How to be an expert engineer
Dream Big but Start Small
When I had started my career, I was very hyped up about becoming the most knowledgeable engineer
Then I realized, becoming an overnight expert is a myth.
We can be the tony stark of our field only if we keep up our “student” attitude towards learning and realize that this is a gradual process.
Initially I made the mistake of taking too much to learn at a time, which leads to burn out and a feeling of despair that we will never be good enough.
Human nature wants quick results!
However, I would love to share a strategy that I have implemented in my own life called “Golden Egg Principle”
When I had started my career, I was very hyped up about becoming the most knowledgeable engineer
Then I realized, becoming an overnight expert is a myth.
We can be the tony stark of our field only if we keep up our “student” attitude towards learning and realize that this is a gradual process.
Initially I made the mistake of taking too much to learn at a time, which leads to burn out and a feeling of despair that we will never be good enough.
Human nature wants quick results!
However, I would love to share a strategy that I have implemented in my own life called “Golden Egg Principle”
Golden Egg Principle
Do you remember the story of the Farmer who had a magical hen which would give golden eggs?
The farmer was too hasty and wanted to become rich too quickly, so he decides instead of getting just one egg per day why not slaughter the hen and get all the eggs at once. Thus, he got nothing.
This story sounds silly but even we make such mistakes in our career and life in general.
We are hyped up about a single certification course that would uplift our career to new heights, but we never give due importance to the commitment to “learn one new thing every day no matter what”.
Imagine learning one new thing each day is like getting one golden egg per day.
This might not seem significant at first but imagine what if we keep up with this consistent routine for days and months.
We would learn 365 new things in a year, and as we know knowledge compounds!
Now imagine what you could achieve if you keep up with this routine for a decade!
And anyways time keeps passing so why not make the most of it.
The farmer was too hasty and wanted to become rich too quickly, so he decides instead of getting just one egg per day why not slaughter the hen and get all the eggs at once. Thus, he got nothing.
This story sounds silly but even we make such mistakes in our career and life in general.
We are hyped up about a single certification course that would uplift our career to new heights, but we never give due importance to the commitment to “learn one new thing every day no matter what”.
Imagine learning one new thing each day is like getting one golden egg per day.
This might not seem significant at first but imagine what if we keep up with this consistent routine for days and months.
We would learn 365 new things in a year, and as we know knowledge compounds!
Now imagine what you could achieve if you keep up with this routine for a decade!
And anyways time keeps passing so why not make the most of it.
Taking too much at a time
You are not alone even I have made this mistake multiple times.
All top engineer that I met told me to study the engineering standards and thus I was determined to study them.
I had heard that API RP 551 is very informative standard for field instrumentation, and I made a commitment to learn the entire standard word by word.
Soon I got burnt out and realized that starting with a 200+ page standard might not be a good idea to start learning.
Thus, I modified my goal and started with PIP standards that are simple and brief.
And now once I have built momentum and a habit to study standards, now API RP 551 standard no more seems intimidating to me.
With all due love and respect, I encourage you to embark on this journey of learning Instrumentation PIP standards.
Below is an E-book that explains this standard in completely new fashion.
It has been downloaded 1000+ times and engineers from the likes of companies like Shell, Chevron, Worley, Technip, Emerson etc have found it valuable and interesting.
All top engineer that I met told me to study the engineering standards and thus I was determined to study them.
I had heard that API RP 551 is very informative standard for field instrumentation, and I made a commitment to learn the entire standard word by word.
Soon I got burnt out and realized that starting with a 200+ page standard might not be a good idea to start learning.
Thus, I modified my goal and started with PIP standards that are simple and brief.
And now once I have built momentum and a habit to study standards, now API RP 551 standard no more seems intimidating to me.
With all due love and respect, I encourage you to embark on this journey of learning Instrumentation PIP standards.
Below is an E-book that explains this standard in completely new fashion.
It has been downloaded 1000+ times and engineers from the likes of companies like Shell, Chevron, Worley, Technip, Emerson etc have found it valuable and interesting.
