"Learn Something New Every Day"
"Hello, and welcome to the podcast..."
When I began pursuing a degree in advertising, I quickly assumed I'd be seeking a future in creative. Years later, I understand what brought me to research and strategy: the desire to learn weird, new things.
One night in my Sophomore year of high school, I was desperately searching for a quick and painless way to study for AP World History. Somehow, I came across Stuff You Missed In History Class, one of several podcasts produced by HowStuffWorks.com. With episode titles like "Caligula Disentangled" and "Was There Really a Pied Piper of Hamelin?," I quickly became addicted to the show's unique perspective on lesser-known historic events. Long before Serial, SYMIHC gave me a weekly dose of real-life juicy mysteries. I was hooked.
Eventually, I requested an episode to go further in depth on a ghost story I'd read of. To my surprise, the hosts quickly replied, and the episode came merely a few weeks later. I felt like a rock star, and wanted no other future than to work at HowStuffWorks.com as a staff writer, where I'd rapidly ascend through the ranks to become a podcast host.
Later that year, a group of scientists, engineers, and IT experts came to my school to present on working in the sciences.
At the start of the presentation, they asked every student to write on a slip of paper what their dream job would be.
The presenter collected our slips, and to my complete horror, read my entry aloud to the class: "Staff writer at How Stuff Works..." he looked around, amused, "who wrote that? Would the person who wrote this like to tell us what it is?"
Cracking a nervous smile, I raised my hand. "Basically, they write articles on weird, random things for people to read. Every day, they ask you to write an article on something new, so you're always learning new things."
The presenter liked my answer so much that he gave me a giant glass beaker, which I immediately took home so that I could pour cherry Kool-Aid inside and drink out of it like Young Frankenstein.
Seven years after this incident, I hold true to my dream job. Though I may not be seeking a writing position at How Stuff Works, I'm seeking a job that continually provides new knowledge.
The greatest part about consumer research is that it's always building upon itself.
Most insights transfer well between clients, and I think of this as adding tools to a tool box. While findings can often seem obvious or dry, they build revealing and fascinating pictures of real people and their motivations, just as Stuff You Missed In History Class creates an engaging narrative by looking deeper at moments in time.