Today we joined our partners at Air Environment for Careers Day at The Gap State High School — speaking with Grade 10 students about careers in engineering and environmental science. It was a meaningful one to be part of. Javier attended the school himself, and Erin, Air Environment's Business Manager, heads the P&C there. Going back with something real to show for it felt right.
Erin opened — sharing stories from her career in environmental science, what the work actually looks like, and what it takes to build a path into it. Air Environment operates at the intersection of field science and high-stakes decision-making: air quality, odour, dust — the kind of work where reporting has to stand up to a regulator and getting it wrong has real consequences. Hearing it told through real experience landed differently than a job description would.
From there, Javier spoke to how engineering and technology fits into that world. Sensor networks, data pipelines, operational software — built for environments where things have to keep working long after deployment. The connection to Air Environment's work isn't abstract: we've worked together on taking processes that lived in one person's head and turning them into systems the whole team can own and run. That's what technology looks like in this space, and it's a long way from what most students picture when they hear "software engineer."
The students had good questions. A few hadn't considered that environmental science and engineering could share a project — that the line between fieldwork and systems thinking could be that blurry. One asked how you'd even find your way into something this specific. That's the question worth showing up for.
Coming back to a school you attended with something concrete to talk about is a different conversation than a generic careers talk. There's a plausible line from where those students are sitting to work that's real, specific, and worth doing. We were glad to help draw it.
Thanks to The Gap State High School for the invitation, and to the Air Environment team for the morning.
Air Environment is an Australian environmental consulting and research firm specialising in air quality, odour, dust, meteorology and climatology. Slash Tech and Air Environment collaborate on monitoring infrastructure, data systems, and operational software for environmental applications.
