Career Mapping: A Strategic Move
Key Takeaways
Ralph Ruder’s story illustrates how your future can start before you feel “ready.” Ralph did not wait until retirement or until circumstances forced a change; he made a proactive decision to move toward the life and location he wanted.
Strategic timing matters. With his 50th birthday approaching, he considered how timing might affect a major career and geographic transition, then acted before the move felt more difficult.
Credentials are not always linear. Ralph’s path shows that passion, experience, and persistence can create a legitimate professional route even without a traditional design degree.
A successful career can still evolve. Even though he was established and happy in Milwaukee, he recognized that success in one place did not mean he had to stay there forever.
Reinvention requires adaptability. Moving from commercial design at a large architectural firm to high-end residential work in a family-owned business meant adapting to a different office culture, learning new processes, and meeting different expectations.
Design your career around the life you want. Ralph’s move to Palm Springs shows the value of aligning career decisions with personal goals, lifestyle, and long-term vision.
Jenny originally shared Ralph’s story in the 2016 edition of The Brand of You. We wanted to highlight his career journey once again to inspire seasoned professionals who feel a clock ticking on their goals or those who think it’s too late to make a big change.
A Strategic Move
After returning from Arizona and taking on the marketing position, I needed to work on expanding my local connections. Over those first few years, my Milwaukee network grew in many directions. Meeting Ralph Ruder was especially enjoyable. He has such an inspiring career story. Ralph had a hidden passion for design and was able to seize an opportunity. While he does not have a formal design degree, he accumulated the necessary years of experience to qualify for and successfully pass the NCIDQ exam. His design career was firmly rooted in the commercial world, and for many years, he worked for one of Milwaukee’s top architectural firms. As we met and shared our stories, goals, and a few glasses of champagne (I love hanging out with Ralph), he talked about his plans to retire to a warmer climate—Palm Springs, Calif., to be exact.
He was well established in Milwaukee and perfectly happy in his successful design career. Then he started thinking strategically about his future. His 50th birthday was on the horizon, and he worried about making a big career and geographical move after this milestone. No one can truly say if things would be more difficult if he waited, but he didn’t want to take that chance. Why not relocate and work toward retirement in the area you really want to be?
He decided his future started at that moment. He prepared his resume and portfolio and began a long-distance job search. One of the challenges that arose was the type of design work available in the Palm Springs area. Not only was he going to be facing a change in climate, but he also secured a job that would change the landscape of his career—a high-end residential position in a family-owned company.
It takes tremendous courage and discipline to go from a large commercial architectural firm to a family-owned residential business. The type of work, the clients, the way a business is run—it was all different, and for someone with Ralph’s position and knowledge, this was a completely new ballgame. Of course, he handled it with great poise. Since then, he has made a few career changes and now runs his own business in Palm Springs. I love his story. I hope his strategic move inspires others as much as it inspires me.
In the 2016 edition of The Brand of You, Ralph also shared career advice that we want to once again pass along.
Is it time to start a business?
“The answer is not exactly advice-worthy. I’ve always enjoyed, and am quite comfortable, working for other people. The economy and lack of job market somewhat forced me into business. And being the last employee standing at my last firm, they hired me as a contract employee working about 20 hours a week. Project offers from other architects and connections were offered, and within a year I was up and running as Ralph Ruder Design. No looking back, and I love it.”
Things to think about when contemplating entrepreneurship.
“Before making a change, planning is key. Evaluate job enjoyment and real-world factors such as health insurance, retirement planning, etc. All aspects, whether good or bad, should be considered in your decision.”
Career Advice
“I would like to say there was one defining moment of thought, but that is not my history. Always a series of choices, chances, courage, and sometimes setbacks, but moving forward.”
Ralph Ruder’s story shows how strategic career planning can help someone shape their future before they feel forced to make a change. Although he was successful and established in Milwaukee, he chose to relocate to Palm Springs before turning 50 and intentionally pursued work that aligned with the lifestyle he wanted. His move from commercial design to high-end residential work—and eventually running his own business—shows the value of courage, adaptability, and reinvention.
Are you waiting for the right time to make a change?
What if the right time is now?
How can you take one step forward toward your long-term vision?
Read A Conversation with Ralph Ruder for his 2026 career insights and advice.