Prepineer Digest 012
FE Exam Success, getting started, the Other Disciplines and finding current
If you woke up today dreading the thought of going in to work, let me first say – ugh, I’m sorry. That’s not a feeling anyone of us want to live with.
But let me also say this.
You may think that the issue is with your boss, or your current roll or the bureaucracy that seems to control the movement within your company – but most often, these aren’t the issues at all, they are the symptoms.
Often times when we are going day to day uninspired, it’s likely that we are operating without clarity on where we are heading.
We have no vision or ultimate purpose that is defining the actions we are taking each and every day, and because of this, we allow the symptoms of being unfulfilled define our circumstances.
What if it didn’t have to be this way?
What if you could wake up each day pumped to get at it, feeling like you are the most capable engineer in your office?
You can.
All it takes is a going back to how it used to be.
Take a moment and think back to when you were in college.
You had a goal that you had set out to achieve (get a degree) and you went in to each day with clarity that gave you sense of purpose to drive forward regardless of what happened at any one moment.
Yes, there were challenges.
Yes, you had down days – maybe even wanted to quit at one point.
But overall, you were clear on where you were headed, and with that, you were able to operate with a strong sense of drive to see it through.
For some reason, when we step in to the real world post-academia, we tend to transfer our purpose (and fulfillment) from ourselves to our employers.
We look to them as the providers of happiness, but then reality sets in, and we see that this is far from the case.
Look, I am not saying that employers are bad people – what I am saying is that your purpose, your goals, your pursuits, your ultimate fulfillment lies with you.
No matter where you are today, ask yourself, honestly, are relying on someone else to provide you those things you feel you deserve – or are you pursuing your goals on your own accord?
You really can be the most capable engineer in your office.
You really can stop dreading the morning commutes for good.
I am here to help make this a reality in your own life!
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 more important components of exam prep, inching you forward, one brick at a time, towards success on the FE Exam – here is the rundown:
- We start off talking about how being a bit “shallow” can actually be of benefit: Shallow Starts
- Need some reps in practice, we’ve got you covered, walking you through a practice problem in Electrical Circuits: How do you find the Electrical Current in a branch of a Circuit?
- Should you take the Other Disciplines Exam? We dive in to what you should consider before moving forward: Should I take the Other Disciplines Exam?
- Most question their ability to even pass the FE Exam. And if they try and fail, that questioning becomes even louder – Ashley was down and out, but she silenced the chaos and leaned in: A Prepineer Success: The inspirational story of Ashley Sullivan, PE
Click where you’d like to start, or check out each resource individually, whichever way you go, enjoy!
Quick tip
Shallow Starts
I’ll admit, I originally had no interest in becoming an engineer.
Heck, I didn’t have much interest in doing anything other than playing football coming out of high school.
For me, it all started when I went through one of those high school career day assessments that concluded that my desires best aligned with that of an engineer.
When the lady told me this, I asked her – “Do they make a lot of money?”
Look, I get how shallow of a question this is, but when you are a 17 year old small town boy about to be one of the first in the family to go off to college and get a degree, this question is important.
I grew up swinging shovels and picks, knocking almond trees with a rubber mallet and sweating it out in 110 degree weather from dawn to dusk…I was running down the road of the family tradition of farming the land.
This was all good, but as a recruited athlete coming out of school, I was now told that I needed to study something if I was to continue playing sports.
I knew I liked Math, and wasn’t the biggest fan of English.
I knew I liked to doodle, and not so much read.
That’s just where I was at that time in my life…I didn’t know much, and that’s the point here.
Sometimes, our greatest growth happens when we just go for it.
We might have questions – maybe a lot.
Some will be important, others will be superficial (or excuses), and that’s OK.
The only thing we need to do at the onset is commit to the path, rest easy with the uncertainty, and just let it ride out.
I still farm today, I still slang them shovels and fortunately technology has advanced so I don’t have to swing those rubber mallets at the trunks of trees. I love the simple life.
But I also love what engineering has become to me. I love the opportunities for advancement, the opportunities to serve, to guide, lead…these times have been special.
And looking back, who’d know that it’ll all start from a need to do something I had never planned on doing in the first place.
I guess that’s the beautiful nature of how life tends to play out.
Maybe this is where you are today. Maybe you never felt like you needed to take the FE Exam, or even wanted to, but you are sensing a need to get it done.
Knowing everything about what the journey entails isn’t what is important, right now.
What is, is that you take that first step in the direction and let the rest play out as it will.
You got this!
Daily Dose
How do you find the current in an electrical circuit?
I’ll admit, one of my biggest obstacles in adopting the Other Disciplines strategy was seeing Electrical Circuits on the specifications.
As a Mechanical background, working with Electricity felt akin to trying to handwrite a letter with my left hand – but the reality was, I, as well as anyone else, can get “dangerous enough” to perform well in any subject.
In this video, we jump in to a problem that is covered in the subject of ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS, specifically, working on determining the CURRENT in a SINGLE BRANCH within complex CIRCUIT.
Enjoy! 🙂
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I take the Other Disciplines Exam?
There’s only one goal when it comes to taking the FE Exam – Passing it.
At Prepineer, we have found a certain “outside the box” strategy may not only make a lot of sense – it could make the most sense for anyone pursuing this exam.
Let’s get in to this strategy and what you should be considering before moving forward:
Student Success
Ashley Sullivan, PE
Most struggle preparing for the FE Exam and the frustrations intensify as the responsibilities ramp up post graduation – family, job, social life, etc – and even more so after a failed go.
It leaves many wishing they would have just got it done it earlier.
At Prepineer, we put in to place a framework that combines both coaching and accountability to eliminate those frustrations and ensure that you are ready to go come exam day.
Ashley was here, roughed up following her past failures, but at the end of the day, she never gave up hope and joined Prepineer.
With clarity and confidence, she conquered the FE Exam, today we dive in to her story:
Until we meet again my friend, may God bless you and your family! 🙂
