Before becoming a Jeopardy! champion and host, Ken Jennings worked as a software engineer for a Salt Lake City health care staffing company. He auditioned for Jeopardy! in 2003 and appeared on the show in June 2004, where he won 74 games and $2.52 million, both American game show records. During his winning streak, he became a 2004 TV folk hero and appeared as a guest on various TV shows. Jennings has also written several books, including "Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs" about his time on Jeopardy! . In addition to his Jeopardy! duties, Jennings has appeared as an expert on another game show called "The Chase". In July 2022, it was announced that Jennings, along with Mayim Bialik, would split hosting duties full-time beginning with the shows 39th season.