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career paths - uw geography alumni and friends

Business Manager, City of Fremont, California Fire Department - Penny Star

1. Description of current work.

I am the senior administrator of the Fire Department in Fremont (population 203,000) and I manage finance, budget ($23 million), personnel, labor relations and workers' compensation programs and provide administrative support for other department and City programs. I supervise a staff of 8-10 clerical and professional personnel. I do a lot of writing, including articles for professional magazines, internal reports, and City Council agenda items. I enjoy this work because of the infinite variety that is available - sometimes on a daily basis. Virtually all skills I acquired in college come into play each day.

2. What drew you into geography?

3. Describe your education in geography.

Associate of Arts/Sciences, Everett Community College. Bachelor of Arts in Geography (Cartography), UW. Master of Public Administration, California State University.

4. Are you currently in a job where you find your training in geography is useful? Yes.

5. How did your undergraduate studies prepare you for the workplace and/or graduate school?

My geography training, which had an emphasis on cartography, provided me with excellent organizational and analytical skills that certainly affected my ability to get jobs. The ability to organize time and tasks into a meaningful program has been invaluable. I also use my analytical skills on a daily basis.

6. Did you work as an intern while in college? Was it a valuable experience you would recommend to others?

I did not have an internship; however, I currently mentor interns who work for Fremont. I have been delighted with the success we have had. I believe that an internship is an excellent opportunity to sample a work environment and a type of work to determine if it is of long tem interest to you. I also believe it is an excellent springboard into full-time employment.

7. How did you find out about your current position?

I found my original job with the City in a magazine called "Jobs Available." Subsequent jobs have been by referral.

8. Are you working with other geographers in your organization?

9. If there is potential for professional growth with your current employer, what kind of a career path is it?

10. What advice would you give to early undergraduates considering a major in geography?

11. What advice would you give to college geography majors about what courses to take or which skills to get before they graduate?

Before graduating, make sure your career "toolbox" includes sound writing, communication and analytical tools. It matters less how these are acquired than the fact that a student possesses them. I would also encourage students to sample a basic budgeting/accounting class and an international business class. (Even in a public sector fire department, we are extremely concerned about business retention and work hard to understand the cultural differ4eneces that we see in the community.) These are excellent tools to have in any profession in the public or private sector. My UW education was excellent - due to an excellent faculty who worked hard at providing opportunities for the students. The skills I learned in the UW Geography curriculum were sound, state -of-the-art skills that made me competitive in the job market. Transferable sills included data analysis and presentation, writing skills and organizational skills.

12. What advice would you give to college seniors about their prospects with a geography degree in hand?

I think the operative question for a geography graduate is "What do you want to do with your degree?" I believe the opportunities are better now than ever before, particularly if the geography degree is supplemented with some skills such as web page design, a course or two in international business or some computer skills. Here in Silicon Valley, there is virtually no limit to the fields in which a geography grad would be successful. For a first job search, I would spend some time with the grad talking about the skills one acquires in the geography curriculum. For example, sills in data analysis, demographics, cultural awareness (excellent workplace sill), research, and data collection. Writing and communication skills are also essential in today's workplace.

13. Please describe your career path up to this point.

Upon graduation for UW, I worked for a summer at the Johnson Space Center with a team of cartographers who were doing crop pattern analysis of Southeast Asia. I then worked for county planning departments in King and Snohomish counties as a graphic/mapping technician and supervisor. I worked for several years in the Engineering Dept. of the Snohomish County Public Utility District in Everett as the Drafting and Records Supervisor. I moved to California and worked at Stanford University as an Administrative Analyst for a short period before joining the City of Fremont as an Analyst in the Fire Department. I have worked as analyst, senior analyst and senior administrator in the cities of Fremont and Oakland.

14. What do you anticipate that your career path will be in the next 10 years or more?

15. What do you wish someone had told you when you were in college?

I would have benefited from someone helping me look at my education in terms of skills acquired instead of classes taken. It took me a while to describe my abilities in terns of skills to which an employer could relate. Look around at all the opportunities related to geography skills--computer software for teaching/training aids, tutoring programs, geo-mapping applications, marketing, etc. Both the knowledge and the underlying skills acquired in geography training apply to many careers.

Penny is willing to answer other occasional questions as they come up. If you have questions, please ask in the Geography Advising Office (415 Smith) for his contact information.

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Geographers:

getting jobs
planning careers
at work