Career Trek Videos

Corey, civil engineer and owner of Gwaii Engineering in Victoria, works with land surveyors and architects to plan, design and develop infrastructure. Corey’s clients are often private land developers but also First Nations communities. The most rewarding part of his job is servicing his community. 

Civil engineers plan, design and manage infrastructure projects like building roadways, pipelines, bridges, docks and harbours, and waterworks. A civil engineer in Nanaimo shows Viviana how he designs a bridge.

Brian meets a clinical psychologist who assesses patients' problems and teaches them how to change their behaviour. She demonstrates how she communicates with children. She says a great psychologist needs to be empathic and really connect with people.

A Kamloops community planner tells Brian that it takes teamwork and creativity to move a plan from concept to reality. He reviews applications, reads maps, attends meetings and submits reports. His biggest reward: solving people's problems.

Mariam meets the compost coordinator with the city of Kelowna. She takes a tour of the facility and learns about the phases of compost production. See how this “feel-good job” takes something that is usually a waste and turns it into something that is good for the environment.

Osner, a computer and information systems manager in Vancouver, translates human language into code, bringing client ideas into reality, usually with the goal of simplifying tasks via software. Osner emphasizes the importance of ongoing learning in this career field as technology is always changing and evolving.

A computer network technician takes Brian through a typical day of working on networks, hardware, software and computer equipment. What he really likes about this career is that it “is changing all the time in a good, positive way."

A machine operator gives Brian a tour of his shop where he transforms raw steel plates into finished products. He takes care to be precise and accurate to ensure quality. He says “when you have pride in your work, it makes work enjoyable."

Viviana visits Port Coquitlam to find out how railway conductors help get trains safely to their destinations. She talks to a conductor who describes a physical job on the move, with her favourite part "working with all the great people."

Viviana rides along with a conservation officer, who protects the environment and natural resources. Dealing with wildlife, hunting and angling issues and pollution, he investigates possible violations. A grateful public is his key reward.

As a young man he loved building things. Now he develops people instead of buildings and instead of working with his hands, he works with his experience. Viviana visits a construction manager at his job site, where no two days are the same.

Viviana meets with the person who maintains and repairs equipment in a Kelowna sawmill. For this construction millwright, the best part of his detail-oriented career is “getting that piece of equipment back up and running.”