Nathan moved from Queensland to study naval architecture at the Australian Maritime College in Launceston. He went on to work in the UK and around Australia as an offshore engineer. 

“My work was quite niche, but very broad in terms of activities,” Nathan says. “I worked primarily in offshore operations, performing engineering and verification activities such as vessel motions analysis, structural design, operational procedure development and vessel assurance.”

In 2022, with a young family, Nathan decided to return to Tasmania, so he applied for a role with Hydro Tasmania as a project manager in the capital planning team. 

“The capital planning team looks at initial briefs from the asset owners and develops the project scope of work, budget, schedule and risks in order to develop the business cases and specifications,” he explains. 

Within just a few months, Nathan was asked to manage the Lemonthyme turbine upgrade, and he enjoyed tackling this major project.

But Nathan had another string to his bow. Over the previous decade – despite working full time, having a family and playing competitive hockey – he’d studied law part time. The chance of a secondment into our legal team felt like a natural next step. 

“When I was working as an engineering consultant, I did engineering analysis for solicitors to support their matters. I’d liaise with lawyers about engineering aspects so that they could argue their case,” he says. 

“I distinctly remember not understanding too much of what they were talking about. I wanted to know more, so I decided to start studying law only two years after finishing engineering!”

Nathan’s enjoying how much the secondment is adding to everything he’s done before.

“I used to be a technical specialist but now I’m broadening my sphere of knowledge and rounding out some of my rough edges,” he says.

“Our legal team deals with a very broad range of legal matters and requests for review. Our goal is to provide good advice – and to do it once and do it well. We talk with people from all over the business, so it’s important that we break down the legalese and help them understand our advice, so they can apply it to their situation. 

“I think my diverse background helps me better understand where people are coming from and what the core of their issue is.”

For Nathan, the shift from engineering to law hasn’t felt as dramatic as it might seem.

“Engineering was fantastic because I love figuring out how things work and are designed. Legal work is not so different. It’s about crafting things in a way that manages risks and appropriately apportions responsibility,” he says. “It's still problem-solving. You’re helping to make arrangements between parties so they can work together without hiccups.”

Of course, there’s still plenty to learn. 

“Some of the contracts and engagements are complex and nuanced, and it takes time to recognise the patterns,” Nathan says. “We’ve got really experienced people in our team who can look at something once and get an immediate sense of it, but I’ve got a while to go before I’m truly proficient!” 

When it comes to advice for others considering an alternative path or a sideways move – one that’s good for them and good for the business – Nathan urges people to speak up, seek out the support they need, and be patient with the process. 

“You need to recognise that it might be a long journey to make that transition,” he says, “but you reap the rewards of what you put in, right? If you stick with it, you’ll get there.”