Career advice by women featured in the inspirational book for young women, In Their Shoes: Extraordinary Women Describe Their Amazing Careers. Includes advice from such as Senator Barbara Boxer, Shonda Rhimes, Holly McPeak, Maura Tierney, Melissa Block, Severn Cullis-Suzuki, and more.

1. 26 career tips for teen girls
Career advice from the
women of In Their Shoes
www.debbiereber.
com
Featuring Senator Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pearl, Maura Tierney, Shonda Rhimes, Melissa Block, Kamala Harris, and more...

2. “You have to love acting. I think a lot of
people perceive it as glamorous, which it
can be. But those trappings should not be
the reason why someone wants to get into
this field, because again, it’s hard work. If
you’re in it just for the celebrity, I think there’
s less of a chance of enjoying a long or
satisfying career.”
Maura Tierney, actor
{Actor}

3. “Make it up. All of the great career niches
out there have been created by someone!
And surround yourself with friends and
family who say yes to your dreams and
validate your vision.”
Jess Weiner, social messaging strategist,
www.jessweiner.com
{Social Message Strategist}

4. “Take coursework in molecular biology,
genetics, biochemistry, and forensic
statistics, and be sure that you’re
emotionally able to handle the graphic
nature of a crime scene.”
Joanne Sgueglia, forensic scientist
{Forensic Scientist}

5. “Take more risks. That’s it...just take more
risks.”
Missy Park, founder of Title 9 Sports
{Entrepreneur}

6. “The best thing you can do to strengthen
your writing is to read as much as possible...
to have a huge knowledge base of
literature in all of its forms. I spent my entire
childhood living in books, and I feel like that
was one thing that really helped me.”
Shonda Rhimes, creator of How to Get Away with Murder,
Scandal, and Grey’s Anatomy
{TV Show Creator}

7. “I never skipped one step. I learned a lot by
watching, and it’s a perfectly fine way to
progress, to not have your career miss a
step and to not become overly impatient
along the way. You need to have a sense of
faith that if you stick it out there is a chance
that it really can happen for you.”
Alli Shearmur, movie studio executive
{Movie Studio Executive}

8. “The advice I would give to young women,
whether they aspire to a law career or
otherwise, is to own your power. Know your
value and your potential. Don’t be afraid of
it, don’t be intimidated by it, and certainly
don’t deny it.”
Kamala Harris, former District Attorney,
current Attorney General for California
{District Attorney}

9. “Take your work seriously, but don’t take
yourself seriously.”
Nancy Pearl, librarian and author
{Librarian}

10. “Always make sure you enjoy what you’re
doing. You spend an awful lot of your life
working, and if you love what you do, it
doesn’t really feel like work. For a career in
science, it’s important to do well in school.
Take your studies seriously and get into the
best college or university that you can.”
Dr. Nancy Knowlton, Sant Chair for Marine Science at the
Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History
{Marine Biologist}

11. “Learn to look at art—training your eye is
the fundamental skill that will sustain a
curatorial career. When looking, always ask
why. Why did the artist put that color there?
How would the painting change if he hadn’
t? How does the background contribute to
a portrait?”
Chiyo Ishikawa, Deputy Director of Art,
Seattle Art Museum
{Museum Curator}

12. “No matter what field you want to pursue,
you need to cultivate your people skills and
your networking skills. Even for accounting,
you really need to be able to relate to your
co-workers, deal with the clients, deal with
the vendors. It’s an important part of
working life for anybody.”
Jayne Morgan, CPA
{Accountant}

13. “More than ever right now we need female
voices, so don’t be afraid to speak out. I
think that one of the most important roles
that youth can play is to raise all hell about
what is happening to our future.”
Severn Cullis-Suzuki,
environment and culture activist and author
{Environmentalist}

14. “Don’t give up. It’s very hard work and it’s
very hard to get into vet school. So persist,
and work really hard to get good grades. It’s
a very rewarding, wonderful career, so just
go forward and try it out.”
Anke Langenbach, veterinary surgeon
{Veterinarian}

15. “Don’t let anybody set limitations on what
you can do. When I first started playing,
nobody thought I could do anything on the
professional level because I was small and I
hadn’t made a big name for myself in
indoor volleyball. But I believed in myself, I
studied the sport, I watched, I trained as
hard as I possibly could, and I followed my
dreams.”
Holly McPeak, (retired) professional volleyball player
{Professional Athlete}

16. “You need to stay curious and keep actively
learning every day. No book, school, or
person will ever teach you everything you
need to know. Ask questions, follow by
example, and find your own solutions.”
Kelly McCarthy Fitzgerald, video game programmer
{Video Game Programmer}

17. “Become a good writer—it’s really
important in this line of work. Get involved in
the community that you want to work with
as much as you can. If you want to work
with actors, take a drama class so you can
understand better what an actor goes
through.”
Cindy Guagenti, publicist
{Publicist}

18. “Believe in your own power and intelligence,
and at the same time, be open to learning
from others. Architecture is a profoundly
complex field and you’ll always be learning,
but people will be looking to you to have a
clear vision and they’ll value your opinion.
Keep your eye sharp and trust your
instincts.”
Heather Johnston,
architect and principal, PLACE Architects
{Architect}

19. “Get in there and do the grunt work. Start as
a dishwasher, be a prep cook, work in the
kitchen—really try to experience it. Even
though the work that you do over time
might change, the hours and the
commitment are the same, so you have to
be passionate about it.”
Mary Sue Milliken & Susan Feniger,
Chefs and owners, Border Grill
{Chef}

20. “Be someone nothing is lost on. Take
everything, be a good observer, and write
like crazy. Keep a journal and learn your
voice. Read like crazy. Read authors whose
writing you feel passionate about and
figure out why their writing resonates with
you.”
Melissa Block, co-host All Things Considered, NPR
{Journalist}

21. “Don’t write screenplays. Not yet. The
screenplay form is so full of mechanics that
it’s almost impossible to find your voice as a
writer within it. So write something else,
anything else—poems, letters, stories.
Eventually you’ll feel your way to who you
are as a writer.”
Susannah Grant,
Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Erin Brockovich
{Screenwriter}

22. “Find an issue that you care about deep in
your heart. If the issue is children, then map
out a way to build coalitions to help our
children. Once you build coalitions, show
leadership by bringing everyone in and not
being afraid to say what you think. Your
skills will be noted, and eventually you will
become a natural candidate for public
office—starting at the local level.”
Barbara Boxer, U.S. Senator, California
{Senator}

23. “Yes, there is competition out there and
there are many people going for the same
position, but that doesn’t mean you’re not
going to be the one selected. Aim to be as
helpful as you can be—think of the job as
‘here’s what I can do for you’ as opposed to
‘here’s what I want to get from this job.’”
Susan Schulz, editorial executive, Hearst Magazines
{Magazine Editor}

24. “Get to know the city or community that
you’re in, and spend time paying attention
to how a city runs—that might be seeing
what your neighborhood association has
gone on or attending community meetings
around big development projects.’”
Anne Corbett, urban planner
{Urban Planner}

25. “You have to ‘do.’ Yoga is a life of action
and it’s really about integrating your whole
life around a yoga lifestyle and listening to
your inner self. Don’t allow others to
dissuade you if you believe being a
movement instructor is your true path. Stay
focused on your desire, and the life practice
of this art form will be your teacher and your
companion.’”
Miriam Kramer, yoga instructor
{Yoga Instructor}

26. “You have to realize that you’re committing
to making people’s careers move along
beyond where they are when they first
come to you. So you have to take that
obligation seriously. I always tell people that
if you get into this business to make a lot of
money, you never will. It’s about having
enough of a commitment to your clients
that you can continue to move their
projects forward.” Ellen Goldsmith-Vein,
owner and CEO, The Gotham Group
{Talent Agent}

27. “Come to work each day with a positive
attitude and a purpose. Never forget why
you’re there—for the kids. They need you.
You have one of the most important jobs in
the world! Be a lifelong learner, a hard
worker, and a great example for your
students.”
Becca Wertheim, 2nd grade teacher
{Teacher}

28. To find out more about In Their Shoes:
Extraordinary Women Describe their
Amazing Careers and download a PDF of
this slideshow, visit www.debbiereber.com.
{all quotes © Deborah Reber, In Their Shoes}