by Daniel Dahlinger
Hey y’all. It’s been a minute! The past two weeks, I’ve been able to record and upload two new episodes of the podcast (45 and 46) which was super exciting. I have a lot of fun recording the episodes, and all the editing, posting, and sharing that comes along with that process. No podcast this week but there were some other developments.
I’m Taking the P.E. Exam
I’ve been on the fence about getting my P.E. license ever since I graduated from college. I’m the kind of person that wants to finish everything he starts, so I’ve always viewed taking the P.E. exam as the culmination of all the hard work I did to get my degree, pass the F.E. and work as an engineer, but the reality is that I don’t necessarily need a P.E. for the career path that I’ve taken. That being said, it’s always stuck in the back of my mind as something that I wanted to do, if I could. So here I go. Wish me luck!
I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to take a prep course for the P.E. Exam, and have started the process of studying for the exam with a targeted exam date of March 2024. I’ll make sure to update all of you on how that process is going in the intro bit of my podcast, and I’m also considering doing some other short form content to chronicle my process. Maybe a short every day? Not sure. If you have an idea on how I could vlog the process, please let me know! I’m open to all kinds of ideas.
I Was a Guest on A Podcast
I was approached by Dennis Doran, host of the Soft as Steel Podcast, to appear on his podcast, and we recorded an episode last Friday. I had an absolute blast and Dennis and his team are absolute professionals. Seriously… the production level they have is at a level that I can only aspire to… Maybe once the podcast starts generating revenue I can take the step up to professional podcast producing, but for the time being I still don’t even have my LLC yet and we’re netting negative dollars when it comes to keeping this thing running, so I’ll keep on running this show the way I know how (indie, cheaply, and all by myself!)
Enough of me complimenting Dennis – why was I a guest on his podcast? Well the podcast touches on many topics in the realm of soft skills, specifically related to working in the Construction industry. I’m proud to work for the largest merit shop contractor in the U.S., and to have just come off a field assignment… so I know a little bit about construction and what it’s like working out in the field (trailers). Dennis asked me some insightful questions about leadership, the construction industry in general, and about what will draw young people to working in the construction industry. He also gave me ZERO preview of the questions, so he got some rambling answers from me, but altogether some honest, raw, content that really showcased my personal opinion on the industry as a whole. Once my episode goes live, you’ll have to listen to it, and I’ll make sure to update this article with a link to the interview, but in the meantime, make sure to check Dennis out and listen to his weekly episodes here:
The Press Tour Continues: I Have a Speaking Engagement
In college I had the opportunity to be involved in multiple clubs and organizations, but one that was particularly relevant to my career was my chapter of ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers). One of my roles was Professional Development Chair, and coincidentally I’ve been approached by the current Chair to give a talk on a topic of my choosing. I’m going to be talking to them about what it’s like to work in engineering consulting and for an EPC firm, and sharing my experience and career growth that I have had in non-design engineering roles. I’m particularly passionate about networking and personal development, and I hope that the students take my words to heart and learn something from what I have to say. That’s in a couple of weeks, and I’ll make sure to update you on how that went once I’ve had the chance to speak with them.
Anyways, thanks for reading this. It’s more of a personal update than anything else, but now you know what’s going on!
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