[PD017] FE Exam success, the EIT title, finding fluid velocity and hobbies

Prepineer Digest 017

FE Exam success, the EIT title, finding fluid velocity and hobbies

We have all heard that saying “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”

Let’s be real though, when it comes down to passing the FE Exam – it’s both.

You need to know more about the discipline of engineering than you get from watching the Myth Busters…you need to bring something to the table.

This isn’t first grade where you get a gold star just for showing up.

We all know, there are plenty of brilliant failures out there. People who are incredibly smart, near genius, but incredibly dumb about surrounding themselves with people that can help them achieve their ultimate goals.

No one builds a successful career, nor do they pass the FE Exam, going at it alone.

It never fails, the most successful engineers (heck individuals) have an ecosystem of individuals around them. People who not only understand their deepest desires, but buy in to those desires in an effort to facilitate avenues of growth through personal support.

And I am not just referring to educational support, I am talking about friends, family, mentors, coaches, from all different walks of life rallying around to bear in the burdens and steer us towards becoming the best version of us we can be.

These ecosystems are real, they are powerful, but they don’t formulate through osmosis – there is one key precursor to any of this happening in your own life…

Belief in yourself and acceptance that you are worthy of all the goals you desire.

Because you are.

It’s from this point that your ecosystem of support can blossom, weak areas reinforced and a revived sense of drive will manifest.

People love an underdog story, even more, they love to be part of that story. The only thing we need to do is practice humility, overflow with gratitude and open up our lives to the serendipitous relationships that comes through vulnerability.

You deserve it.

Justin Dickmeyer, PE
Founder, Prepineer

Quick tip

Just breathe

Let’s be real, as engineers, society would generally tag us as high achievers.

Whether or not we accept that label doesn’t matter, you and I both know that you put a lot of pride in to what you do for a living.

But you are tired.

Maybe even feel like you are spinning your wheels, a bit discouraged about how everything has been going for you personally.

Look, we all have been going hard for years.

From high school through college, we pinned our ears back and got after it. From differential equations to senior projects, we have been challenging our mind at it’s limit for years.

And that’s only on the macro.

On the micro, we wake each day after hitting snooze more than we should, only to waddle to the coffee maker to inject a quick dose of caffeine to feel alive.

We make the dreaded commute in to work, get overworked and return home beat – only to wake and do it all again that next day.

Right now, we are living for the weekend – where we finally take a moment to rest.

Our bodies were never designed to be in this constant state of stress, and to think that we would be able to operate at this rate without the negative consequences eventually catching up to us is at best naive and at worse idiotic.

I am writing this as much to myself as I am to you right now.

Look, I get that when you are driven to succeed, slowing down to ‘check under the hood’ is something that seems near impossible.

I created Prepineer over a decade ago and as I reflect on the journey, there were many times when my body should have just shut down on me (and in fact, it nearly did a few times).

But for me, it doesn’t just go back a decade, but a decade before that and another before that.

Whether it was sports or college, I have always been one to set a goal and get at it without much thought to anything other than achieving that which I set out to do.

And I am sure you are much of the same.

But just as we would make sure that our car was in good shape before we went on a road trip, we need to be consistently investing in our own self-care to ensure that we are not only going to make the journey but that we can do so in a way that won’t drive us in to the ground.

There are a number of areas we can address when it comes to our overall well-being, including nutrition and socializing, but one thing I want to encourage you to assess is the current nature of your hobbies.

Looking back over the years, hobbies were always part of my life as I drove towards my goals – and what I didn’t realize then, is that they played a major part in my ability to sustainably operate at a high level.

But as I got in to the corporate world, got married and started a family, those hobbies slowly started to fade and be replaced with more grunt in to my professional life.

It was years down this road that I realized I was tired and worn out and didn’t have the wisdom to see where I had gone wrong, so I continued to push.

Though as I invested more and more of my energy in to my work and less and less in to my hobbies outside of work, my collective energy just wasn’t being replenished.

And I crashed.

These days I invest just as much energy to ensuring that I am keeping up on things outside of work as I am in during work.

I am often in the mountains snowboarding, I mountain bike, fish, workout and just get outside as much as I can.

After years of fighting a losing battle, I now understand just how important it is to free my mind of the tension and recharge my mental energy so that I can take care of and invest back in to each one of the students I coach.

I work with more clarity and focus.

I am more creative and flexible with what life throws at me.

I am much more efficient with my time.

All of which ultimately leads to improved quality of your work and quality of your life.

Today, I challenge you to reflect on where you are today, how’s your energy, your psyche?

Are you living a life inspired or are you tired and overwhelmed?

Don’t judge yourself if you are feeling the latter, recognize it, accept it and take action to correct it.

Think about those things you have loved (or used to) outside of work over the years and see that you get something in that realm reestablished. Do something that inspires you and reinvigorates your passion for living each day out to it’s fullest.

As high achievers, it’s hard to slow down and make time for something that doesn’t tangibly move us closer to our goals. But investing time in to a hobby will not only enrich our lives personally, but allow us to be much more effective in what we are able to give back to the world.

That will make a tangible difference.

You got this.

As always, with love, Prepineer

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I put EIT after my name now?

There are number of benefits that come with passing the FE Exam.

For some, it’s security knowing that they will keep their job.

For others, it’s an open door to marketing themselves outside to better opportunities.

But one silent benefit, though one I know many yearn for, is that of respect.

Let’s be real, for some reason, our society puts a lot of weight on the amount of acronyms you have after your name or your professional title.

So with that, let’s talk acronyms…

Get The Answer

Student Success

Olivier Brouard, PE

We close this Prepineer Digest out with a student success spotlight on Olivier Brouard.

A one-time architect turned Professional Engineer, Olivier definitely went through the ringer when it came to passing the FE Exam, heck, even finding out about the exam.

We love success stories, and this one will show you just how much is possible if you can just believe that it’s possible from the start.

Hear the Story