Encouraging Stories: Krista Ziegler '09
The Skidmore College Career Development Center believes that the principals of the Chaos Theory of Careers to be most applicable for liberal arts students in the current economic climate. In this model, career development is recognized as a dynamic system characterized by complexity, interconnectedness, and susceptibility to change.
The following is part of the CDC’s Encouraging Stories Series featuring members of the Class of 2009. During the last major economic downturn,
these individuals exhibited these characteristics as they navigated the early stages
of their own careers. Below are stories and advice in their own words.
Krista Ziegler '09 studied Religious Studies and Philosophy at Skidmore. She is now Program Manager at Sandbox VR in Austin, Texas.
In what ways has your career path since Skidmore been non-linear? How did your Skidmore experience inform this path?
All of it has been non-linear.
If you don't go into a trade or something super specialized, your path will also probably be non-linear. That's because our economy is wack and has been for a long time. But it also means if you enjoy changes of pace, as I do, you will have some freedom to try new things. Not all employers will look at that as a good thing, but it's the sign of a good place if they see your breadth as a positive. Skidmore helped me with this, I think, because I was part of small, intense departments where I had a lot of personal mentorship and development. It was my personal connection to professors that helped me build the confidence to enter the job market boldly, and often times, that pays off.
What kinds of knowledge or skills did you unexpectedly use to navigate a difficult economic period?
As a recent graduate,I was still young enough to feel invincible in some ways. I moved to San Francisco and got a job in tech and was very happy there for a number of years. I hate working in tech, I always have, and the more "tech," the more I hate it.
However, they were good paying jobs in fun cities and I didn't have the luxury of being picky. My background in philosophy and analysis proved very helpful in a) having men in tech take me seriously and b) honing my logical thinking for computer languages.
The skills I used most were the ones that taught me to find the parts of the job/company that I liked and continue pursuing them, not unlike a liberal arts college experience. By inching my way closer to the things that interested me instead of the things that would most obviously help me get ahead (and in which I had no interest), I found cooler and more fulfilling jobs.
But then this COVID-19 hit and it's a reset button for my career in some ways. That's okay, too. Capitalism would rather wring what little it can out of you before discarding you; someone will hire you.
That's another solid piece of advice: Really, way more bills are negotiable than you think. In general, a lot of things are negotiable if you just keep pushing. Credit card bills stacked up? Tell them you can't and won't pay the full amount, and they'll work with you to get "something" out of you and then leave you alone. To survive (assuming you don't have oodles of family money, which you very well may, dear reader), please be grateful and try not to fall in the trap of pretending you have it just as bad as some of the other folks you know; you don't) But to survive you need to get scrappy. Tell lots of people you're looking for work, tell them what you're interested in, ask mutual connections to put you in touch with someone they know, be kind, be appreciative, try to help others out when you can. Ask for help when you need it!
What insights or advice do you have for others with similar backgrounds, or pursuing a similar path?
I'm sure "similar backgrounds" is meant to be taken in the academic sense, but if you don't have a huge financial safety net, neither did I. It is really scary, and to be perfectly honest, COVID-19 is nothing like the 2008 crash. But like 2008, and even moreso now, we're all in this together.
Find the people who are kind and supportive and nurture those relationships. Whether it's a job referral or a lead on an apartment or anything else, your community will be the safety net you need even if you don't have a financial one. Be active in your community, take care of them, and they will take care of you. Finally, the rules are all changing day to day. Don't be afraid to take a risk. Bailamos: nothing is forbidden anymore.