From Migrant Teenager to Business Owner: Jocelyn Do on Building a Civil Engineering Firm

Starting a business at 26 with no formal business training is daunting. Doing it during a global pandemic, as a female immigrant in a male dominated industry, takes a special kind of courage. 

Jocelyn Do is the director of JOCES, Jo Civil Engineering Services, a civil engineering consultancy based in New South Wales that specialises in stormwater, flooding and development consent for local government clients. She arrived in Australia from Vietnam at 16 with limited English, no family and a fierce determination to build a future for herself. 

Jocelyn opens up about learning to delegate, managing the uncertainty of fluctuating workloads, and leading a team that includes engineers with decades more experience than she has. If you are an engineer considering starting your own firm, this episode offers practical insights and genuine inspiration.