Turn on a tap. Flush a toilet. Have a shower. Fill up your water bottle.
It all feels pretty simple from our end. Behind the scenes, though, there’s an enormous network of people, technology and infrastructure making sure clean water gets where it needs to go and wastewater gets safely taken away.
And as Australia’s population grows, that network needs to grow with it.
For Vidura, a young water professional with the Australian Water Association, that’s one of the biggest reasons young people should be paying attention to careers in water.
“We need people to build them, design them, maintain them and even operate them.”
That means plenty of work to be done. And far more career options than you might expect.
No, it’s not just engineering
Mention the water industry and you might picture pipes, treatment plants and civil engineers in hard hats.
They’re definitely part of it. But only part.
Modern water systems bring together people from a huge range of technical backgrounds.
Electrical engineers work on the switchboards, power systems, instruments and equipment that keep infrastructure running. Mechanical engineers help design the systems used to pump, move and treat water. Chemical engineers play a role in making sure the water reaching our homes is safe to drink.
Then there are the operators and tradespeople working directly with this infrastructure every day, inspecting equipment, maintaining assets and keeping everything working as it should.
And that’s before you get into areas like technology, data, environmental science, project management and plenty more.
Careers in Tech
Australia’s water infrastructure can’t simply stay the same while everything around it changes.
More people means more homes, businesses and communities needing reliable water and wastewater services. At the same time, new technology is creating another interesting challenge.
AI and data centres, for example, can require significant amounts of water for cooling and other operations.
For the water industry, that means finding smarter and more efficient ways to manage supplies, move water, pump it, treat it and make sure there’s enough to meet future demand.
It’s creating plenty of problems that need solving, which is good news if you’re the kind of person who likes figuring out how things work.
You don’t need your whole career figured out
Vidura didn’t grow up knowing he wanted to work in water.
In fact, he ended up in the industry almost by accident.
“I never thought I’d end up in the water industry, but by chance I fell into it and I am loving every bit of it.”
His advice to his younger self is pretty simple: don’t stress too much about having everything mapped out.
The career you end up loving might be one you haven’t heard much about yet.
For Vidura, working in water means there’s constantly something different to learn, design or see. And with Australia needing to build, upgrade and operate more water infrastructure in the years ahead, there’ll be plenty for the next generation to get involved in too.
Want to learn more?
Explore careers, pathways and opportunities in Australia’s water industry with the Australian Water Association.
