Carina O’Brien

In her own words

I have a weird and whacky career. I first studied IT and commenced my working life in the technology industry, before managing the indoor and outdoor sporting facilities at Monash University for four years. Working with Monash Sport provided a great grounding and leadership experience and while there I was encouraged to do my Masters of Management. During one subject which was heavily self reflective, I recognised while I love sport, it wasn’t an industry I had studied and I couldn’t see any real long term career opportunities for me. I realised I had always wanted to build a corporate career and needed to take a next step to make that happen. One of the women I was studying with worked at Siemens and when she resigned, she generously put forward my resume. My hiring boss described it as the best leaving present she ever received.   

I have been at Siemens now just over 14 years, in a variety of different roles, including strategy, communications and marketing. When I returned from my first parental leave, I was offered a role with Siemens Mobility and initially I was unsure. Now I am the biggest rail boffin and am so passionate about the rail industry - I absolutely love it.  

There is a perception that rail is slow and archaic, but it couldn’t be further from reality. The industry is constantly innovating every day particularly from a signalling and technological perspective. I am also drawn to the passion and sense of community across the industry. Yes - we are all competitors, but we are united in advocating for rail as a form of sustainable transport. 

What I love about my role is that there is always something new happening, particularly new technology and efficiencies to drive productivity and catch up to the rest of the world.  In Australia we don’t have a federated view to the rail industry. Instead, we work like eight different counties when it comes to signalling, technology, interoperability and the cross border recognition of skills and training. The more we can harmonise and streamline with consistent standards the better. 

I am passionate about advocating for females particularly across the rail sector and in STEM careers and bringing men along the journey. If I can create the conversations to create a ripple of change to support working parents and flexible work arrangements that is awesome. 

Community and identity 

I created the Working Mumma platform when I was six months pregnant with the first of my two sons. I was looking for resources about how to be a mum and have a career and a woman told me that you can’t have both. That assertion was like a red rag to a bull. I wanted to prove to people I could have both and be successful at both, so I created a free Facebook site and started doing events in Melbourne to build a community. After being interviewed on a podcast in 2019 I realised the impact of the medium and taught myself podcasting. I decided I would just go for it and started interviewing people, and when covid hit I opted to keep going. I have released more than 150 episodes and have learnt so much out of the whole experience. It’s kind of like a personal development journey where I get to speak to a range of amazing experts. My downloads of over 40,000-plus includes listeners from the US, UK, Sweden, Norway, and New Zealand. 

A standout interview was one when a woman first explained to me the concept of matrescence, which captures what happens to your personal identity, values and priorities when you become a mum. Matrescence, like adolescence, is a significant developmental transition. This particular episode provided the biggest personal lightbulb moment and during the interview I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders. It helped me understand why I had been feeling a bit lost. Often as adults we know ourselves so well, but when you become somebody’s mum everything changes, including your professional working conditions and focus. The concept of matrescence is important and profound. 

Look beyond the horizon 

The best advice I received came ten years into my career when I was told - don’t think about the next job but think about the job after that. Another guiding principle is when faced with an opportunity, don’t say no, give it a go. Having a growth mindset is important; you can evolve it, and it is influenced by the people you surround yourself with. It is also important to remember that everyone has their own journey and what works for me might not work for the next person, particularly for working mums. I always say – do what is best for you and your family. You can’t be everything to everyone and you need to look after yourself. Mums are the heart-beat of the family, and if a heart is not beating healthily the family will suffer.