Last week we joined our partners at Air Environment for Careers Day at The Gap State High School, speaking with Grade 10 students about pathways into engineering, environmental science and technology.
It was a meaningful one to be part of. Javier attended The Gap himself, and Erin, Air Environment’s Business Manager, leads the school’s P&C. Coming back with something real to share felt right.
Erin opened the session by giving students a practical look at environmental consulting: not just the science, but what it takes to run a firm like Air Environment, work with clients, and deliver reporting that stands up to regulatory scrutiny.
She spoke about odour science, air quality, dust, meteorology and the kind of work where the stakes are real. Hearing it through lived experience gave students a much clearer picture than any job description could.
Javier then spoke about where technology fits into that world: operational software built for environments where systems need to keep working long after they are handed over.
That connection to Air Environment’s work is not abstract. Together, we have worked on turning processes that once lived in one person’s head into systems the whole team can own, operate and improve. That is what technology can look like in this space, and it is a long way from what many students imagine when they hear “software engineer”.
Across three class sessions, the same thread kept coming through. Some students had never considered that odour science, engineering and software could all meet on the same project, or that the line between fieldwork and building tools could be so blurry.
One student asked how you even find your way into work that specific. It was a good question, and exactly the kind of conversation Careers Day should create.
Coming back to a school you attended with something concrete to talk about is different from giving a generic careers talk. There is a visible path from where those students are sitting to work that matters.
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 operational software for environmental applications.
