EQ just as important as IQ engineer shares
Damian at the 2022 Golden Jubilee celebration
Damian Connelly is an engineer based in Perth, Western Australia. For the past 26 years he has worked as a consulting metallurgist for top mining, banking and engineering companies.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Applied Science from the 成人大片 in 1972, Damian returned to campus in 2022 to celebrate his Golden Jubilee听鈥 50 years since the conferral of his degree.
While back in his hometown of Adelaide, he made the time to reconnect with the University and share his story.
鈥淚 started my career with Rio Tinto in Broken Hill in 1973. I was fortunate to receive a Rio Tinto scholarship while studying,鈥 Damian said.
鈥淭he scholarship provided funding to assist with living expenses. I also undertook part-time work whilst studying and undertook longer term work during the Christmas break on building sites in Adelaide."
In 1981, almost 10 years after graduating, Damian eagerly joined the Olympic Dam project in Adelaide as metallurgist for Western Mining Corporation.
It was life-changing, Damian shared, to be involved in a world-class project, one of the biggest copper uranium projects in the world, to develop the feasibility study.
鈥淚t was a definite career highlight. I had the chance to apply all my learnings on a massive, real-life project. It was fantastic working with people from different backgrounds and cultures,鈥 Damian said.
鈥淭here was no trouble getting up in the morning. The culture was one of innovation and continuous improvement.鈥
Awarding certificates to course attendees in Guyana, South America.
After a successful and rewarding career travelling the world and working with some of the biggest mining and engineering companies, Damian bravely left that all behind to take a risk.
鈥淚 decided to start up my own consultancy, Mineral Engineering and Technical Services, known in our industry as 鈥楳ETS鈥 in 1988.鈥
鈥淚 had a wife and two kids when I started my own business from our lounge room,鈥 Damian said.
鈥淚t was absolutely the best decision I ever made in my life. You have to back yourself.鈥
METS operates globally and has worked extensively in Brazil, Chile, Argentina and China, Africa and Europe.
Reflecting on his career path and choice to start up his own business, taking risks and growing your EQ are Damian's top tips.
鈥淚 found out during psychometric testing that I鈥檓 actually a risk taker.鈥
Lifelong learning is important to Damian and something he encourages everyone to pursue if they want to excel in their careers.
鈥淚 got into areas I know nothing about, but I learn and become an expert in those areas by reading technical papers, researching, talking to others, attending conferences and on the job learning.鈥
Getting a degree, Damian said, is just the start. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about IQ. EQ is equally important for career development.鈥
鈥淵ou have to be good at marketing. You have to talk to people and relate otherwise they鈥檙e not going to give you work.鈥
For Damian, networking is so important: 鈥渆ngineering is a people business and communication is right up there."
The risk-taker said the 鈥渂est investment you could ever make is in yourself, not a car, house et cetera.鈥 He recommends investing in education and continuous learning.
鈥淵ou鈥檒l get big paybacks.鈥
Damian is offering mentoring and work experience opportunities to the 成人大片 community. Please contact him on Damian.Connelly@METSEngineering.com or (+61 8) 9421 9000.