NR: My job title is Accounting Supervisor. I’m responsible for all the money that comes into and goes out of the zoo.

WPZ: What’s your educational background?

NR: I have a degree in Biology. I started out as an Accounting major but switched halfway through because the classes were too boring! But ever since I graduated, all my jobs have been in accounting.

WPZ: What was your first job?

NR: I had paper routes and lawn mowing jobs, but my first real job was at McDonald’s.

WPZ: What’s the best part of your job?

NR: I like knowing what’s going on with the zoo. I feel really connected with the different animal projects because my section gets to write the checks for them. I’m at the center of the information highway.

WPZ: What are the biggest challenges of your job?

NR: Having to pay attention to every tiny detail. One wrong code can mess everything up. You have to focus on what would be a trivial matter to most people.

WPZ: What skills are necessary for a job like yours?

NR: A comfort level with math. You can’t be scared of numbers and do what I’m doing. You don’t have to be trigonometry king, but you do have to be comfortable with math. Also, it helps if you love to do puzzles. You change the job into a big puzzle. When you get a right answer, you get a big rush like when you’ve solved one. Finally, for the level of detail this job takes, it helps a lot to care about what your company is doing. It would be easy to get jaded and let errors pile up. But if you really care about your company, you don’t let that happen. That’s why the zoo is the perfect place for me.