At 23, I walked into BlackRock's New York office fresh out of Wesleyan University, ready to conquer Wall Street. By 28, I had traded my corporate badge for a ring light and a mission to empower women through content creation. Along the way, I learned that the biggest impact doesn't always come from the biggest institutions. The journey began in 2018, when I joined BlackRock's Financial Markets Advisory team. In my role, I advised governments and banks on complex financial issues.
When I moved to VMware, I expected things to continue much as before, but COVID disrupted those plans. When Broadcom acquired VMware, the writing was on the wall and though it took a while, I eventually got made redundant. That was almost 18 months ago. In the time since, I've taken an extended break with overseas travel and thoughts of early retirement. It's been a while therefore since I've done any direct developer advocacy.
In September, after a year and some change working in corporate fashion, influencer Hannah Krohne quit her full-time job and made a leap that is becoming increasingly common in the ever-changing world of social media. Krohne, who was previously working in strategy and merchandising for British fashion retailer ASOS, had been posting fashion and lifestyle-related videos online since her sophomore year of college.
My childhood dream was to become a news anchor. I was obsessed with watching the news and inspired by women anchors such as Connie Chung and Barbara Walters. I would beg my parents to let me stay up late to watch them. I held on to that dream all the way until college. But once I took a few journalism classes, I learned something about myself that ruled it out as a career - I absolutely hated being on camera. I realized that what attracted me to journalism was storytelling and crafting a narrative that shapes how people understand and interpret the world.
In the latest episode of IPWatchdog Unleashed, I had the opportunity to sit down with Ted Wood-a unique figure whose career spans military service, engineering and patent law. After spending time both in-house and at Am Law 100 firms, today Ted is Managing Partner of Wood IP. Our conversation, which took place August 8, was not only interesting and fun but a testament to the diverse pathways one can take to success, both in life and, specifically, in the engineering and patent law fields.
When you think of an escort, you might think of a single woman. In a lot of cases, this is true. The sex work industry is still surrounded by stigma, and many people can't handle being in a relationship with someone whose job is to entertain men. As a wife who works in escorting, however, I look forward to my husband pouring me a glass of Sancerre after work while I count my bills.
"Many of you know I've been in seminary for the last several years," he said, sitting with co-anchors Colleen Williams and Michael Brownlee after watching a video tribute to his time in front of the camera. "I got my master's in Christian studies, and right now I'm pursuing my doctorate, my doctorate of ministry. And so, yeah, I'll be graduating to full-time ministry beginning tomorrow."
I always expected life after college would fall seamlessly into place, that all of my involvement in campus media, internships, and good grades would pay off immediately. So, when I learned that my childhood friend was planning to move to New York City, it was the perfect opportunity to take the leap together. I'd always dreamed of moving there, and as the home of many big-name publications, it seemed like the right city to be in to kick-start my career.
Bernardo grew up in Monterrey, Mexico. From a young age, movement was part of his life. He rode BMX and mountain bikes daily. That routine shaped his mindset. "Being on a bike teaches you focus," he says. "You fall, you get back up, and you keep going." That early discipline stayed with him. It later showed up in his professional life, even when the work looked very different.
One of my dear friends was recently caught up in this swirl and roil. An attorney in the Department of Justice, the days of DOGE forced her to choose among uncertain options and to try to find firm footing in a landscape that shifted from solid to sand on a dime. Should she stay or go? Retire early or risk being fired? Each option had potential consequences beyond where she might clock in each day. What of her career trajectory? Her sense of purpose?
Everyone would talk about what they'd do with this player or that, none of them had kicked a football in their life or got any experience in football. You allow it as footballers, because everyone has got an opinion. But then when the finances come out and I try to say something, they go, 'What are you f**king talking about? You haven't got a clue, mate.'
After my husband died suddenly at the age of 39, both my body and mind remained in a state of shock for years to come. It happened in 2018, when I was 34, and it has taken a long time for the cortisol levels in my body to come back down, and, in parallel, for the fog of grief to lift. It was an extraordinarily intense experience, and I really struggled, especially with work.
I started working after school at the age of 15 and have been working ever since. My family wasn't well-off and needed help, so I took it upon myself to attend college at night and work all day. While I was in school, a gentleman from JPMorgan recruited me to work for the company. I began my career as an auditor after earning my degree in accounting.
Jane Newman spent her evenings watching K-dramas on her recliner during the pandemic lockdowns. She didn't expect they'd spark a curiosity about South Korea that would eventually lead her to move there and start over.
For a while, the biggest professional problem Brad Morgan faced was figuring out how to get toothpaste into a tube. Before you chuckle ... "Believe it or not, pumping toothpaste is one of the most complicated phenomenons you'll ever experience. It's a fluid that, as you pump it faster, it gets thinner," Morgan said. "So without going into great detail, I was working with MIT professionals, the smartest of the smartest on how we can pump toothpaste faster. That was my job."
The night before the Thanksgiving holiday, I received a message that I was being let go from my job, leaving me reeling in shock and tears, as I faced a holiday season with five kids and no stable income. As a freelancer, I'm somewhat used to instability in my work, but as my writing jobs have slowly vanished over the course of the past year, having my last contract gig taken away really stung.
Then the pandemic happened and I did what everybody did: I let my hair go gray. It was a big scary thing, but I was so proud to have done the work - not the hair maintenance work - but the actual self-work to be brave enough to do it. I thought when I had to go back in public again, I would go to the hairdresser and get it done. But I loved the way it looked, so I just let it go.
There is no single answer to the question, "What should I do when I retire?" Retirement offers a chance to reinvent your life and pursue new passions, allowing you to redefine your lifestyle. While I'm not an attorney, given my all-consuming and rewarding working lifestyle, I am also contemplating redefining my life for retirement, so that I can enjoy my time before my "best before date."
After graduating from high school in 2010, I enrolled at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. I grew up in an environment where I was told that college was the only path to success, so I didn't even consider taking a different route. I quickly realized, though, that college was not the right fit for me: I struggled to balance school and my social life while working part-time jobs, and it was weighing on my mental health.
Wexford-based Denis Whelan is keen to bust some of the myths around immigrants which are becoming ubiquitous online. Over the course of three decades with An Garda Síochána, a career which saw him rise to the rank of Superintendent, Denis Whelan has gained a unique insight and perspective on a lot of things.
Kane: Yeah it's really something that I think I can achieve. I think it would be... Neville: It's mad really, isn't it? Kane: Yeah I just feel like, if I could play in the NFL and do what I've done in football, imagine that as an experience, imagine that as a career, to do two different sports. I mean, I'm not expecting it to be easy. I know a lot of people think I'm just going to turn up and be an NFL kicker.
Learning to code is one of the most accessible ways to open new opportunities in tech. Whether you want to switch careers, understand how digital products work, or build your own ideas, learning to code online gives you a flexible and welcoming place to begin. You do not need experience, a degree, or a technical background. If you are curious and ready to explore, you already have the most important skills to start.
Since I joined Google in 2018, it has been amazing to see the impact I've had. I started at Google Bangalore in India, where I was part of a team using machine learning and AI on Google Maps. After spending a few years there, I moved to the US in 2021 to work at the Google Mountain View location in California.
My first job out of college was at Microsoft, where I worked as a program manager and product manager from 2018 to 2023. In January 2023, I left my Big Tech job to work for a creator commerce platform. There, I developed an AI product, which led to me landing a senior AI role at Microsoft in July 2024. In the current job market, AI feels like the safest domain to be an expert in.
