A Self-Sufficient Learner Who Thrives On Flexibility

“The flexibility of remote work has helped me keep on top of my fitness goals. This has really helped me feel better about myself in general, allowing me to focus more in my work life and feel better in my personal life.”

Nathan recently celebrated 5 years with LAB³ and for him, the time has flown by, coinciding with the ever-changing landscape as the company has evolved. When Nathan first joined there were only 30 or so in the crew, and during covid and the hypergrowth of LAB³, Nathan experienced our expansion across Australia and into New Zealand, and the permanence of hybrid work.

For Nathan, working from home for so many years has far from held back either his learning or career. He has progressed from being a modern workplace engineer to becoming a highly regarded principal consultant.

To a significant extent this is because Nathan has always been a self-sufficient learner, and he believes that part of the troubleshooting process comes down to “gut feel”. This feeling comes from years of working with computers and IT systems. Having a father who was (and still is) passionate about computers has meant that Nathan has been around computers all his life and he was encouraged to be involved. Through continued exposure his intuition for troubleshooting issues has been ingrained deeply within him.

“My Dad didn’t work in IT, but he loved computers; buying the latest computers and taking them apart, and always fixing things,” explained Nathan. “Dad became known as the neighbourhood IT guy and whenever people had problems, they would call on him for help.”

“Dad could tell I was also pretty into computers because I was always watching him and picking up how he would approach issues. Even though I was in primary school, Dad began to see if I could solve our neighbours’ problems first. He would only get involved if I didn’t end up figuring things out.”

These days when Nathan wants to learn something he turns to the internet and, as a first point of reference, visits Microsoft’s extensive online documentation, noting there is “an infinite amount of technical information to leverage”.

Nathan has always found it deeply satisfying to provide good results. Indeed, for him, Nathan’s main driver is doing the best he can for every client as opposed to having a set plan to build his CV.

At the time Nathan onboarded at LAB³, the modern workplace practice comprised of one other engineer. “From the outset, I was trusted with a high level of responsibility,” said Nathan, who was often the only technical professional on a project. “This enabled me to gain experience as the single point of contact for the client and to develop my practical expertise in M365 migrations, Intune, and across new technology as it is developing, like Azure Virtual Desktop.”

Working within Professional Services, Nathan has enjoyed the opportunity to hold key roles in projects spanning across a range of industries and client types. Over the last year or so Nathan has held significant roles in major federal government projects, boosting his already held wealth of experience in financial services, health, and universities.

“Partnering with IT teams in government has been really interesting. Many unique challenges arise because of regulation and compliance complexities,” said Nathan who has gained invaluable insight.

“If you can deploy something in an environment which has high levels of security, it makes it easier to then deploy the same technology in less regulated industries.”

In addition to his career growth, the flexibility of working from home also suits Nathan’s personal life. It allows him to manage his time with ease, being able to attend appointments, be home for parcel deliveries, and to more easily be able to prioritise his fitness.

“I have a small but efficient home gym with a setup focused on a mix of strength training and cardio. Working from home helps me easily slot in a 30-to-60-minute workout every day. I can also manage my diet better,” explained Nathan.

“Managing my meal timing, calories, and macros, has really complemented my weight training and helped a lot with maintaining muscle mass and keeping my conditioning as I get older.”