Diana McAlpine is a Project Manager for Oceaneering’s Manufactured Products group in Houston, Texas. In her position, Diana finds it rewarding to work with multi-faceted team members and credits their support and mentorship for success in her career.
“At the beginning of my career, I was so impressed with the number of people willing to mentor and support me. They saw my potential, even when I doubted myself. Their faith in me encouraged and enabled me to eventually mentor new team members.”
Diana said that her journey to a career in project management was unexpected. She started out working in administration and marketing support. However, Diana set a new course for herself when she was offered a job as a project scheduler. As she advanced within projects, an opportunity arose to move into Project Management. However, the role required a four-year college degree – a path Diana never thought was possible.
“I was blessed when someone saw more in me and offered me a chance to move into projects. I worked full-time and attended college online. I became the first person in my family to receive a college degree.”
While with hard work Diana was able to advance in her career, she said that at times the male-dominated nature of the oil and gas industry made others doubt her abilities.
“I had to work a bit harder to prove that I knew what I was talking about, but that has been an exception and not the rule.”
Diana believes that one of the biggest challenges for women in male-dominated career fields is how they are perceived.
“Women often must walk a fine line in our approach. If we are too aggressive, it comes across unfavorable. If we are too nice, we can sometimes be walked over.”
However, Diana praises Oceaneering for being a supportive workplace that offers employee resource groups to facilitate mentoring, networking, and learning opportunities.
“During my tenure with Oceaneering, I have not seen or felt any bias about my gender. I have been pleased to see employee resource groups like the Oceaneering’s Women Network (OWN), along with a well-staffed female community in every role available at the company.”
One piece of advice Diana wished she had taken early in her career was to have thicker skin.
“I take pride in my work and supporting my team to success, so when things do not go as planned, I tend to feel personally defeated. I am much better at this now but still have a long way to go.”
Diana advises the next generation of women to never give up, never stop learning, and to be unafraid to push beyond one’s comfort zone.
“Never allow gender to define how you work or who you are in your career. Remember that no one fails or succeeds on their own. There is a reason for everyone on your team – it’s a combined effort.”
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