Career lessons from The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada 2 hits theaters on May 1st and yes, I have been counting down since 2025. So of course I had to get the Mr to watch the first one so that he understands the absolute delight that this sequel is bringing.

But watching it now, as an adult with some life experience, I don't just see fashion and Paris. I see real life choices that Andy faced that impacted her journey and real life lessons that I can take away. Let's dig in.

1. Career choices aren't always linear.

I understand that Andy wanted to be a "real" journalist and Runway was just a temporary stop for her. But with my awareness now, I see clearly how what Runway taught Andy in less than a year, she could never have learned in five years of getting the actual jobs she had originally wanted. She had things to learn at Runway. You have things to learn where you are before you get where you want to get.

The job that feels like a detour might be doing the most important work of your whole career. The season that looks like a wrong turn might be building the exact thing the next season requires of you. Stop trying to skip the Runway. You might be there for a reason.

2. The people around you matter.

I wasn't impressed with Andrea's circle. They watched her job hunt, finally take a job out of desperation, and still mocked her and got angry when she was doing everything she could to make the best of the situation. If we're being honest, nobody minds being a better looking, more confident version of themselves — yet they blamed her for exactly that.

I admit she was wrong for missing the birthday and perhaps not being as available as the unemployed version of herself was. But I sincerely hope that if someone I love was in an upgrade phase that demanded a lot from her, I would not be guilting her for not making me the priority. Growth costs something. The people in your corner should know that — and be okay with paying a little of that cost alongside you.

Check your circle. Not for loyalty in the easy seasons. Check them for what they do when you start to level up.

3. Having a mind of your own works.

While she got more fashionable and picked up a load of confidence working for Miranda, Andy still knew what she wanted. And when the time came, she knew when to walk away. It is important to be clear on who you are — or who you want to be — so that when a Miranda tells you "don't be silly Andrea, everybody wants to be us," you will know that you are not part of that everybody. And you will be perfectly okay with it.

Confidence is not the same as losing yourself. You can learn from someone, admire someone, be shaped by someone, and still know exactly where you end and they begin. That clarity is not stubbornness. It is the most important thing you can carry into any room.

4. Mentors matter.

For you to see what is possible. For you to learn. For you to see how people operate on a different level from the one you are currently on. For you to move with their authority and experience before you have built your own.

I attended a meeting recently and watched high level operators make quick decisions and implement on the spot. Decisions I would have needed six to twelve business days to sit with, pray about, make a pros and cons list for, and perhaps still not act on. I would have gone on thinking my pace was simply how things were done — if I had not been in that room watching people move differently.

That is what a mentor does. Not just teach you. They expand your imagination of what is normal. And once you see it, you cannot unsee it. Your standard quietly shifts. Your pace quietly adjusts. You start to move like someone who has seen more — because you have.

Miranda Priestly is not the villain of this story. She never was. She is a mirror. She shows Andy — and anyone paying attention — what full commitment to a vision actually looks like. What it costs. What it produces. And what you have to decide for yourself about whether that is the life you want.

Andy looked in the mirror and made her choice.

The real question the film leaves you with is not whether Andy made the right decision.

It is whether you know yourself well enough to make yours.

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