By trade, and education, Marissa Mayer is an engineer. She was employee number 20 at Google and their first female engineer back in 1998. As she grew with the company she helped invent things that we use, and take for granted everyday. Mayer’s name is found on several Google patens for technology still in use, and some still be developed today.

Last week many tech sites seemed to be up in arms over the fact that Mayer may have been a major influence in the design of Google’s recently introduced, driver-less car.

As Yahoo’s CEO Mayer has had her hands full turning the company around. She’s revamped several departments, shift product focus in many areas and committed the company to being a strength in both mobile and media. While that may seem like enough to keep anyone’s hands full, especially a relatively new mother, she still has time to help invent things.

According to SFGate.com, Mayer has received a $2,250 bonus as part of Yahoo’s Invention Recognition Program. A recent SEC filing stated that Mayer received that $2250 (yes two thousand five hundred fifty dollar) bonus for 2 different inventions. SFGate reports that Mayer’s name appears on two patents that haven’t been revealed to the public yet.

Typically employees are not rewarded for inventions that they come up with during company time and for the company. That trend seems to be fading though, as more and more companies are trying to find ways to entice their employees into staying with the company and recognition for inventions is one of them.

Most employee agreements and employment contracts include a clause of some kind that says that the invention is automatically the property of the company.” Employee agrees to and does hereby grant and assign to Company or its nominee his entire right, title and interest in and to ideas, inventions and improvement.” is an example of such a clause.

There really is no telling what the inventions may be until the entire patent is made public. Yahoo is believed to be working on a YouTube competitor that could release as early as this summer. Mayer has also been working hard on building out and fixing Yahoo’s mobile apps. She also introduced a new media program headed by former New York Times columnist David Pogue, which also included adding Katie Couric to the Yahoo line up.