At 16, she graduated first in her high school class, went onto secretarial school, and finally worked as an executive secretary for a railroad company.
She did have to start that boring secretarial job in Nairobi, but luckily, it didn't last long because soon enough, she heard about the famous paleoanthropologist working nearby, Louis Leakey.
That would have been a great fit for her qualifications and experience, and it would have met her physical needs just fine, but secretarial work would have been a very weak outlet for expressing her core value of compassion.
Optimal Work Daily - Career, Productivity & Entrepreneurship
During the summer of 1998, Thomas was working an entry-level position in the IT department of a large London investment bank, his days filled with data entry and the occasional light secretarial work.
Offices were typically divided into large central areas, more like a factory floor, where the mainly female secretarial work was done, the typing of letters essentially.