'I Love My Job’: The Flexibility to Schedule Life First, ‘Opportunities Second to None’, and More

Welcome to I Love My Job, the series where we hear from real women who really love their jobs. In this edition, we sat down with Lizzie Dipp Metzger, a Financial Advisor with New York Life, who has been a valuable addition to the company for 12 years. Her journey to this point, however, was an unusual one.

“I got to New York Life practically by accident,” explains Metzger. “My husband had closed a business, an online sales company, and started working at New York Life in 2008, and after having my newborn son, I was just always there at the office. Then they recruited me out of the blue — I never thought this was something that I would be interested in doing or would have any talent doing.”

But, by taking a leap of faith and accepting the position, Metzger discovered that she did in fact have a knack for the job. In the end, this decision, “turned into not only a career but really by calling,” says Metzger.

For those considering making a career move or pivot like Metzger did, she has advice for you: “You make your own magic dust, and you create your own life,” Metzger encourages. “You have to take full responsibility, and you have to work probably harder than you ever thought you would. But with that, what you get is such a benefit and an incredibly powerful ability to just do what you want to do and be able to really make a difference in other people's lives.”

At the end of the day, moving forward in your life and career doesn’t just happen by magic. Instead, as Metzger says, “it comes from you, and being able to go out there and really take responsibility for every single day and seeing that, as a woman, you're more powerful than you can ever imagine, and you can really reach the stars.”

To get a closer look at the supportive culture at New York Life and why Metzger loves working there, check out the video below. We also share a few highlights from this video discussion in the following article.

Can you tell us a bit about you, your life and your job?

My life is pretty busy. I am a financial advisor, and I have a firm here in El Paso, Texas. I have been married for 22 years, and I have three kids: one in college, one just graduated from high school and a twelve-year-old. I [also] have four dogs, I have three fish [and] I have nine chickens.

And, on top of that, I run a practice. So we keep it really busy, but it's really fun.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Even though we have a model day scheduled, so each day is supposed to have specific blocks for different things to do, each day is really different. On Mondays and Fridays, I focus on working with planning, taking calls [and] working with my teams to prep and analyze information for the clients. And, then, the middle of the week is really dedicated to meetings. I'll load up on those days, and I typically have between 8-12 meetings a week with clients.

How would you describe the culture at New York Life?

The culture of New York Life is incredible. It's the first company that I can say that I've worked at where I felt completely supported. Instead of being a competitive environment, others are rooting for you, and everybody is rooting for you to do better.

[It’s an] incredible, incredible place where you can see the value of development and making people better. It's just been an absolute pleasure to work at, and it's just a great corporate culture.

What is your favorite thing about working at New York Life?

The best part of working at New York Life is that I know we're all aligned in one goal, which is to do our best by our clients. Our mission in my practice is to make a positive difference in our client's lives, so it's really rewarding to know that I work with a company that aligns itself fully with that mission. 

How does New York Life help you schedule life first?

What's great about New York Life is that you're essentially an independent business owner. Nobody gets to say, “You have to work from this hour to that hour.” And that is a really great career for somebody who is self-driven…

The great news is that when you're very self-driven, you don't tend to work around a specific, eight-to-five work schedule… Probably tonight, I'll be here until seven or eight, and other days I won't come in until a little bit later or I'll leave early to go do something with the kids.

So, when you have that flexibility, what you're able to do is work as much as you can, but, at the same time, have the ability to schedule your life or to do things that you might not otherwise be able to do in a nine-to-five job. 

What advice would you give to other women who are thinking about working at New York Life?

Working in financial services is an incredible opportunity for women. We're empathetic, [and, in]... about 90% of households, women run the finances. It's a career where women can thrive. [For] building that practice in a way that fits your life and your family, New York Life really has opportunities second to none.

So, even if you're not an agent like me, there's so many opportunities, whether it's in marketing, sales, operations or underwriting… They really love developing women leaders, so I'd recommend this career [and] this company to any woman who has passion and a desire to help people. 

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Check out other posts in the ‘I Love My Job’ series:

• 'I Love My Job’: A Talent Expert on Why This Leading Finance Company Should Be on Your Radar

• 'I Love My Job’: Why This Director’s Favorite Aspect of Her Job ‘Is Hands Down the People

• 'I Love My Job’: I’m Building an Inclusive, Fun and Empowering Culture at My Mission-Based Company

• 'I Love My Job’: How My Company Supported My Career Pivot From Finance to Technology