Matt Soppit had had enough of driving one and a half hours to and from work every day.

“We were living in Marlborough Sounds, and I was working in Nelson as a foreman carpenter for a high end building company.  It was good money, but I’d just had enough of the travel”.

Matt had always wanted to train as a quantity surveyor, and on the advice of a friend, moved to Dunedin to study Construction Management and Quantity Surveying at Otago Polytechnic.

“There were lots of good reasons to come to Dunedin.  It’s a cheap place to live, and the outdoors, surf spots and mountain bike tracks, are right on your doorstep.  It’s neat to live in an affordable city while studying … My wife and I have fallen in love with the place!”

Matt also found the education was exactly what he was after.

“The lecturers are incredibly experienced, and have had a strong influence on my learning.”

After one year of full time study, a job came up at Naylor Love Construction.

“I’d never written a CV or even had a proper job interview before!  But the lecturers helped me out, and gave me really good advice on the interview process and how to bargain for a good salary.”

Matt landed the job and has found his studies transfer directly to his work.

“For two years, I’ve worked full time and studied part time.  It’s been hard work, but worth it now that I’m about to graduate!”