Stepping Stones to Success – One Fire Alarm at a Time

I have worked at the BYU Electric Shop with the Fire Alarm Crew for about a year and a half. The Fire Alarm Crew is required to test and maintain fire alarm equipment throughout all of BYU campus. That includes all smoke detectors, heat detectors, hand-pull stations, notification devices, and more. Entering the job, I felt like I had no knowledge about Fire Alarms, but I’ve learned a lot since then, and not just about Fire Alarms.

Take time to be extra neat and organized

It’s a pain not to be able to find something when you need it. Now, I mean this in a few different ways:

First, keeping a workspace clean is key. Having a place for everything and everything in its place can really help limit time in finding the right tool at the right time instead of having to search for it. Now, where I work, there are two computer spaces shared between six students, so it is vital to be organized so everyone knows where everything is. It’s a pain not to be able to find something when you need it. With your own space, sometimes it works to have a little organized chaos. 

Second, in circuits, frayed or stray wires can cause short circuits or ground faults. Generally when this happens, some of the alarms will not go off or it could cause the light or sound to go off inconsistently which could be problematic for someone with a medical condition like epilepsy. Definitely problematic. When stripping wires, keeping the cut clean and pulling wire carefully can help avoid days of trying to find and fix a tiny issue causing a major problem. If you don’t take time to do something right the first time, you will likely spend a lot more time fixing it later. 

Think Ahead 

Sometimes we have certain deadlines or tasks placed on us. Other times, we make our own plans. Planning and making a schedule will help you to stay on task and be more focused and efficient in accomplishing those goals in a timely manner. Take time to make a plan and periodically review it and your progress. 

As stated before, the Fire Alarm Crew is required to test and maintain fire alarm equipment throughout all of BYU campus. There are probably over half a million devices to maintain. Additionally, we update prints for buildings for all fire alarm – related devices. That can seem like a daunting task. Thankfully we keep track of what has been done in an excel spreadsheet and review it daily to know what needs to be done. This not only helps us know what we need to do that day or that week, but for the entire year. Additionally, the consistent updating helps not only us, but others who will come after us. 

Take Initiative and Be All In 

Often, the place you are at right now is not ultimately where you want to be. But there is a lot to learn from where you are, even if you can’t see it at first. Confucius once said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” It may be hard to see how a job at a fast-food restaurant could possibly help you at your big dream job, but the habits you develop there will carry over. If you take initiative and do your best, no matter what the job is, it will benefit you. Be all in. Show that even if washing dishes isn’t your favorite thing in the world, you still want to be a great worker. Others will see that and take notice, especially supervisors, and they will know they can trust you. 

Be willing to let others learn

Have you ever been part of a team and just thought, ‘I could do this project faster and better if I just did it on my own?’. I know I have. And there have been times when I do practically do the entire project on my own. Sometimes that’s fine. But most of the time, that is likely pride and impatience talking. Yes, maybe you could do it better or faster, but that isn’t always the point. Sometimes others need an opportunity to do it – to learn so they can do it on their own. 

When the COVID- 19 pandemic hit, some of our coworkers left and we had a lot of new people come join. There were only two of us who had been there for over a year and we were each tasked to teach the other students. At first I thought, “They probably won’t be here very long, they don’t really need to know all the details. It will be more efficient if I just do all this stuff.” But my supervisor soon realized that the new students didn’t know what we were supposed to have taught them and told us to go teach them. It wasn’t the most pleasant experience being told that, but it was an important lesson to learn. I wouldn’t have gotten to where I was without someone letting me learn, so I should provide the same opportunity to them. 

Even though I know I won’t work forever at the BYU Electric Shop, I am grateful for what I have learned there so far. It is a great stepping stone for where I want to be as a mechanical engineer. Your current job may not teach you all the necessary skills you need for your dream job, but I hope that you can reflect on where you are at, what you can learn, and where you will let that take you one day as well.