The More You Know

No matter how many times I work an NC State basketball game or a Carolina Hurricanes game, I learn something new about the sound board that the arena has. The fact that they just installed it about 3 months ago helps with the learning curve. Everyone has to catch up on the new technology this beautiful piece of equipment has to offer. I'm not going to go into detail about all the bells and whistles it has but, we all come in a little early before a game to make sure we have our responsibilities down. When it comes to making sure everything goes off without any mistakes (live broadcasting can be brutal).

When it comes to learning how to operate anything in your line of work, having an idea of the basic operation is key, but what about the extra stuff (where's the volume knob)? Manuals are not paperweights, they actually have pretty good information in them that can teach you more than you think you already know.

Continuing to brush up on your job skills and performance will help you win that battle you have with the new gear. It can make you look good to the boss, and outshine everyone that hasn't caught on to how you got the internal Rupert Neve compressor to kick in (I love showing off).

What I love about where I work is our attire is as casual as can be (did you see the camera man wearing shorts on the court of a basketball game). Since I'm stuck in a booth, the only thing that's important is how well you hear the announcer say "MAKE SOME NOISE". Not everyone has this luxury so, dress for the part you have been hired for. Be sure you come to work on time. Getting to work a little early never hurts either. This gives you time to grab that paper weight, oh sorry, manual and start finding out what every feature on your new gizmo does (in my world, my gizmo is a Yamaha QL5 Digital Mixer, sweet).

Without continuing to do your job, your plan to move up the ladder will come to a complete stop. Being stagnant is easy, but rising to the top is a far better travel plan. Stay focused, learn everything, and keep your progress moving full speed ahead.