Imagine never having to physically go to work.
Griffith Bachelor of Urban and Environmental Planning/ Bachelor of Science (honours) graduate Chloe Portanger is living that dream.
She spends her days ‘working’ in a virtual world, with her physical office space changing to wherever she feels like going, as she advises high profile businesses and government advisors on climate change adaptation strategies.
Chloe works as an information analytics specialist for climate adaptation firm Climate Planning.
It’s a dream career for the passionate environmentalist, who graduated from Griffith University in December 2015.
“We travel a lot; we work from home or wherever we are in the world,” she said.
“It’s a big change not working in a traditional office, but I love that our team is helping to bring awareness to the issues of climate change.”
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In just nine months Chloe has assisted in managing coastal hazards at Kingston Beach in Tasmania, assessed the climate change adaptation governance of all 77 local governments in Queensland through Informed.CityTM and is currently helping to develop a joint disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation plan for the Government of New Caledonia.
An example of a visual tool created by Chloe.
Her role with the organisation is around data analysis and transforming big data into visualisation tools.
Chloe owes her successful career to the internship she did with the company whilst in her fourth year of studies at Griffith University.
“I knew climate change adaptation was where I wanted to be, so I sought out Climate Planning because it was the only planning firm in Queensland that specialised in that type of work,” she said.
“I made myself known to the company and after my initial internship I was offered part time work, followed by full-time when I graduated.”
Chloe said internships should be viewed as a vitally important part of university studies as it gives an unprecedented insight into your chosen industry.
“I had no experience before the internship and I was definitely craving it,” she said.
Read how other students are graduates are kickstarting their careers:
- Bachelor of Civil Engineering student Monique Quirk
- Child and Family Studies graduate Mindy Nelson
- Nursing student Rachael Ovington
