SmartGirl interviews:
Kelly Beatty & Dale Salvaggio Bradshaw
Authors of Firestarters: 100 Job Profiles to Inspire Young Women

SmartGirl had the opportunity to interview authors Kelly Beatty and Dale Salvaggio Bradshaw via email after one of our editors read their book Firestarters: 100 Job Profiles to Inspire Young Women. Here's what they had to say!

SmartGirl: You both come from very different career backgrounds. What got you interested in writing a book about careers for girls?

Kelly Beatty & Dale Salvaggio Bradshaw: Honestly, we both needed a book like this when we were growing up. We could have also used it in college and after college! Over a phone conversation one evening, we were talking about our careers and about how we wished we could actually share with young women some of the neat careers we had discovered during our own career paths. The idea for Firestarters was born.

Our different backgrounds made our dual-authorship really work. Kelly has a talent with words, and she's a stickler for detail. Dale has great organizational skills and a restless mind that is always looking for another angle to tackle a problem. Neither of us were deterred from rejection letters received from publishers because we believed so greatly in the message of Firestarters.

Also, we really connected with the book's theme, so the entire project was fulfilling to us. Both of us are constantly critical of our own careers because we want them to be something we love and something that deeply moves us. Firestarters filled that void for both of us, and we liked that it was a way we could give back.

SG: The book profiles 100 different women. How did you find them all?

KB & DSB: When we first started, we wanted to show young women unique careers that maybe they didn't know existed. So we sought out people with unique jobs. But we also wanted to show the power of networking, so we started with our friends and the contacts just snowballed. It was surprisingly easy to find them all. In fact we could fill several books with the women that these "Firestarters" suggested.

SG: A lot of the women profiled in the book started on one career path and then switched to another. How typical did you find this? What have your own experiences been with changing career paths?

KB & DSB: It was interesting that many of the women in our book tried one career that either didn't work out or didn't fulfill them. Probably about a quarter of the women we interviewed ended up in a career that they originally did not set out to do. It hopefully relieves some pressure to know that not all of us know at a young age what it is we want to do with our lives. Take for example, Paula Stewart the veterinarian. She thought for many years that medical school was her destiny. While she was preparing for medical school, an internship opened her eyes to the opportunities of veterinary medicine which she ultimately chose over medical school. It's good to know that nothing is set in stone. Once a person is in a career, she may find out that she's not suited for it, or it sparks an interest in something else, or her life circumstances change.

Both of us have also experienced changes in our career paths.

DSB: It's funny to me that I used to dread writing papers in college and that I used to lack confidence in my writing. Now I've written a book! I've not given up marketing, but I've also discovered a new career in writing. It's become a great way for me to express myself, and the flexibility of writing allows me to be there for my young children.

KB: I went to college with the intention of being Darrin Stevens (Samantha's husband from the TV series Bewitched). He was an advertising copywriter, and I did that briefly when I graduated, but my boss moved to a larger agency to head up its broadcast production department. She asked if I would come work as a producer, and I did with the thought that I could worm my way into the writing/creative department. Easier said than done. I worked as a producer for 11 years and then decided that I wanted to be the producer of my own creative work. I've always loved architecture and interiors, so I went back to school for a degree in interior design. I worked for myself and for a health-care design firm, but now I'm being a mom. My son isn't quite a year old, and I'm already plotting what I'm going to do to fit work in with motherhood. I think before I wrote the book I might have worried about balancing the two, but I learned from so many women that their families were often the impetus for career change.

SG: As you were working on the book, did you hear any similar themes or messages from the women you talked to?

KB & DSB: Oh yes. We found quite a few themes during the interviewing process. The ones that really stuck out were the power of networking, the importance of experience, getting your degree before you get married and the graciousness and selflessness of women. Most of the women we interviewed didn't know us beforehand, but took time out of their busy lives to answer our questions.

SG: What was the coolest profession you came across in your research?

DSB: After each interview, I'd think, "That was the coolest one." I can't really say which one I thought was the coolest, because I thought so many of them were. I will say that Molly Rogers, the costume designer, really stuck out for me. I was just amazed that someone I didn't personally know and someone with such an impressive career would actually talk to me! I found the interview with Beth Hockman, the blueberry farmer in South Africa, fascinating. I was also very inspired by Amy Vitale, the photo journalist. I thought, "Maybe in another life I'd do that."

KB: I have to agree with Dale that I can't say that one profession stood out as "coolest" because all of these women are just so fascinating. Annie Harvey, the warden of a women's prison, does stand out in my mind because she viewed her job so differently than I would have thought. She truly sees her role as a means of providing hope for the women incarcerated in the prison. That just blew me away. Those women are very lucky to have her as an advocate.

SG: What did the two of you learn about jobs and careers during the course of working on the book?

KB & DSB We learned that the possibilities are endless. We are so lucky to live in a country where what we dream is truly possible. Young women should be excited about where their life will take them. Writing Firestarters also reaffirmed our belief that being successful in a job is not about the money you make, it's about finding happiness in what you do.

SG: What did you enjoy most about writing Firestarters?

KB & DSB There were two reasons we loved writing Firestarters. First of all, as we said in the answer to the first question, the project and it's purpose fulfilled us and touched us deeply. Secondly, Firestarters took our relationship with each other that much further. Kelly and I really get each other, and the experience of writing a book together allowed us to get to know each other even more than we thought we could. It was definitely an experience that we'll never forget and also one that we'd like to do again.

SG: What is one piece of advice you would give to girls to help them find a career they love?

DSB: Don't let someone else's thoughts about your career dreams direct you. You are the only one who knows what really completes you and you've got to follow that gut feeling.

KB: Explore, explore, explore. Don't be afraid to change paths. You never know where the new one might lead you.