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Name: Scott Hatmaker
Age: 27
Company Name: Large D.C. law firm
Years With Company: 1
Previous Jobs: Legal assistant-4 years; Jury analyst-1 year; And of course, jobs that give new meaning to the term "minimum wage."
Education: BA, History/Political Science; MLS
1. What is your official job title?
Librarian/Information Specialist
2. What is the job title you'd give yourself?
Internet specialist
3. What makes your job unique?
I get paid to surf the Net.
4. How did your college major/graduate school degree help prepare you for your career path?
Undergraduate studies complemented a natural desire for information acquisition and analysis. Grad school refined my information-gathering skills and gave me a technical base upon which to build my future career.
5. What necessary career information was missing from your studies? How did you pick up those skills and knowledge?
My studies did not prepare me for a legal background. I gained these skills/knowledge by working in various law firms.
6. What difficulties did you encounter entering your chosen field?
A private sector versus public sector decision. I have always been employed in the private corporate sector and usually have found it rewarding. However, most people who undertake my degree route usually enter into the public sector, i.e. academic or public libraries/information centers.
7. Why would you recommend your company or job?
I would recommend my job because of the diversity of places one could work, both geographically and different employment settings.
8. How does the size of your company impact your sense of job satisfaction?
I work for a firm that has a total of 200 people. This particular office is a branch of a much bigger organization. For the most part, my job satisfaction is above average. However, at times the size of the company can lead to isolation among various departments and people.
9. What three things are most rewarding about the work you do?
- people rely heavily upon my work
- diversity of topics researched
- the paycheck every two weeks
10. What three things are most frustrating?
- unrealistic expectations regarding retrievable information
- mundane items, e.g. cataloging the collection
- people's egos
11. What three things are most fun?
- surfing the Net every day
- leaving the office to do research
- the people with whom I work
12. How do you handle work stress?
Drinks after work and long drives chasing the sunset.
13. How big a role does technology play in your career?
Major role. In many ways, I rode the Internet wave to land my first post-grad school job. As such, I must keep up the learning curve on new technologies.
14. How do you distinguish yourself from your co-workers?
By the extension -- 6559.
15. Which popular song best describes your working life?
That Southern Baptist anarchist song by REM: "It's The End Of The World As We Know It And I Feel Fine."
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