North Sea to now – meet Lisa

Lisa Watson’s journey to her current role as a planner with the Pluto Offshore team has been shaped by a love for learning, a willingness to embrace new challenges, and a few unexpected twists along the way.

Born and raised in Aberdeen, Scotland - the 'Energy Capital of Europe’ Lisa has always been surrounded by the industry.

With her friends and family working in the oil and gas sector in various capacities, it was only natural for Lisa to kick off her career in Scotland.

“I dealt with work packs from the oil rigs in the North Sea. They used paper copies and sent them to us daily, and there was always a backlog we never caught up on,” Lisa said.

“Some of the comments the techs wrote were hilarious - you could tell when they were at the end of their two-week shift by the sarcasm.”

In 2008, a holiday to Australia took an unexpected turn when her husband was offered a job in Perth.

“By the time we got home, he had been offered the job, and within two months, he was back in Perth setting up the house for us to follow,” Lisa said.

“I packed up our house and was in Perth a month later!”

Lisa joined Monadelphous in June 2019 as a Technical Assistant in the EEHA team.

“I absolutely loved it and the team was great, we all got on so well,” she said.

When the contract was coming to an end, she transitioned into an Admin Assistant and Travel Coordinator role with the Pluto Onshore team before being promoted.

“Moving into a planner role with the Pluto Offshore team has been a huge change and challenging, but it’s been a really rewarding transition which I have really appreciated,” Lisa said.

“I enjoy doing the day plan for the campaigns the most - we run 10 campaigns a year and, foreach campaign I learn something new, which I put forward to the next one.”

“Everyone has been really patient while training me and very generous with their knowledge. Even the execution team from offshore come into the office sometimes to go through the plan with me.”

Reflecting on her time so far at Monadelphous, Lisa recalls one particularly memorable moment from her job interview.

“My future boss was also Scottish, and he mentioned he was from a little village north of Aberdeen,” she said.

“I told him we used to visit that village when I was at school and go to the beach there.

“My favourite part was a little train that used to drive us around - turns out, it was his dad that built the train, and the train was named after him! Such a small world.”

For those considering a career in the energy industry, Lisa highlights the opportunities for growth.

“The skills you learn are transferable across so many roles, giving you the chance to advance your career if that’s your goal. There are so many options and directions you can take,” Lisa said.

As for what’s next, Lisa is focused on mastering her current role.

“I’ll be staying in this role for the foreseeable future—I’m still learning so much, and there are a few areas I need more training in. I’m looking forward to seeing where this new role takes me,” she said.

Outside of work, Lisa enjoys making and drinking cocktails, going to concerts, reading, and cooking.

“I’ve been in Australia for 16 years, and I’m still terrified of the beasties! I once left my hoover outside for two weeks because I hoovered up a cockroach and my husband wasn’t home to deal with it,” she said.

“Oh, and every year on my birthday, I do a cartwheel just to make sure I still can!”