Stray Ryssdal was a deputy judge in
Kragerø and
Steigen before working as a secretary and inspector in
Riksskattestyret from 1951 to 1956. In 1956, she opened her own law practice in
Oslo. She became a barrister with access to Supreme Court cases in 1960, as the third woman in Norway. and was a member of Oslo city council from 1968 to 1972. In 1972 she left the lawyer job to become chief administrative officer of social affairs () in Oslo. but was not elected. Her career ended with the post of
County Governor of
Aust-Agder, which she held from 1983 until her retirement in 1994. Stray Ryssdal was the chairman of the board of the
National Insurance Administration from 1968 to 1980. She was also a board member of and the supervisory board of
Kreditkassen. She was a member of several public boards and committees; some of them as a jurist (, , ) and some of them as a non-jurist, chairing from 1979 to 1993. She led the committees that published the
Norwegian Official Reports 1976:1 and 1988:39. She was also active in several organizations, including the
Norwegian Bar Association. == Personal life ==