I am still in disbelief how I went from dreaming of having the Engr. title to finally achieving it.

Actually, I do not know how to properly express me emotions into words. The feelings I have about this achievement are too overwhelming at this point. However, I can tell a little story about the days leading up to me finally passing the certification exam.

Before the Examination

The national certification examination for instrumentation and control engineer and technician was scheduled on November 9 and 10. I decided to apply for the dual certification since the price difference for the single certification is not much.

My preparation for the exam is not great. The peak of my preparation was back in September when I first made up my mind that I would take the 2nd batch of certification exam this year. The main reason for this decision was so I could avail the 50% discount for fresh graduates.

I was still able to review for an hour after work since I have some leftover energy. However, as days went by and the workload started getting heavier, my body just could not take the schedule I started. After work, all I could really do was eat then sleep. So I did not manage to review.

There was a three-day review provided by the PICS that can be availed for P5,000. 00 but I have work on those days so I decided against availing it. I just decided to file a leave for the 2 days of examination instead.

This decision is not a well-thought one since I was put on night shift schedule from November 6 to 8. On those days, I also had to do ungodly amount of overtime due to the workload so I was functioning on 2-4 hours of sleep only. Basically, after my work on November 8, I went straight to the examination venue.

I had no review, no sleep, no bath, and no breakfast. All I had was the conviction to not waste the money I paid for the examination.

During the Examination

Due to lack of sleep for three days, my mind was already cloudy. I was actually late for the examination because I had to attend a short meeting after getting back from the office. Thankfully, the PICS organizers were graceful enough to understand the reason and let me take the exam.

While taking the exam, I was quietly laughing to myself thinking that I should have just spent the money on something else. I did this because the examination was harder than I thought. I was really feeling demotivated knowing that I could have had answers for the examination if I was able to review even for just a day for it.

But alas, I was stuck in reviewing for the 15 minutes break in between the examination.

On the second day, I actually had the urge to not attend but I told myself that I will just show up and try.

After the Examination

The second the examination ended, I felt relieved that it is over. I do not know why but I did not feel nervous about waiting for the results. I was just glad that it was over.

I went to get ice cream with my friends to celebrate our efforts in the examination. Then began our short wait for the results. We were lucky because the oath taking was scheduled on November 28 so the results were released early to give time for the passers to pay the fee.

The results were released last November 16. I will not forget it because I was eating lunch with my officemates, and waiting for the result when the PICS official page posted it.

Here is the list of the passers for the certification exam. I will not highlight my name for privacy but it is there.

When I saw my name, I could not stop shaking. I keep thinking to myself that I did it. I am now a certified engineer and technician.

Closing words

The journey to being a certified engineer was difficult. There were times when I wanted to give up. There were times when I asked myself that I could still work in the Instrumentation and Control field without certification so why should I bother. However, a tiny voice in me is telling me to push through. And push through I did.

I am thankful that on the days when I was losing hope, I still found the courage to hold on. Now, I have achieved a lifelong dream of becoming an engineer. I am also the first engineer in both sides of my families so I was doubly proud of myself.