Career Pivot Lessons from the Journey of Terri Dien

 Forty years after sharing high school halls, I sat down with my friend Terri Dien. She is a political science major, press office alum, campaigner turned chef, culinary educator, and cookbook author. The thread tying all these identities together? Reinvention. Terri embodies the career pivot: uncertain, circuitous, and ultimately, deeply authentic. Here’s what her story can teach anyone contemplating a professional leap, whether out of burnout, restlessness, or a craving for more meaning.

1. Embrace Your Origin Story. Skills Are Cumulative

Terri started in politics, fueled by the AIDS crisis and her own family’s losses. She dove into activism and journalism, interned in the White House Press Office, and cut her teeth on school bond campaigns in California. “You have to make order out of chaos,” Terri says, recalling her days convincing wary communities to invest in better schools. Her organizing prowess and persuasive chops became tools she’d later use across every chapter of her life. Even when the field shifted entirely.

Takeaway: Every chapter, no matter how unrelated, equips you with skills for what’s next. Don’t discount past roles; honor what they gave you.

2. Listen When Others Reflect Your Joy Back to You

Terri’s inflection point came courtesy of brutal honesty: “You’re kind of a tyrant at work…except when you’re talking about food.” Even with a mile-long CV in campaigning, it was her passion for food that shifted the energy in the room. “You should do something with food,” colleagues nudged.

Takeaway: Sometimes, your next move is obvious to everyone except you. Listen to what trusted friends and colleagues see light you up. That feedback isn’t always comfortable, but it’s usually spot-on.

3. There’s No “Right Time.” Only the Leap

September 11 was a seismic jolt for Terri, as for so many of us. Suddenly, the job’s rote stability paled beside the unpredictability of life. “If you aren’t loving it, why stay?” She leaned into her culinary curiosity, She spent years home cooking, cake decorating, and relentless self-teaching. But when it came to the professional world, she faced a brick wall: No degree, no restaurant would hire her.

So she made her own plan.

Takeaway: You’ll rarely feel “ready.” The world won’t always validate your secret passions. Do it anyway. If you need formal credentials, go get them, but remember: Grit and curiosity count, too.

4. Invest in Learning. Then Show Up Everywhere

Terri enrolled at City College of San Francisco’s renowned culinary arts program. Unlike her younger classmates, she approached every project with mature tenacity: “I volunteered for everything. I came early, stayed late. I treated every second as an opportunity.” She tested, iterated, and refused to pigeonhole herself. Restaurant work wasn’t her only option; she explored food styling, wedding cakes, catering, and teaching.

Takeaway: Treat learning as an open-ended exploration. Find the work that feels like play. Jump into new experiences with humility and hunger.

5. We All Experience Imposter Syndrome. Face It by Doing the Work

Armed with a culinary degree, Terri still doubted herself as an instructor. “Who would take a class from me?” So she forced herself into the trenches. Restaurant kitchens, catering gigs, every uncomfortable space where real learning happens. With each job, she gathered credibility, until eventually, she was asked to teach more classes, not less.

Takeaway: Self-doubt is inevitable, especially when you’re new. Combat it with immersion, honest feedback, and the humility to learn, again, from the ground up.

6. Transferable Skills Are Your Secret Weapon

Terri became an accidental educator. Reflecting on her journey, she realized that teaching knife skills wasn’t about geometry or chemistry. It was about connecting science, culture, empathy, and narrative so that students truly learned.

Those political campaign days? They weren’t wasted. Her ability to organize, persuade, and motivate translated directly into running classes and managing a teaching career. “It’s all connected. The empathy, the organization, the assertiveness. I just apply it now to recipes instead of referenda.”

Takeaway: In every pivot, look for the golden threads: skills and values that carry across domains. Lean into these strengths as you craft your new identity.

7. Be Brave Enough to Suck at Something New

Teaching, says Terri, is “like learning dance steps. You start off slow, awkward, a little embarrassed.” But that willingness to fumble is what moves you from rookie to pro. Every class, every kitchen shift, she was learning, both about pedagogy and herself.

Takeaway: Progress demands vulnerability. Let yourself be terrible at something new; on the other side is growth only beginners will ever know.

8. Back-up Plans Are Still Progress

Terri admits her culinary degree also felt like a safety net: “If nothing else, I could always get a job as a line cook.” Yet, each “fallback” step enriched her journey, and those moments were building blocks, not failures. Sometimes, your fallback becomes a runway.

Takeaway: Don't dismiss your Plan B. Sometimes it becomes the launching pad you never expected.

9. Always Build and Lean on Your Network

Before LinkedIn existed, Terri was already networking: collecting signed cookbooks, maintaining friendships with instructors, and keeping in touch through email. “Some of my mentors are people I met decades ago. You need community both for opportunities and for sanity.”

Takeaway: Every pivot is easier with a network. Connections are career currency. Reach out, show up, keep in touch. Even if it’s only to say thanks.

Final Thought:

Terri’s path defies the myth of linear careers. It’s not about burning the bridges of your past but weaving them into a tapestry that’s uniquely yours. Whether you’re a teacher pivoting to the corporate world, a campaigner jumping to culinary arts, or simply stuck at a crossroads: Start where you are, stay relentlessly curious, and give yourself permission to be both a beginner and an expert, often on the same day.

Lean into what makes you alive, and let your next chapter surprise you.

“You can be ruthless with kindness in how you spend your time. And you should be. Life’s too short for the wrong fit.” -Terri Dien

Share your own pivot story below. Who knows what doors it might open?