Speaker 1 (00:09): Hey, what is up everybody? Isaac Care with Civil Engineering Academy, excited today, do a podcast with you. Thanks for listening and tuning in wherever you are catching this stuff. We appreciate you liking and sharing and all that good stuff. And just to pitch this out there, if anybody is interested in sponsoring our podcast, we are definitely taking openings for that. We're looking at sponsorship deals. So if that is of interest to you, please email me at [email protected]. We would love to have you on the show and get it blasted across all of our content. Got quite a few YouTube subscribers, our website and blog, as well as our podcast platform. So it's all good stuff. But today I'm gonna go on a solo episode. We're gonna talk about one of the biggest keys to helping you pass your FE or PE exam. And that is discovering your why. Now, when I was taking my own exams, I had to figure this out and I'm gonna lead with that as a story. But that is what we're gonna talk about today. It's just gonna be a solo episode. It's gonna be a quick one, but it's gonna be a good one. So thanks for sticking with me and we'll see you in a minute.

Speaker 1 (01:13): Alright, so let's dive in today's episode. And that is really discovering your why, which is real. The real secret to passing your FE and your PE exam. I, myself am a repeat taker of those exams. It's a big part why I started civil engineering academy in the first place because going through those exam experiences kinda sucked. And so I wanted to make it less psychy for the next person. And so that's why it was all started. But really passing your FE or your PE exam is not just about the test, it's really about the future that you're gonna be building for yourself and and really for your family as well. And so those are things that we need to consider. And so when people get down and I talk to quite a few students that are taking the FE or PE exam, we really have to go back and look at our why.

Speaker 1 (01:58): Why are you doing this? Why do you want to do this? And through all of those responses that I've had in talking with students, I've come up with a few of them and I wanna discuss them with you. And I don't know if this is just kind of a menu where you can choose what works for you. 'cause A lot of these are crossover with what you probably have in mind, but at least it will give you some ideas generated as to discovering your own why. And to continue moving forward. It wasn't until I discovered my own why, which was not only for just kind of the personal satisfaction of getting over the hump of passing the those exams I really wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. And not only that, but in the back of my mind, I knew I had to do this because it was gonna be a huge benefit to not only myself but our family.

Speaker 1 (02:43): So that was my why I discovered as I was repeating exams and it really helped with my attitude as I was preparing for them. And it will help with your attitude too. And attitude is like 80% of this exam, you're gonna go through the steps of studying, but when you actually walk into the doors to take the exam, we have to check our attitude. And that goes back to your why. And not only do we check our attitude, but you know what? Studying is harder than everyone thinks it's going to be. It just is. All of us have to put the pencil to paper. Eventually there is a huge grind behind the scenes that's happening. It could be late nights, it's early mornings. It's sacrificing time with your family, friends, kids. You could have doubts that are creeping in all the time and you're trying to figure out how to balance this work time, this study time and your own life.

Speaker 1 (03:32): And so the truth is that everybody kind of hits the wall, whether it's your first time taking it or your fifth time taking it, everyone kind of hits that wall and it's, it can be a struggle. So, you know, just know that studying is harder than you think it is and we really have to check our attitude. But when the why is strong, then that is how we keep moving on. Maybe that's a catchphrase, I don't know, but we have to discover our why. So let's get into some of these ideas about the power of knowing your why, because that's what's gonna keep you going through the tough times. Now the truth is, is that purpose actually fuels persistence. There's some scientific backing on this, but motivation is way stronger when we actually have an emotion that's tied to that personal goal. And so if we can tie our, you know, tie that Y to passing the FE or PE exam, then we're gonna be much more motivated to actually cross the finish line, get this thing done.

Speaker 1 (04:31): So that, that's important to know, right? That's we gotta discover our why. There's some science behind that. We're all human. But if you imagine that the exam is a mountain, if you find your why, that is your fuel. Alright, now let's dive into the common whys the engineers have shared with me. I wanna make sure we hit those. And I don't know if you wanna plug and chug with some of these. They probably resonate with you already or maybe you have some others. But the first one I can think of is the engineers want more career options. And by unlocking the F-E-R-P-E exam, it definitely gives you that it's gonna give you additional responsibilities, you're gonna have more opportunities for leadership roles, you're gonna be able to lead projects and have different design opportunities. So there's just a lot of extra responsibility that comes and that gets unlocked by earning your FENP exam exam and being able to stamp drawings.

Speaker 1 (05:24): So that is definitely a good reason why you want to pass your exams and that is that you want more career options and those definitely will be unlocked to you. Now the second one, which is kind of given for everybody, is that you simply wanna raise, you know that earning your PE license is gonna boost your career and typically you will see a boost, maybe not at the beginning very much, but over the lifespan of your career. If you have your license, you'll get paid way more than those that do not have their license because it does come with the added responsibility and more leadership opportunities. So a pay raise is definitely in your future and it is a good reason why you should get your pe. Now the third reason that comes up often is that people just wanna prove it to themself.

Speaker 1 (06:08): They want to know, you know, they've made it through college, they can get this exam done and many people have struggled or had to repeat the exam and they start questioning themselves of whether they can actually do this, whether engineering's even the right field for them. Why are they wanting to go through the pain of going through this exam? And so a lot of people do want to prove it to themselves. And at Civil Engineering Academy, we've interviewed people that have been in their sixties that have been able to pass the exam. They've wanted to just do it for themselves because they're at the tail end of their career. And then we've interviewed people all the way, you know, starting their journey. So it's a great why as to why you wanna do it. This one is probably one I fell into the category of.

Speaker 1 (06:47): I definitely wanted to prove it to myself. A lot of people do battle the imposter syndrome so they feel like, you know, maybe my workplace environment doesn't hone in on one specific discipline for the PE exam. And so they don't feel like, you know, as good of an engineer because they're not focused in one area. And that's, that's not the truth. So if you're lacking self-confidence and you wanna prove it to yourself that you can get this thing done, it's definitely a good reason why you wanna put all of those haters to rest and move on with your career. It is definitely a good reason why you wanna do it and it will fuel you to climb the mountain to pass. Now a fourth reason that I have seen students tell me is they actually want to inspire their kids. They want to be a great example to their kids of perseverance, of resilience, of setting a goal and of doing it and knowing that, you know, one day when the kids understand what you went through, they have a greater appreciation for what you did.

Speaker 1 (07:44): And all of us wanna be a good example to others. And this maybe not even applicable to your kids, but it could be to a friend or a brother or a sister or someone that's going through an engineering program or something. A lot of times I've interviewed people that have maybe engineering within their family and maybe none of 'em have gotten their PE but this, you know, they wanted to because they're the first ones to do it. So there's a lot of reasons there that are inspirational. You want to be an example. You want to inspire your kids, you wanna inspire a a friend, you wanna inspire a coworker. Us maybe it's a spouse. I don't know what it is, but a lot of people want to do this to inspire somebody. And kids is definitely a big one on the list.

Speaker 1 (08:23): So it's a good reason. If that's your reason to feel your why, then definitely check that into that one and see if that one works for you. Now the last reason I hear often as to folks why is that they are simply tired of being overlooked. And maybe you can relate to this, but a lot of times when promotions come up or projects come up, if you don't have your license, oftentimes you're overlooked and it almost feels like you're disappearing in the workplace, which isn't true because everyone's a valuable contributor to the work that's going on. But that's just how people internalize this, right? They feel like earning the PE commands respect. And it does, whether it's in meetings or working on a proposal or you're doing promotions, all of those things get tied into passing that exam. It's crazy. But if you are tired of being overlooked and I've known people that have been overlooked, some people just struggle with exam taking or whatnot.

Speaker 1 (09:19): Sometimes the attitude, you know, or you know, doesn't get checked and they just continue on in the work they're doing. 'cause They're saying the work I'm doing doesn't necessarily need it. And the truth is, like I've worked in the utility world and in the utility world it's always a preference to have a license, PE license, but it's actually not required because the utility owns the asset. And so how does somebody stay motivated to wanna do that? And if you don't do it and find this why you'll never move forward with with your career and options in front of you. I've also known people that say they get into drafting and they stick in that world, but they never earn their PE license because it's not really required. Maybe they aren't the stamping engineer, but they, they could be and they could be an awesome weapon when they could combine drafting skills with engineering, being able to stamp a drawing, but sometimes they just don't do it.

Speaker 1 (10:08): So if you're tired of being overlooked, okay, that is a great why to fuel the fire to get you this exam over with. And so those are the reasons I can come up with. If you have any others, I am curious your thoughts about that, please reach out to me or leave a comment below as to what your why is. But those are the six that I can think of right off the bat. And next I'm gonna talk about keeping this wire up in front of you and making sure it's always the focus as you study. Okay, so now that you've discovered your y how do you keep that thing front and center? So it's helpful to actually write the thing down. You know, if you know what your Y is, write it down, write it down in your study notes or your book that you're using for practice problems, whatever it is, it's helpful to write things down because it keeps it logged into our memory and we come back to it over and over again.

Speaker 1 (10:57): You could also tape it to your desk if you have a study spot that you always come back to tape that why right there as a constant reminder of why you're studying for your exam. Now another great one is we all carry around these devices in our pockets. You could actually make this thing as part of your phone lock screen or a wallpaper and always have it in front of you. Take a picture of your wife, it's your kids. I dunno what it is. Maybe it's your workplace. You wanna move on from that cubicle you're in. I don't know what it is. Take a fun picture. Take something that's always gonna remind you of your why. Maybe it's a fail. Maybe you failed once. You just want, you want a personal personal satisfaction, you can prove this to yourself. Take a picture that you know, let it fuel your fire and get it right in front of you all the time.

Speaker 1 (11:36): Another one is to get an accountability partner. So tell your friends about this, right? Tell your spouse about this. Maybe tell your boss about this. Tell 'em about what you're doing because when you hold yourself accountable and you tell other people, you're gonna feel more accountable to do it. A lot of people don't like that added pressure, but it is an option to do it. So, you know, keep your, keep yourself accountable. Tell other people about your goal. And that is a good way to keep your why front and center. So just remember that visual reminders aren't just cheesy, they are actually things that actually work. So put those things in front of you and you will reach your goal. Alright, let's go ahead and wrap this one up. Thank you for joining me today. Please, you know, message me, email me [email protected]. Let me know your why.

Speaker 1 (12:19): Leave comments below about your why. I want to hear why you're studying for your FE or PE exam. What's a motivation to you? Why are you doing this? And just remember, you know, as the going gets tough you're not just studying for a test, okay? You're actually building something for your future and your why is definitely worth it. So if you need help on that journey, definitely check us [email protected]. We can provide you with the resources to do that. And we are super encouraging, we got your back. So email me if you need additional help or resources. But with that, let's go ahead and close this up. Go discover your why and you're gonna ace this exam. We'll see you next time. Bye.