 Within a year of attaining her license, she was hired at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill which exceeded her expectations in being hands on and testing her skill-set.While working at SOM for five years, Sklarek took a second job and "taught evening architecture courses at the New York City Community College" to support her two children while her mother helped with family responsibilities.In 1960, Sklarek accepted the position of the first female vice president for Gruen and Associates in Los Angeles, where she worked for two decades.