Courtney Anderson is a Spatial Information Officer who works at the Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Manufacturing and Regional and Rural Development (the Department). Like her colleague, Angus Sutherland, she recently transitioned her employment to the Department after kick-starting her geospatial career at ASA, which led to an 18-month embedding opportunity via our Talent Services offering.
Find out more about Courtney’s journey below.
Courtney Anderson: I grew up in central Queensland in a small town of about 6,000 people called Biloela (or Bilo for short). You can't go anywhere without anyone not knowing about Bilo! I don't understand how a town so small has the reach that it has! I was always the ‘weird kid’ who liked things that no one else did, so I didn't fit in with my peers at school and was frequently bullied.
I left home at 17 and moved around to multiple towns, including Gladstone, Toowoomba and back to Biloela, before settling in Brisbane at 18. My employment history was very spotty after high school. Without a Year 12 certificate, I was limited to jobs in the hospitality industry, where I struggled to fit in with my colleagues. I found myself getting bored easily without any sort of mental challenge. I did bar work for a while, which was okay, but constantly changing between day and night shifts isn’t great for neurodivergent people who need routine. During this time, I also had three children, which presented its own challenges.
I returned to TAFE at 24 and completed a Certificate IV in Adult Tertiary Preparation, then went on to university at 26 to begin a biomedical science degree. After a couple of weeks, I realised how I did not enjoy biology and switched to maths and physics, which I loved, but I found the coursework a bit overwhelming. The level of maths at TAFE was easy enough for the dopamine fix to keep me involved, but it was more complex at uni, so even though I was enjoying it, I couldn't concentrate or focus.
“I didn’t know I was neurodivergent until much later in life, which is a common story with women. I was diagnosed with ADHD at 29, and autism only two years ago (at 36): I’m an AuDHDer (autistic with ADHD).”
With ADHD, I was struggling to concentrate, and I had a conversation with my doctor. She mentioned that she saw notes that my brother had been diagnosed when he was four or five. She asked a few other questions and realised that I'd changed degrees so many times at university that I should go through the diagnosis process.
Eventually, I ended up going into archaeology, which I found really interesting. I managed to finish my degree, which I’ll never use again, but everything happens for a reason because I met Lily (former ASA Program Coordinator) through my archaeology studies. She forwarded my resume to ASA for a Junior Data Analyst role. I went through the interview process, which, thankfully, was nowhere near as nerve-racking as it had been in the past, because the questions were provided in advance, and the relaxed nature of the in-person conversations.
Once I landed the position at ASA, I started working on geospatial projects. I liked the work I was doing so much that I changed my postgraduate degree from Cultural Heritage Management to Geographic Information Systems (GIS). What I liked about ASA was that it was structured, but not! In other words, it was structured in a way where I had a routine, but each day was very different. I started working on a Department of Resources cadastral improvement project and moved into creating a single source of truth for Queensland’s electricity assets. I also did some LiDAR processing work for Fugro, as well as native title work.
“The work was varied enough to keep my ADHD brain happy, but structured enough to support the autism! I wasn’t doing the same thing every day, otherwise I'd get bored with it.”
In every role I've had, not fitting in with your workmates makes working there hard. I was already different from my workmates (being neurodivergent and having young children as a single parent), so they couldn't necessarily relate to the issues I experienced. They couldn’t understand why I didn't stay for drinks, even if I didn't have kids at home, and I often felt judged for it!
Since most people at ASA are neurodivergent, I didn't have to hide the less neurotypical aspects of my personality. I didn’t feel like I had to be some ‘lite’ version of myself and mask my neurodiverse traits like I have from childhood. I constantly burned myself out by forcing myself to go without adjustments, but it was nice to know that I didn't have to at ASA, which significantly improved my mental health.
“Communication has always been difficult for me. I’m a very direct person, but I’ve often been misinterpreted. Although the People Success Officers at ASA have been incredibly helpful working through this with me, working in an environment where most others were also direct communicators was wonderful.”
Being uncomfortable with maintaining eye contact has been another area in which I’ve experienced difficulty, often being perceived as rude or uninterested. It’s hard to explain that I don't hear as well when I’m trying to keep eye contact because I’m constantly thinking, ‘am I staring too much?’. Other benefits of working at ASA included the old soundproof radio booths in our old offices, which were great for a 10-minute respite and sometimes even a sneaky lunchtime nap, as well as the ASA mentoring program.
After 18 months at ASA, an opportunity arose at the (then) Department of Resources to work in their office. I was a little concerned when I started, as I was working in a new environment and wasn't sure what was expected of me. The LiDAR QA work was quite overwhelming at first, as it was more complex than my previous experiences, but the team were very welcoming and patient. I became a permanent employee in July 2025, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity, as it has provided a level of security and stability for myself and my family that I haven’t had before.
“I'm now 38. I didn't have a clear career path until I started working at ASA. I’m proof that it’s never too late to start a new career, even if you have some challenges or roadblocks in your way.”
