The Many Careers of Katie

Over the course of my life I have built an incredibly random resume.  I'm about to add job number ELEVEN!  Don't believe me?  See Below:

My 1st Job:

I entered the workforce at my Dad's dental office during high school.

 I started working there for something to do in the summer... then ended up NEEDING to work there after my first fender bender to pay for the auto shop repairs.  Good lesson.  Thanks Dad!

My 2nd Job:

Intern at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in the botany department.   As a Freshman at Utah State, I decided I wanted to go on to med or dental school.  I thought such a science-y internship would look awesome on applications.  

My sister Sharisa and her husband Eric let me stay in their spare bedroom.  We had SO MUCH FUN!!!  Thanks guys!  You have a special spot in heaven for letting your little sister crash your place for two summers.

My internship was unpaid, so I needed to find a way to get some spending money.

Hence, my 3rd Job:

On a dare from Sharisa, I got a part-time job at Build a Bear in Tyson's Corner (best mall EVER!) 

After about a week on the job (which actually turned out to be pretty fun), I decided this would be my last retail experience (if I could help it).  Working at Build a Bear taught me that, in general, people are complete slobs when they know they don't have to pick up after themselves.

Moving on to my 4th Job:

First, a little background:  After only 3 semesters of biology, math, and chemistry classes, I decided studying day and night for the next EIGHT or so years of my life wasn't for me.  My Dad convinced me to consider the Industrial Design program at BYU.  Yadda, yadda, yadda, I transferred to the Y for Winter Semester 2001.  

I decided to stay for Spring Term and needed a little cash money for summer adventures.  

Enter the Pizza Factory in Provo!  My shortest gig ever (about 2 months).

I pretty much got the job b/c I was from St. George and knew the manager of the STG store.

In my short time at the PF I took orders, made desserts, and maintained the salad bar.  It was fun, but incredibly grueling!  The food biz is hard!

Why such a short time at the Pizza Factory?  I got a better offer that summer:

My 5th Job:

I was invited back to the Smithsonian for a PAID internship at the Museum Support Center.  Amazing experience!  My workspace was right next to some whale bones, elephant sculls, and Teddy Roosevelt's hunting collection!  I had the slightly boring job of assigning barcodes to plant specimens and entering research information into a database.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining at all.  I got paid, the Museum Support Center was incredible, and I got to live in DC for a second summer.

My 6th job:

Grunt worker for the HVAC crew at BYU.  

I got used to having a paycheck after my summer at the Smithsonian and decided to look for a part time job during school.  My friend Hilary was already working on the HVAC crew and suggested I join her.

I could write pages and pages on our adventures "fixing" commercial AC units in the BYU dorms. 

Hil and I wore tool belts and Dickie's jumpsuits (not at all required by the job, but completely awesome) and spent the semester messing around with fan belts, big wrenches, and soldering torches.

I have a special place in my heart for people who give jobs to college kids.  Thanks Bob!

My 7th Job:

Industrial Design intern at Lifetime Products.  

which turned into...

My 8th Job:

Industrial Designer at Lifetime Products. 

-yes, this is me shamelessly standing on a chair, pretending to dunk on Big T Bailey-

The hoop behind us is actually a design I worked on during my internship.

Designing at Lifetime was a great experience.  Some of my designs wound up in stores like Costco, Sam's Club, Dick's Sporting Goods, etc.  And, I ended up getting several patents.  Awesome!

Unfortunately, Lifetime wasn't spared when the economy had a rough spot in late 2008/early 2009.  I got laid off.  Bummer.

Enter My 9th Job/1st un-Job:

I spent about a month looking all over the place for a new place to work.  Job hunting was actually a full time job in and of itself!  Sadly, NOBODY was hiring.  It was rough.  I was SO bored!  Thank goodness Scotty's job was still going strong.  

And, thank goodness I was offered my 10th Job after only a month of searching:

Surprisingly, Lifetime hired me back.  But not as a designer...

Long story short, the 'Thank You' cards I handed out before leaving Lifetime paid off.  My friend, the CIO of Lifetime, thought I'd make a good Operations and Project manager for the IT department.    

It has been an INCREDIBLE experience and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity.  I can't believe it's been about a year and a half since I took the job.  I have honestly enjoyed every single day.

Which is why I'll be a little sad to leave Lifetime once again for:

My 11th job:

Baby Boy is Due December 2nd and we couldn't be more excited!

Based on the tiny kicks in my belly as I type this, I'd like to think that my new employer is pretty excited too.