the health and safety documents signed off.

8.45 AM
I supervise the hand augering to 1.5 m to ensure we don’t hit a service line. While the drillers hand auger, I make up the core boxes and get my logging table set up.

10.30 AM
Passing 1.5 m, we set up the machine auger and things quickly speed up. I describe the sediment core as each section is drilled and test for the sediment strength.