Introductory Insecurities

Every Quality professional, every professional in general has their bumps and bruises from learning the ropes of their field. Some had it easier than others, and some had it worse. Sometimes we don't even realize that they're bumps and bruises until we've had enough time to think and look back. Which I think is often the best time. The thing I remember most about my first intro into the field of quality was my introduction into Quality Control.

I was three months out of college, shiny and new, a mind bursting for a challenge and an anxiety deep in my gut about facing the job market at the time. I got hired relatively quickly, and was introduced to a team of microbiologists in the food services industry. I learned quickly that most of our work was to be routine monitoring of the variety of products that was manufactured at the plant and ensured that they met each of our client's specifications. Simple, easy, and straight forward... or so I thought.

Two weeks go by and I am quickly moved to the second shift, covering 2-10pm. They told me that it would be the same work that I had been learning. So I walked in to my first day, my coworkers from first shift were finishing up and bid me farewell. I started my work, I let the clock run on, wondering just who was going to join me once everyone had gone. Five minutes passed, then ten, then twenty and I realized I was still by myself. Now that isn't to say I was alone in the building, there were still warehouse workers chugging away at making the goods.

However... I was the only one in the lab. I looked out and about the windows into the other labs (our chemistry and R&D labs) to see if there was anyone else. However, everyone on the other side of the glass had left for the day. My main worry was that if I ran into a problem I couldn't work my way out of I would be stuck and I wouldn't know what to do or who to go to. Because not only did my supervisor from my training period not give me the point of contact for Second Shift, but she didn't tell me who else I could go to that was a in a position of authority.

I began to panic. My mind racing as I tried to continue my work; now doubly worried that I would mess up at some point so catastrophically that I would never recover. I hurried about my work and was extraordinarily careful with everything I did. In the moments that I had to spare I did look about the lab and office space to determine if there was anything that might help me or at the very least point me in the right direction. No such luck. I thought about asking someone from the warehouse about any supervisors on the line, the issue was: they spoke primarily spanish, and I hadn't spoken a lick of spanish since high school. These worries and fears swirled all throughout my head as the hours slowly ticked by.

By the time 10pm rolled around: the world had not burned down, the work was finished (or as much as it could be as it was never fully done), and I was going home. I got in my car and looked out at the parking lot, there were still quite a few cars at the time since the warehouse shift didn't get out until later. It was then that I realized... maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought. I had done my work the way I had been taught, nothing blew up, nobody had to come save me. I made it through! Which was a major relief, but I made a promise to myself to ask the supervisor before she left the next day who I could contact if I actually got into trouble.

That was the first of many nights where I had to figure stuff out on my own, or at the very least battle my insecurities when faced with the unknown. However, it was the first step. Not just in learning the ropes, but in building my confidence and growing into the professional I was going to be.