Lisa McTiernan built a career as a camera assistant in film and television, then threw herself into growing a successful photography business in Darwin.
However, when COVID-19 left her business in disarray, she realised she needed to reassess her future.
“Mentally I was really unwell. I had a breakdown in the middle of 2020 and I’m not ashamed of it,” she says.
“Through treatment, I realised I had to re-evaluate my life. I had to come up with a plan. I was was in my early 40s and I thought, ‘I’ve got 20 years left of work. What can I do to balance out my life so I don’t keep getting creatively burned out?'”
As a fan of ABC Radio Darwin’s Tales from the Tinny show, she had submitted fishing content to the program before, which helped Lisa land a gig in radio production, and she was keen to explore it.
She learned how to record and edit audio interviews, to operate the audio desk and microphones to put content to air. She developed a growing interest in technology and found her career change.
“As a radio producer, I had to be tech savvy and that opened the door to talking to the ABC technology team,” she says.
“One of the techs knew where I was at, mentally, and said: ‘We’ve got an apprenticeship going. Would you be interested in that?’
“The first thing I thought about being an apprentice [at this stage of my life] was: ‘Oh my God, you get hardly any money!”
However, searching for the right balance in her life, she decided to take the plunge.
“I thought: ‘It’s just money, I could make it work’,” she says.
“I put my application in. I didn’t expect to get the job, because I’m older with no tech experience. But I got it. I couldn’t believe it.”
Lisa secured an apprenticeship as a broadcast technologist, a role that specialises in the installation and maintenance of audio, video and broadcast media systems.
It’s an area that’s traditionally been male-dominated.
She’s learning how to maintain the ABC’s media servers and broadcast equipment, developing skills such as analysing and fault-finding quickly to ensure an uninterrupted service to broadcasting.
Today is International Girls in ICT — Information and Communications Technology – Day and this year’s theme is “Digital Skills for Life”, aimed at encouraging young women and girls to pursue careers in the technology sectors.
For Lisa, transitioning to a career in tech was one of the best — and scariest — things she has done.
Days before her apprenticeship started, her relationship ended, and she remembers being back in a scary place.
“My safety net was gone. Darwin’s an expensive place to live and an apprentice wage, especially a first-year [wage], is very low and I couldn’t even afford a rental,” she says.
She scrimped and saved, slept on friends’ couches, did photography jobs on weekends and “was basically working seven days a week for nine months”.
After riding the bumps of a pandemic, personal struggles and a career change, Lisa says her new job has changed her life.
“I absolutely love my tech job. It’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” she says.
“In hindsight, it was really scary to do, especially when I found myself on my own.”
Lisa chose technology for her future to have security and a job she loves, and she encourages others who are looking for change to do the same.
“If there are women out there at any age or stage of their working life who aren’t happy where they are and are searching for something different in their career, be brave enough to take a leap of faith and try something completely different,” she says.
“Don’t be afraid to change direction.”
