Carpe diem! Amy Schneider is parlaying her historic Jeopardy! run into a new career! The 42-year-old former contestant revealed she has ditched her day job as a software engineer to begin the next stage in her life as a “public figure.” “Some of you may have heard, but I quit my day job yesterday!” she shared via Twitter on Tuesday (January 8). “It’s a bit nerve-wracking to pivot from software engineer to… public figure, I guess? But regardless of the outcome I’m so excited to spend the next couple years at least tackling this new challenge!”
During her time competing on the beloved game show, Amy became the highest winning woman in Jeopardy! history with a pot of $1,382,800. Her 40-game streak — second only to Ken Jennings and his 74-game record — came to an end on January 27, when she was defeated by Rhone Talsma. Amy is also the first transgender contestant to compete on Jeopardy!‘s Tournament of Champions.
Amy also gave fans a little tease recently about what could be in store for her future as a public figure. “One thing is I’m going to be working on trying to write a book,” she said during an interview with GLAAD on Jan. 27. “My agent — which still feels like such a weird thing to say — really wants to get moving on that real quick while the publicity is out there. That’s what I know for sure.” As for hosting Jeopardy! herself, Amy explained, “If somebody was to call and ask me to try out for it or whatever, I wouldn’t say no. That would definitely be something I’d be willing to explore.”
Some of you may have heard, but I quit my day job yesterday! It's a bit nerve-wracking to pivot from software engineer to… public figure, I guess? But regardless of the outcome I'm so excited to spend the next couple years at least tackling this new challenge!
— Amy Schneider (@Jeopardamy) February 8, 2022
Meanwhile, The Big Bang Theory alum and Jeopardy! host Mayim Bialik paid tribute to Amy for her historic Jeopardy! run during an exclusive interview with HollywoodLife. “She’s a really, really powerful figure. And I think it’s also so important to point out that, I consider Jeopardy! a nonpartisan, non-political place. It’s a place where people want to tune in to be entertained by people in tremendous intellect. And Amy did that. Representation matters in the culture that we live in,” she said.