I’ve recently had some conversations with friends who are considering making career jumps. Some to a new industry, some to a new company, and some into their own ventures. A few are actively out there looking and some are wondering if they should hang around where they are until they see some more improvement in the economy.
One of my friends has taken a new position within her company that is going to help her transition out to another company when the time is right. She’s interested in tech venture capital. Her former role was tech heavy, and her new role is in business development. While getting this second piece of the puzzle in place, she’s also started a tech venture capital club as part of her business school’s alumni network. She’s biding her time while gaining incredibly valuable experience in segments and making contacts that will serve her well in her career.
This is what it’s all about – gathering the bits and pieces we can find to help us build a brighter future. Even if we’re in jobs that aren’t perfect, there are activities, role, and projects we can take on inside and outside of the office that will keep us moving forward, even while we look before we leap. I’m all for taking the plunge, but while I’m up here on the cliff, I’m also a fan of making sure I’ve squeezed every last drop of value from my current view.
I’d love to hear about how you’re biding your time in support of your long-term goals!
The image above is not my own. It can be found here.
Published by Christa Avampato
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
I’ve recently had some conversations with friends who are considering making career jumps. Some to a new industry, some to a new company, and some into their own ventures. A few are actively out there looking and some are wondering if they should hang around where they are until they see some more improvement in the economy. 
Hi Christa, I was pondering this very topic during my 10 minute, winding two-lane commute this morning. Although I enjoy owning a business with two friends and like the challenge of communications technology, I’ve been wondering what I could do that would be more earth-friendly. So far I’m just musing and enjoying the roadside forest’s transition from the scattered brilliance of flowering dogwoods and redbuds to the lush enveloping greens of late spring All changes start with ideals, visions, and dreams; I guess that’s where I’m at. -Jan
LikeLike
Hi Jan,
I think that’s a wonderful place to be! I used to work for an environmental nonprofit. Maybe I could help you think of ways to be in a more earth-friendly line of work. Let me know what interests you and I’ll see what I can find.
LikeLike
What can I say, Christa, that you already don’t know?
You are wise beyond your years, that’s for sure. Smart.
This post is right on the mark, as usual. In this tight job market, it can help to look at the “big picture.”
You are right: show initiative, make contacts, network.
Your local Chamber of Commerce is a good place to start. Volunteer for meetings, speeches and assignments/projects. Be curious about their activities.
You never know who you can meet out there. It is best to put your best foot forward.
And enhance your hobbies and interests too.
Taking yoga, for example, will not only keep you alert in these dark times, but you never know who shows up for your yoga meet.
It may well be a CEO–who wants to lose tension–and may offer you just the kind of work you are looking for.
You will be pleasantly surprised how many deals have been clinched at the gym, golf club and the sauna.
It’s all about personal relationships, so you have to keep your eyes and ears open. And a smile and a handshake go a long way. If you smile, the CEO will be smitten. Cheers!
LikeLike
Hi Archan,
These are great ideas! I hadn’t thought of the Chamber of Commerce – what a wonderful place to see what may be available at a government and small business level. Thank you!!!
LikeLike
great food for thought. sometimes you end up in places you don’t expect. i left journalism in 2005 to ‘take time off.’ only the industry crumbled as soon as i walked out the door. so i spent the years volunteering and traveling, and now i do yard work and write on my own. you can make all the plans for all the jumps you want, but life has a way of thwacking you on the head sometimes when you least expect it. ironically, i’m thankful for the thwack on the head and redirection of my life.
LikeLike
Hi Ed,
Thanks so much for sharing your journey. Those thwacks on the head can be such valuable teachers. I know that some times I’m so hard-headed that I need them in order to send me in teh direction I need to go. I’m trying to get better at hearing them arrive and jumping sooner rather than waiting for the thwack to land on my noggin!
LikeLike
I was fortunate to have a dad who tried many, many jobs when he came to the USA as an immigrant from Russia after the Revolution, so in a way, that gave me permission to do the same. I have discovered that making a living is not the same as enjoying what one does. The trick is to make a living from one’s passion. I’m an innkeeper. It pays the bills. But my passion is writing. As you point out, it is harder and harder to make a living from writing unfortunately. Sometimes losing one’s job gives the necessary push towards positive change. Also, I have found that volunteer work can lead to interesting job opportunities …
LikeLike
Hi Alexandra,
What a fantastic example you have in your father. Seeing him strive no doubt made you able to take risks and believe in your own abilities. I’m going to take you example, and his, with me as I embark on this new journey with my yoga teaching. Thanks so much for being here.
LikeLike