Inside job: Matt Mischewski

I describe my role to non-engineers as… working on an app and website to help people overcome phobias through virtual reality (VR) exposure therapy. You slowly expose yourself to what you’re afraid of, but in VR.

The part of my job that always surprises people is… the innovative idea behind the company.

The best thing I’ve introduced in my role is… for me personally in my role, starting work early and getting into it right away, so it feels like my day is immediately productive.

In my role, I always challenge… whether something needs to be implemented in the requested way, if it could be done differently, or whether it needs to be done at all. Then, if you go ahead with development, you have a much better idea of what is needed.

In the past year, I’ve pushed boundaries by… combining working my software job, having my second child (two under two now!), trying to play 3x3 basketball at the highest level and competing for a spot at the Commonwealth Games, and running a landscaping business with my brothers on the side. That’s made for a pretty busy life and some boundary pushing. Through it all I’ve been trying to keep my family first and foremost and intentionally make quality time with them each day.

I admire engineers who… aren’t so caught up in their jobs all the time, but have their own hobbies and interests outside of work. And then when they come to work, they’re locked in and great at what they do.

The best emoji to sum up me on a typical workday is…

At school, teachers always described me as… I was actually homeschooled the whole way through so you’d have to ask my mum how she’d have described me!

My luckiest break was… honestly, being homeschooled. It taught me how to be self-motivated, self-disciplined and to get work done and manage my time, which set me up really well for uni and then work.

The bravest thing I’ve done to get where I am today… I wouldn’t necessarily call it brave, but getting married and having kids, and then making the decision to start a side business with my brothers, which has grown slowly over the past couple of years.

Best career advice I’ve received… was probably to plan out your work or tasks before you start them, then be thorough in reviewing that work to make sure it’s high quality. Even if it feels like it’s going to make you slower, it speeds up implementation in the long run.

I’d advise other people interested in my type of role to… think about whether software is actually something you want to get into given all the advancements in AI, especially in the software and coding field. I think there’s going to be fewer jobs in the coming years. If it is for you, learn how to code and program, don’t just rely on AI to write the code and make decisions for you. In the future, the role of software engineers could well be looking through AI written code and making sure it’s doing things in the right way, writing safe code and following the coding practice you want.

3 things I love about my job

• Constantly having to solve new and interesting problems.
• Being right at the front of using and getting access to new technology and AI.
• Creating a product and service that helps improve people’s lives by helping to free them from fears and phobias.

2 reasons why I chose to study engineering

• I enjoyed problem solving and logical thinking, which seemed like it would translate well into software engineering (as it does with engineering in general).
• When I was finishing high school, software engineering seemed like a booming industry with lots of good jobs – now with AI I probably wouldn’t study it today!

1 thing I wouldn’t change about my workday

Flexibility around when I work my hours each day.

This article was first published in the June 2026 issue of EG magazine.