Backgrounder: Recent developments brought me to edit and republish my article on similar topic which was posted in this blogsite some time last year.
THE NEW WAVE OF PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS
By DOODS AMORA, PEE 1821
We have just been through with the April 2007 PEE Board exams… As we recall, we started this advocacy in Y2003 when I urged every promising REE to take the PEE licensure. Then we started with several hopefuls, but in the end -- only a few survived. ..
Although the candidates logged in their belts some 10, 15 years or more in actual experience of the profession, it took a series of training regimens in two years time to build-up enough confidence for the first five REE’s to venture out of the comfort of their shells and set sail through an open ocean - eventually ending up submitting themselves to the grueling PEE exams.
As of today, we have covered three (3) batches of eventful successes. To recall, in the September 2005 exams, five out five, then followed by two out of two in September 2006 and lately, three out of three REE’s in April 2007, a total of ten - all took the exams and successfully passed the PEE Licensure! The ten (10) New Wave PEE’s as we call them - 100%, no more, no less…!
THE SCENES BEHIND
The glorious trumpets were deafening - each note reverberating sweet tunes. But behind those exploits were unspoken but open secret tales of dedication, perseverance, even embarrassments…
Looking back at the very first rung of the ladder, we found ourselves groping in the dark how it is to become a PEE the RA7920 way. Then we realized that the molding of an REE to fit as PEE has to be in a ‘total change in personality’ approach; meaning - bearing competencies transcending not only in technical designing, but also from planning to project execution, from basic communications skills to effective lecturing, from system operation to plant management and more importantly, from a coy personality to a confident responsible engineer that a PEE should be.
The First Wave: The first batch of engineers went through frequent storms and icebergs that clogged the way, then we saw ourselves struggling at every challenge everyday, one episode at a time. That’s the only way. The sailing was rough - it wasn’t easy because in the actual face-off, you would not know what punch will hit you. And you have to cover vast areas of possibilities. Yet five out of fifteen original candidates for PEE’s persevered & survived the tough training episodes and thereafter saw land to seek shelter.
As we reminisce, battle-scarred yet we emerged victorious in our own small ways. Engineers Achilles Ponce of Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Ernie Abunda Jr of San Miguel Corporation–Glass Plant, Fred Mercado of UMMSI, Generoso Bayno Jr of APOCEMCO and Cesar Fernandez Jr of Taiheyo Cement Corporation eventually joined the companeros of PEE’s in this part of the country. We tried and succeeded. The proverbial ice was finally broken - that was September 2005… but history did not end there.
The Second Wave: The journey continued… while regaining strength for the next saga of the journey, the staccato of the engines of change kept throbbing on more relentlessly with power & energy. The fire was burning hot as the promising light beckoning from afar. At least, we already had the experience! We should be bolder, this time.
The tigers’ paws on guard in anticipation while the eagle’s watchful eyes probing into the still unclear wilderness. This time, seventeen hopefuls reported for duty, many of them veterans from the previous training. But then as the days went by, the flame of determination dwindled and flippancy caught several of them too fragile to continue. We wondered if this is a natural course of consequence, or ningas cogon..? Probably, yes… But six contenders somehow endured their wits but only two were readily-geared up to face the second battle in September 2006.
The time came. When the dust cleared, another canto had been captured. As the spoils of the second combat settled, two from this forum successfully made it! And two had been added to the list of new PEE’s in this loop, namely: colleagues Engr. Camilo Castro of Mactan-Cebu International Airport and Engr. Giardelo Guilas of General Milling Corporation. The feeling was superbly satisfying.
The Third Wave: Now refueled, our group was then again ready to embark into another uncharted chapter of the next battle. The four survivors of the training…? Only three were determined to face the April of 2007 arena, while one opted to hibernate in his tunnel, at least for the moment.
Tired but not spent. Weakened but not short of second wind. Still potent and sharp, this time wiser, more experienced… more determined.
Casualties so far? Zero…
Injuries? There were some setbacks, but everybody is standing upright…
Morale? Everybody is proud and smiling…
Engineers Jason Joule Troyo of Konsult Construction Corp., Willie Canizares of Cebu Power Exponents & Services Inc. and Franco Obierez of GTB Industrial Network Inc. finally braved the April 2007 heat into fruition and found themselves in the most demanding, most exciting and most exhausting PEE exams so far experienced. Yet their Technical Reports are highly praised and may even end up as model dissertations in the archives of National IIEE library. Needless to say, the only PEE passers in that examination – you guess it right, they are the only ones…!
HOW DO WE ACHIEVE SUCCESS?
The Fear Factor: The ‘Fear Factor’ as Engr. Noel Fernandez had always pointed out, is the biggest adversary. It is in fact the ‘handicap’ exemplified by the butterflies in one’s stomach that drive one player lose his wits during rounds of grueling combat inside a four walled ring, one against three authorities. As Willie Canizares said, “I felt I was well prepared for the oral exams, but it seemed everything in my mind vaporized when I entered the interview room. It was just good chance that I was able to recover sooner”. Therefore, the candidate must develop the necessary confidence to conquer the fear of the unknown. How? Practice, practice and practice…
Mentoring: After every success, the examinees are always quick in expressing their gratitude to their CESEEPS mentors who are at the same time their tormentors in training. Yes, success in a competitive game is usually won by team play and coaches do play big roles. However, success in one’s personal battle as in the board examinations is not won by coaches. It has to be won by the individual himself because he is not competing against others. He is in fact fighting against his own shadow.
Freddie Roach has made a lot of history. But his role is only limited, he can’t do anything once the player is already inside the ring. Once unleashed, it is the player’s diskarte that matters in solving the puzzles while alone. Let me tell you that our motivation as mentors is only to make our colleagues a much better technocrat in the dispensation of his responsibilities as an engineer. The decision to take the PEE Board Exams is by the individual himself.
Preparedness: The big difference however is preparedness and anticipation. As Achilles Ponce’s Technical Report states, “Looking through the future, there must be that so-called anticipation – and anticipation leads to preparedness as an answer to complete the loop. Surprisingly most of the time, preparedness derived from anticipation can only be discovered if we look back to past and historical performances. And past statistics usually become the answer and guide in future plans of actions”.
It is best to prepare and anticipate. But preparedness does not mean that we allow ourselves to lose track of the basics. It is the bedrock foundation of our competence. Once the basics are forgotten, the foundation will be weakened and the structure might crumble. Do not belittle these Code Basics because you will experience later that these basics after all will make someone a PEE. I am therefore inviting you all to focus on these basics.
WHY ‘NEW WAVE OF PEE’s’?
In our own definition, the new wave PEE’s are those who got their PEE status under the domain of RA7920. That makes RA184 PEE’s like me to belong to the old wave. During our time, we took written exams on the subjects: a) Mathematics, b) General Engineering, c) Electrical Engineering, d) Design & Construction and had to submit a Technical Report. The new wave PEE’s under RA 7920 have only to submit a Technical Report, take the Interview and defend his written report. By quick glance, it seems that the PEE licensure under RA7920 is much easier than its predecessor law. However, there is more to it than meets the eyes. Why is it that with the seemingly easier conditions now, there are only few PEE passers today as compared to the past? In reality, passing the PEE today is a huge job – it is to me, 10 times harder than before.
HOW TO BECOME A PEE?
As what I’ve been saying, there are only three ingredients in passing the PEE board exams and that is: work, work & work. As Franco Obierez puts it, “there is no such thing as something for nothing”. This means that nothing can be harvested if nothing had been planted. We need to work for it. And we mean hard work!
Of course, what constitutes hard work are the following:
Know your Engineering. The REE must re-engineer himself worthy in the PEE face-off. An engineer who thinks that ‘oido engineering’ can bring him success, he better think more seriously because he can never pass the PEE that way. Fact is that, the BSEE course plus experience is not enough. You might be an experienced engineer in a Power Plant or a Manufacturing Pant for 20 years but repetitive chores might have brought it down to an actual equivalency of only three years. You need to explore and be conversant of the other spectrums of the profession. Remember, the PEE license gives you the authority to practice the full scope of the profession. Thus the PEE interview anchors on all established principles of electrical engineering and not on “invented” practices without theoretical basis. The PEE candidate can not therefore escape engineering theories, because all good responsible practices came from proven engineering principles.
Know your English. An engineer no matter how good he is in work but who is not good in his English is not a ‘good’ PEE candidate. Writing the Technical Report needs mastery of Technical English. The most difficult part of the PEE journey as admitted by most candidates is the actual writing of the report. It is therefore advised that if you are grooming yourself for the PEE board exams in the near future, you must have right now in your possession books on “Technical Report Writing”. Practicing the recommendations of these books now will help you express yourself technically comes the Technical Report preparation and the actual PEE interview.
Know your Drawings. A working knowledge in A-CAD or Visio software is a heavy advantage. However, what matters most is the mastery on how to construct complete & correct single line system diagrams in internationally accepted symbologies. Internationally accepted symbology doesn’t mean amalgamating ANSI and IEC symbols in one diagram. Most Single Line Diagrams that we saw used to be in this predicament and it only shows that the author doesn’t know his standards. If you intend to use ANSI, it should be ANSI all throughout. If IEC-based, it should be IEC all throughout. On top of these, several System Single Line Diagrams are incomplete thus; a system presented with lacking components can not in reality stand alone and won’t work! A lot of PEE candidates that I know need improvements in this department.
Know How to Answer Questions. Questions by the examiners need to be answered surely and confidently. Answers with pre-qualifying words, “I think…” won’t work, because a follow-up question like, “are you sure?” will send your structure crumbling. Do not lie or guess. If you don’t know the answer, honestly tell the examiners, you don’t have the actual experience. Moreover, do not think that the interview is only a question and answer affair. You may be required to write your calculations on the board. That’s why practice lecturing and repetitively drawing your system on the board will give you the taste of this competence.
NOW BACK TO BASICS
The danger of success is success itself – it’s intoxicating. We therefore need to always look back where we were before. “Ang taong hindi lumingon sa pinang-galingan ay hindi makakarating sa patutunguhan”. Looking back, we need to re-nurture the conviction of the principles we had been applying in the past several years. “If we rest, we rust. We shall never sit on our laurels. Our best is not enough. Our cup must never be full”. Do not mind the pressures imposed on you by the mentors. As I said, pressures in work are realities to live with, because we need it! Open a faucet and water flows from it. Why? Because there is pressure! Be a part of the team. Never be in the sideline, because if you are, you will be left behind.
Work is Force Times Distance: The tons of force exerted are nothing if you covered no distance. Passing the PEE Board is a vast mile covered. That is big work done!
To the new PEE’s, there's one fact in life that I would like you to keep in mind always. Just as life is temporal, life's setbacks are more recurring. The duration of these setbacks are a lot shorter than life itself. So don't allow these setbacks to spoil what otherwise is a life worth living. Your perseverance in turning around some of the extemporaneous setbacks in your interview performance was something not entirely surprising to me. It would have been surprising if it were someone else who did it. But knowing you and what you are capable of doing, you just have to do it because that's the stuff you are made of. Let me tell you this as part of your development and growth: I've known you people to be the kind of characters who eat personal challenges for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The problem as I see it is this: When those challenges disappear, you begin to starve. The biggest challenge therefore for you is how to keep looking at every situation as one that needs challenge. In other words, the challenge to challenge, and don't let mere words get the better of you.
Although the candidates logged in their belts some 10, 15 years or more in actual experience of the profession, it took a series of training regimens in two years time to build-up enough confidence for the first five REE’s to venture out of the comfort of their shells and set sail through an open ocean - eventually ending up submitting themselves to the grueling PEE exams.
As of today, we have covered three (3) batches of eventful successes. To recall, in the September 2005 exams, five out five, then followed by two out of two in September 2006 and lately, three out of three REE’s in April 2007, a total of ten - all took the exams and successfully passed the PEE Licensure! The ten (10) New Wave PEE’s as we call them - 100%, no more, no less…!
THE SCENES BEHIND
The glorious trumpets were deafening - each note reverberating sweet tunes. But behind those exploits were unspoken but open secret tales of dedication, perseverance, even embarrassments…
Looking back at the very first rung of the ladder, we found ourselves groping in the dark how it is to become a PEE the RA7920 way. Then we realized that the molding of an REE to fit as PEE has to be in a ‘total change in personality’ approach; meaning - bearing competencies transcending not only in technical designing, but also from planning to project execution, from basic communications skills to effective lecturing, from system operation to plant management and more importantly, from a coy personality to a confident responsible engineer that a PEE should be.
The First Wave: The first batch of engineers went through frequent storms and icebergs that clogged the way, then we saw ourselves struggling at every challenge everyday, one episode at a time. That’s the only way. The sailing was rough - it wasn’t easy because in the actual face-off, you would not know what punch will hit you. And you have to cover vast areas of possibilities. Yet five out of fifteen original candidates for PEE’s persevered & survived the tough training episodes and thereafter saw land to seek shelter.
As we reminisce, battle-scarred yet we emerged victorious in our own small ways. Engineers Achilles Ponce of Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Ernie Abunda Jr of San Miguel Corporation–Glass Plant, Fred Mercado of UMMSI, Generoso Bayno Jr of APOCEMCO and Cesar Fernandez Jr of Taiheyo Cement Corporation eventually joined the companeros of PEE’s in this part of the country. We tried and succeeded. The proverbial ice was finally broken - that was September 2005… but history did not end there.
The Second Wave: The journey continued… while regaining strength for the next saga of the journey, the staccato of the engines of change kept throbbing on more relentlessly with power & energy. The fire was burning hot as the promising light beckoning from afar. At least, we already had the experience! We should be bolder, this time.
The tigers’ paws on guard in anticipation while the eagle’s watchful eyes probing into the still unclear wilderness. This time, seventeen hopefuls reported for duty, many of them veterans from the previous training. But then as the days went by, the flame of determination dwindled and flippancy caught several of them too fragile to continue. We wondered if this is a natural course of consequence, or ningas cogon..? Probably, yes… But six contenders somehow endured their wits but only two were readily-geared up to face the second battle in September 2006.
The time came. When the dust cleared, another canto had been captured. As the spoils of the second combat settled, two from this forum successfully made it! And two had been added to the list of new PEE’s in this loop, namely: colleagues Engr. Camilo Castro of Mactan-Cebu International Airport and Engr. Giardelo Guilas of General Milling Corporation. The feeling was superbly satisfying.
The Third Wave: Now refueled, our group was then again ready to embark into another uncharted chapter of the next battle. The four survivors of the training…? Only three were determined to face the April of 2007 arena, while one opted to hibernate in his tunnel, at least for the moment.
Tired but not spent. Weakened but not short of second wind. Still potent and sharp, this time wiser, more experienced… more determined.
Casualties so far? Zero…
Injuries? There were some setbacks, but everybody is standing upright…
Morale? Everybody is proud and smiling…
Engineers Jason Joule Troyo of Konsult Construction Corp., Willie Canizares of Cebu Power Exponents & Services Inc. and Franco Obierez of GTB Industrial Network Inc. finally braved the April 2007 heat into fruition and found themselves in the most demanding, most exciting and most exhausting PEE exams so far experienced. Yet their Technical Reports are highly praised and may even end up as model dissertations in the archives of National IIEE library. Needless to say, the only PEE passers in that examination – you guess it right, they are the only ones…!
HOW DO WE ACHIEVE SUCCESS?
The Fear Factor: The ‘Fear Factor’ as Engr. Noel Fernandez had always pointed out, is the biggest adversary. It is in fact the ‘handicap’ exemplified by the butterflies in one’s stomach that drive one player lose his wits during rounds of grueling combat inside a four walled ring, one against three authorities. As Willie Canizares said, “I felt I was well prepared for the oral exams, but it seemed everything in my mind vaporized when I entered the interview room. It was just good chance that I was able to recover sooner”. Therefore, the candidate must develop the necessary confidence to conquer the fear of the unknown. How? Practice, practice and practice…
Mentoring: After every success, the examinees are always quick in expressing their gratitude to their CESEEPS mentors who are at the same time their tormentors in training. Yes, success in a competitive game is usually won by team play and coaches do play big roles. However, success in one’s personal battle as in the board examinations is not won by coaches. It has to be won by the individual himself because he is not competing against others. He is in fact fighting against his own shadow.
Freddie Roach has made a lot of history. But his role is only limited, he can’t do anything once the player is already inside the ring. Once unleashed, it is the player’s diskarte that matters in solving the puzzles while alone. Let me tell you that our motivation as mentors is only to make our colleagues a much better technocrat in the dispensation of his responsibilities as an engineer. The decision to take the PEE Board Exams is by the individual himself.
Preparedness: The big difference however is preparedness and anticipation. As Achilles Ponce’s Technical Report states, “Looking through the future, there must be that so-called anticipation – and anticipation leads to preparedness as an answer to complete the loop. Surprisingly most of the time, preparedness derived from anticipation can only be discovered if we look back to past and historical performances. And past statistics usually become the answer and guide in future plans of actions”.
It is best to prepare and anticipate. But preparedness does not mean that we allow ourselves to lose track of the basics. It is the bedrock foundation of our competence. Once the basics are forgotten, the foundation will be weakened and the structure might crumble. Do not belittle these Code Basics because you will experience later that these basics after all will make someone a PEE. I am therefore inviting you all to focus on these basics.
WHY ‘NEW WAVE OF PEE’s’?
In our own definition, the new wave PEE’s are those who got their PEE status under the domain of RA7920. That makes RA184 PEE’s like me to belong to the old wave. During our time, we took written exams on the subjects: a) Mathematics, b) General Engineering, c) Electrical Engineering, d) Design & Construction and had to submit a Technical Report. The new wave PEE’s under RA 7920 have only to submit a Technical Report, take the Interview and defend his written report. By quick glance, it seems that the PEE licensure under RA7920 is much easier than its predecessor law. However, there is more to it than meets the eyes. Why is it that with the seemingly easier conditions now, there are only few PEE passers today as compared to the past? In reality, passing the PEE today is a huge job – it is to me, 10 times harder than before.
HOW TO BECOME A PEE?
As what I’ve been saying, there are only three ingredients in passing the PEE board exams and that is: work, work & work. As Franco Obierez puts it, “there is no such thing as something for nothing”. This means that nothing can be harvested if nothing had been planted. We need to work for it. And we mean hard work!
Of course, what constitutes hard work are the following:
Know your Engineering. The REE must re-engineer himself worthy in the PEE face-off. An engineer who thinks that ‘oido engineering’ can bring him success, he better think more seriously because he can never pass the PEE that way. Fact is that, the BSEE course plus experience is not enough. You might be an experienced engineer in a Power Plant or a Manufacturing Pant for 20 years but repetitive chores might have brought it down to an actual equivalency of only three years. You need to explore and be conversant of the other spectrums of the profession. Remember, the PEE license gives you the authority to practice the full scope of the profession. Thus the PEE interview anchors on all established principles of electrical engineering and not on “invented” practices without theoretical basis. The PEE candidate can not therefore escape engineering theories, because all good responsible practices came from proven engineering principles.
Know your English. An engineer no matter how good he is in work but who is not good in his English is not a ‘good’ PEE candidate. Writing the Technical Report needs mastery of Technical English. The most difficult part of the PEE journey as admitted by most candidates is the actual writing of the report. It is therefore advised that if you are grooming yourself for the PEE board exams in the near future, you must have right now in your possession books on “Technical Report Writing”. Practicing the recommendations of these books now will help you express yourself technically comes the Technical Report preparation and the actual PEE interview.
Know your Drawings. A working knowledge in A-CAD or Visio software is a heavy advantage. However, what matters most is the mastery on how to construct complete & correct single line system diagrams in internationally accepted symbologies. Internationally accepted symbology doesn’t mean amalgamating ANSI and IEC symbols in one diagram. Most Single Line Diagrams that we saw used to be in this predicament and it only shows that the author doesn’t know his standards. If you intend to use ANSI, it should be ANSI all throughout. If IEC-based, it should be IEC all throughout. On top of these, several System Single Line Diagrams are incomplete thus; a system presented with lacking components can not in reality stand alone and won’t work! A lot of PEE candidates that I know need improvements in this department.
Know How to Answer Questions. Questions by the examiners need to be answered surely and confidently. Answers with pre-qualifying words, “I think…” won’t work, because a follow-up question like, “are you sure?” will send your structure crumbling. Do not lie or guess. If you don’t know the answer, honestly tell the examiners, you don’t have the actual experience. Moreover, do not think that the interview is only a question and answer affair. You may be required to write your calculations on the board. That’s why practice lecturing and repetitively drawing your system on the board will give you the taste of this competence.
NOW BACK TO BASICS
The danger of success is success itself – it’s intoxicating. We therefore need to always look back where we were before. “Ang taong hindi lumingon sa pinang-galingan ay hindi makakarating sa patutunguhan”. Looking back, we need to re-nurture the conviction of the principles we had been applying in the past several years. “If we rest, we rust. We shall never sit on our laurels. Our best is not enough. Our cup must never be full”. Do not mind the pressures imposed on you by the mentors. As I said, pressures in work are realities to live with, because we need it! Open a faucet and water flows from it. Why? Because there is pressure! Be a part of the team. Never be in the sideline, because if you are, you will be left behind.
Work is Force Times Distance: The tons of force exerted are nothing if you covered no distance. Passing the PEE Board is a vast mile covered. That is big work done!
To the new PEE’s, there's one fact in life that I would like you to keep in mind always. Just as life is temporal, life's setbacks are more recurring. The duration of these setbacks are a lot shorter than life itself. So don't allow these setbacks to spoil what otherwise is a life worth living. Your perseverance in turning around some of the extemporaneous setbacks in your interview performance was something not entirely surprising to me. It would have been surprising if it were someone else who did it. But knowing you and what you are capable of doing, you just have to do it because that's the stuff you are made of. Let me tell you this as part of your development and growth: I've known you people to be the kind of characters who eat personal challenges for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The problem as I see it is this: When those challenges disappear, you begin to starve. The biggest challenge therefore for you is how to keep looking at every situation as one that needs challenge. In other words, the challenge to challenge, and don't let mere words get the better of you.
You will therefore do your share in training others. It will be something of a work in a lifetime.
Doods A. Amora, PEE
May 8, 2007
Doods A. Amora, PEE
May 8, 2007
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