I don’t know about you, but I still have this vague preconception that offices are filled with over the top formality, scary superiors, tiny cubicles and Mad-Men style white walls. This image quickly disappeared upon arriving inside the FYA building, tucked away in one of the Melbourne CBD’s laneways. I was first led into a kitchen and lounge area which seemed almost heavenly, filled with comfy couches, neon signage and a colourful sign that read “Take some YOU time today”.
Next was induction. I went through every room there was to go through, shook every hand there was to shake and forgot every name there was to forget. I soon realised however that this was very normal and when I was sat at my own desk and surrounded by the smile of my coworkers, my worries began to melt away.
So the first thing I had learnt was don’t get freaked out in the first hour, it will all get better from there, I promise.
After these introductions I sat down with my new team and started properly learning about the organisation, its programs, initiatives and its approach to the world, which was interesting considering I am a young Australian myself. It turns out there’s a lot of fascinating things happening in the world of young Australians.
One of the biggest issues that stunned me was the impact of automation in our generation’s future careers. Especially as a University student I was shocked to learn 40% of current Australian jobs are at high risk of automation in the next 10-15 years and that in the very near future more than half of the Australian workforce will need coding skills! I think I coded once or twice in a sleepy class of Year 9 IT, but I never thought once that all those brackets and dashes could determine my future career prospects.
All of this intense and life changing information warranted the first snack of the day and we went and got coffee next door. Almost immediately after this was lunch time and I really started to get into rhythm of things. It turns out snacks, coffee and lunchtime are big things at FYA.
A good example of this was my very first meeting, where it was decided a decent bag of popcorn and a box of Maxibons were the most sensible way to get through the hour. This meeting was also my first exposure to the weird world of Google Hangouts. I was told we were going into a meeting with Google Analytics, to have a “deep dive” on “data analytics” pertaining to “bounce rates.” I was confused, would the folk on the other end of the line be getting Maxibons too? Or would the four of us just be enjoying and debating the two glorious sides of the ice-cream in front of these Google people? So many questions.
Terrible movie. Great hat.
It seemed the internship wouldn’t be that Mad Men at all, no one was even wearing a suit. I felt almost over-dressed in my bought-for-the-occasion shirt and pants. As the day came to a close my idea of the office-life that might be waiting for me after University was already changing. Perhaps it wouldn’t be that bad after all?
Surely enjoying coffees, ice-creams and implementing social change on a daily basis isn’t a job? I guess I’ll spend the next 6 weeks finding out.
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