CareerView · Career Advice Podcast

Engineer - Jack Separovic

·22 min·1 clip

Jack graduated in COVID, got rejected by multiple graduate programs, then found work through one email chain.

1. CareerView’s episode with engineer Jack Separovic focuses on chemical engineering, graduate jobs, and the realities of starting a career in consulting. 2. Host Niru Deshamal asks student-submitted questions, and Jack Separovic answers as a chemical engineer working for Aberystwyth Consulting in risk and safety. 3. The episode asks what engineering is actually for, from choosing a major to getting a job, building study habits, and deciding whether to stay in the field. 4. Jack says he chose chemical engineering because chemistry was his strength and he assumed the degree would involve laboratory chemistry. 5. He explains that the degree quickly shifted toward process engineering, thermodynamics, pressures, and how fluids move through systems. 6. Jack says the first year includes chemistry in the lab, but later years are much more about systems and process work. 7. He says engineering did not fully click until post-grad, when design projects made the subject feel practical. 8. One project he names is designing a whole ammonia production facility. 9. Jack says the first two to three years are mainly about learning fundamentals that are not identical to later work. 10. He advises students not to expect engineering to make sense instantly and to measure progress against six months earlier, not against other people. 11. Jack says he had no backup plan and mostly committed to engineering after choosing it in Year 12. 12. He says medicine interested him when he was younger, and cooking or baking also seemed possible later because he enjoys working with his hands. 13. Jack says university engineering is hard because chemical engineers face thermodynamics, physics, and math that must be learned progressively. 14. He describes his study method as consistent routine, starting early, and avoiding 12-hour cramming sessions. 15. He says his father pushed him to build study habits in Years 9, 10, 11, and 12, and that this made university easier. 16. Jack says his first job search was difficult because he graduated in the middle of COVID and several companies were not taking graduates. 17. He names Woodside, BHP, GHD, West Farmers, and Aberystwyth Consulting while describing graduate and internship applications. 18. Jack says his current role uses more of university than he expected, especially risk and safety concepts, HAZOP, and P&ID work. 19. The tone is practical and candid, with Niru asking follow-up questions and Jack giving direct answers about study, work, and money. 20. Students considering engineering, chemical engineering, or graduate careers in Australia would get the most value from this episode, while listeners wanting a fast technical deep-dive may skip it.

As heard by us

A steady, practical look at engineering work, study habits, and what the degree can open up.

CareerView presents engineering through student questions about the work itself, how people enter the field, and what the degree can lead to. Jack Sepirovich speaks from his experience as an engineer at a global consulting company focused on risk and safety, with projects across…

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Why you'd press play

For a plainspoken look at engineering careers, study habits, and where the degree can realistically take you.

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