Prepineer Digest 002
FE Exam Prep Routine, difficult AIT problems and more!
With the holiday season among us, I am looking forward to taking a moment to slow down and breathe.
For us all, 2020 has been a year like no other. But despite the chaos, it hasn’t hampered me from looking forward to what 2021 will bring. There is a huge opportunity for us to make this coming year the best yet, so take a moment to reflect on what that vision is for you.
But as far as this season is concerned, I just want to kick back with the family, watch some movies (the classics) and enjoy the time we have to spend with one another – to be present right where I am at.
It’s easy for us engineers to want to be on the run all the time. We are passionate, highly driven and have aspirations of a better future for us and our families.
But if we don’t take time to slow down and reconnect with those that are most important to us, we can quickly burn out, lose focus and stall.
So this season I pray that you will take the opportunity to slow down, reflect on what you are grateful for and be there for your family – you deserve a break.
Enjoy the resources! 🙂
Justin Dickmeyer, PE
Founder, Prepineer
The goods
What’s featured in this weeks digest
In this Prepineer digest, we are diving deep in to some of the meta aspects of exam prep, inching you forward, one brick at a time, towards FE Exam success – here is the rundown:
- We start everything off discussing one of the most overlooked aspects of exam prep, but very well may be the aspect that makes or breaks your result: Routine and Cadence
- Need some reps in practice, we’ve got you covered, walking you through a practice problem in Fluid Mechanics: How do you find the Flow Rate in an expanding pipe?
- What about those new Alternative Item Type problems – most have questions, we have answers: Are the new AIT FE Exam problems going to be more difficult?
Click where you’d like to start, or check out each resource individually, whichever way you go, enjoy!
Quick tip
Routine and Cadence
Routine and cadence should be the backbone of any serious students success on the FE Exam.
Without routine, there is endless distraction and obstacles.
Without cadence, there is no progress.
Dialing in the details that lead to effective study sessions is much more manageable and useful when “showing up to put in the work” becomes habitual – period.
Being routine driven when it comes to personal goals creates a bubble of sorts that is a major contributor in whether or not you succeed. It lays out a smoother path to achievement reinforced with an ability to develop a cadence that is predictable in it’s production.
While many students desire and strive for this level of focus, we must always turn the coin over to examine the sacrifice that accompanies the reward.
One term I love to use when talking to my students about focus – as it relates to sacrifice – is “punting”.
Outside the bubble there is no shortage of things we would rather be doing than studying for an exam. I get it, everybody gets it, but in the grand scheme of things, the efforts needed today are nominal when set in the context of your career.
With that, we need to be vigilant in identifying these distractions and “punting” them temporarily to allow us to better our overall position as an engineer – as an individual.
As is the case for any football team, “punting” away the ball is never the ideal outcome of any possession, but the reality is, by doing so they are playing the odds that they will be bettering their position when they eventually do get that ball back.
This has to be our default mindset.
Rather than looking at our pursuit towards becoming licensed engineers on the micro (things we “have” to punt), we must consider them on the macro (things we “need” to punt).
With any major goal in life, it can be extremely challenging to navigate within the storm of distractions itself. Identifying those things we need to punt today will allow us to establish our focus (our bubble) and performing at a highly sustainable level becomes much more realistic.
Look, the thought of preparing for the FE Exam is enough for many to fold up while navigating in a world of “better things to do”. It’s far from a sexy pursuit and we are likely one of the few we know going after it.
But if we can just for a moment step outside our circumstances and recognize how romancing with these distractions are holding us back from making tangible progress for ourselves, we are more likely to accept the notion that punting things temporarily will allow us to enter a new bubble of routine that will manifest a cadence that will get us to the end of the road once and for all.
You got this.
Daily Dose
How do you find the Flow Rate in an expanding pipe?
Finding the flow rate of a liquid in a uniform diameter pipe is one thing – defining it at any point in a pipe that expands, welp, that’s a whole’nother beast.
In this video, we dive in to an FE Exam Practice Problem in the subject of FLUID MECHANICS, specifically revolving around the use of the CONTINUITY EQUATION as it relates to the FLOW RATE.
Enjoy! 🙂
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the new AIT FE Exam problems going to be more difficult?
Some know, many don’t, but no more are the days of an FE Exam filled with multiple choice questions. In fact, nowadays, you may see up to 5 different problems types, 4 of which are referred to as Alternative Item Type (AIT) problems.
The question is, are these AIT problems more difficult?
Let’s get in to it…
So that’s it for today, until next time we connect my friend, may God bless you and your family! 🙂
