During a meeting last week, I was asked what a typical day was like for me. It caught me off guard, like usual, so I tried to outline what I work on in a day. The explanation was jumbled and complex and left my audience asking more questions than answering them.
I was hired as a multimedia librarian/office services assistant for Scaled Composites, LLC. This was a new position they created, so no one really knew what to expect. When I was hired, it was explicitly said that I would be focusing more on the office services assistant side of my job title than I would the librarian portion.
Looking back, that statement was quite incorrect.
My initial tasks were to assess all assets, find a solution for organizing them, and implement that plan. Scaled's assets happen to be 28 years of collected papers, publications, drawings, photographs, and video tapes. Some items are labeled, some have been organized-but the organization system has long been forgotten, and much is waiting to be digitized and properly placed.
Aside from those main goals, I was to take over the task of video editor, book librarian, and camera check-out.
A few months into the job, I was asked to film a step in a fabrication process. From there it became nearly a daily task to monitor video cameras and cut the film down later to create a running progress video. Among the film processing and asset sorting, I was asked if I'd like to try my hand at some design work. This opportunity led to a few more small design projects, which I happily accepted, and helped flesh out a new role for myself. The requests for graphic design work and filming rolled in so much that my initial tasks of organizing the company's assets were pushed to the background. Despite not fulfilling the duties I was hired to perform, my peers and supervisors were happy with the work I was doing and encouraged me to stay on track.
It's nine months since I was hired and although several items have been accomplished, my growing list of things to do can be overwhelming. Now that a background of my job duties has been given, I'll attempt to describe a "typical" day in the office.
When I get in, I'll start working on video editing/sorting/filing, unless there is an item of immediate concern, which there usually is. An item of immediate concern tends to be either filming a flight/manufacturing process; formatting, printing, binding updated aviation checklists; labeling/sorting new images; scanning documentation for various reasons; writing/editing text for various documents; searching for new processes/hardware to catch up with documentation demands; editing/manipulating images/graphics for various projects; answering questions about various software; preparing for the next big thing.
Despite my best planning, my days are unpredictable. I can assure anyone that I will be either filming, editing, scanning, sorting, labeling, or designing at any given moment. I am responsible for Scaled's assets and am tasked with knowing where things are so I may make others' lives more efficient.
