Life with Zak and Rachel.: Rachel's Grown-Up Job

After a few years of ups and downs, it looks like I have finally found a steady, full-time, long-term job! And we both couldn't be happier. I work for a company called Digilent; it was founded in Pullman about 10 years ago by some WSU engineer professors. We sell microchip boards and engineering tools. I'm still not 100% sure what everything is, but I know it has to do with engineering. People can use our boards to make robots! There is an office in China, Taiwan (where everything is made) and in Romania. We ship all over the world, including companies such as Apple, NASA, Microsoft. Pretty neat stuff. Click to see the website: http://www.digilentinc.com/

I am on the end of my third week here and I just love it. I am responsible for processing the orders we receive online. I record them in QuickBooks, and print out shipping labels (I don't pack the boxes). It takes up the morning, and usually by 1 or 2 I've finished and can move onto filing or reading the news. I've been working on typing up my notes and organizing my own, personal desk! It's great. I have two computer screens, a window and a sweet desk. I also have my own email address and extension on the phone AND a name plaque on my desk. It's pretty official. I can listen to my music, have snacks, wear jeans & flip-flops...it's pretty amazing.

Everyone here is really nice, and I am now the fourth woman in the office. I think there are about 2 dozen people, including the interns from WSU, that work in the Pullman office. We ship everything out from here. But we do have some international distributors. I'm still now 100% how it all works, but I know what I do and I'm pretty good at it!

What's been great is that everyone has been nice and friendly, offering me food and advice, and wanting to help me when I ask questions. It's been great. I feel really good about this job, it's so great. The one downside is that now I have a commute (so grown-up!), and while it's only 15 minutes, I'm not looking forward to the winter...I've been checking for carpool info online and we are thinking we'll end up buying a commuter car for me in the next few months.

But other than that, it's great! I'm so happy! It's kind of a strange feeling to not dread going to work! I mean, I do sit all day and my wrists get a little bit tired by the end of the day, but I have a little drawer full of candy and snacks, and I can take it easy if I need. The reason I got this job is because Zak is an excellent job scouter--he sent me a ton of jobs he found on-line. I had kind of forgotten about this job, because I had done so many applications in a few weeks. But I came in, nailed the first interview, and was called back for a second one within three days. I got the job offer call twenty minutes later, just as I was heading into Moscow!

I'm still in my probation period, but no one has given me any reason to be worried. In fact, the girl whose job I now have didn't leave, they had to create a job for her; no one has left the company, really. A lot of people have been here since it started. So there is a great future in store for me here. I'm really happy to have this job, it just makes life so much better!