Ninth Place in Two Board Exams
Billy Ray describes himself as a typical engineering student who has friends playing computer games and hanging out in their spare time.
He is also like the rest who fail engineering subjects in a few semesters, struggle in academics, and are pressured to graduate on time.
He doesn’t sound like a topnotcher material to you now, doesn’t he?
But he just proved to everyone that someone like him – perhaps a nobody in engineering school – can also soar high in the board exams: in September, Billy Ray took the electrical engineering licensure exam and the master electrician licensure exam and aced the two by placing ninth in both.
Summary Highlights
- Mother – Civil Engineer
- Father – Civil Engineer
- Ranked: 9th on two engineering board exams
- Electrical engineer topnotcher
- Master electrician topnotcher
- From Ateneo de Davao
- He failed in some subjects during college
He got a rating of 90.5% in the former and 89.0% in the latter.
A lucky number 9? Maybe, but his notable achievement is more than just pure luck.
It is the product of his hard work and determination to succeed.
There was a time that Billy failed some of his subjects.
And instead of being discouraged, he used this as an opportunity to bounce back and learn more about how life operates and what he should learn about the subjects.
Eventually, he coped with his subject deficiencies and still graduated on time.
“Engineering education is not about preparation for the board exams,” he said in an interview with GineersNow.
“Engineering education is about the holistic development that will help us to become better persons not just in academics but also in the values we should have.”
Billy believes that the main goal of engineering students should be learning and not merely getting achievements.
He said, “Achievements are only a byproduct of how good we are as a person. The real thing that truly matters in life is our learning which includes our knowledge and character.”
For this reason among others, he was able to get the lucky 9 spots in the two board exams even when it was unlikely.
Now Engr. Sales, the 21-year-old alumnus of Ateneo de Davao University shares more about his struggles as an engineering student. He is more than happy to impart these words and inspire others:
My Student Life
Why did you choose this course? Who or what was your inspiration?
Ever since I was a child, I really wanted to become an engineer like my mom (Civil Engineering) and dad (Mechanical Engineering). I believe that inspiration of mine brought me to this point in my life. The top three engineering courses that I have chosen during college enrollment were electronics, electrical and civil.
Luckily, my second choice which is electrical engineering offered a scholarship and I was privileged to be granted by the scholarship. That is where my journey of becoming an electrical engineer started.
What are your favorite subjects in your entire engineering study? How about least liked subjects?
My favorite subjects are Electric Circuits and Electrical System Design.
While my least liked subjects are Electronics and Material Science & Engineering.
Have you had any subject failures or disappointing academic performance to the very least? If yes, what did you do about it? How did you cope?
During my freshmen year, I failed one subject.
Actually, I was about to fail three subjects but I decided to give up on one subject and focus more on the other two subjects.
Being a freshmen, the decision I have made was hard for me but I think it was the best tactic that I can think of.
I may have failed one subject but I have saved the other two subjects.
I have not thought of giving up on my course and shifting to other courses but instead I have worked harder to retake my failed subject.
And successfully, I have passed it and continued striving hard to finish my studies.
Do you have any study tips or tricks that you think others should emulate from you?
Study with your review mates.
This may not be applicable to everyone but it can be effective to those who want study with some people.
For me, studying with other people is very helpful for learning because you can exchange ideas or even combine ideas to form a better one.
There are many ways to solve a problem but in board exams you need to find the easiest possible way.
I really believe that studying with other people multiplies the success in passing the board exams.
What is the best engineering school advice that you can give to other students?
My advice to engineering students is to never give up on their dream of becoming an engineer.
There is no elevator to success. Everyone must have to take the stairs. Love what you are doing because happiness is the key to success.
Always be thankful of the wonderful blessings that you have and entrust your works to the Lord. And definitely, your plans will succeed.
My Board Exams Experience
What were the greatest struggles that you experienced while preparing for the board exams? What did you do to overcome them?
My greatest struggle while preparing for the board exams was to have plenty of review materials because I was reviewing for two board exams. I really had a hard time finishing all of them before the board exams.
What I did was to get a portion of knowledge from all my review materials and be confident of my preparation. I also prayed a lot thanking the Lord for the wisdom and asking the Lord for guidance and good health.
Did you enroll in a center for your review? Do you recommend doing so? Which one did you go to?
I have enrolled in Rojas Electrical Engineering Review Center at Cebu City for the Registered Electrical Engineer (REE) board exam.
However, I was self-reviewed for the Registered Master Electrician (RME) board exam.
I highly recommend taking review classes since it will develop board exam takers to be fully equipped for the board exams.
For aspiring topnotchers, review centers are also the best for improving your knowledge to its full extent because you will be challenged by other intelligent reviewees.
How did you find the board exam? Easy, average, or difficult?
For the REE board exam, it was difficult for me since my goal is to become one of the topnotchers.
All three subject areas in our board exam contained many erroneous problems. It was really complicated trouble shooting for wrongly encoded and missing data in problems.
For the RME board exam, it was easy for me since I am only aiming to pass the exam. The two subject areas barely contained erroneous problems.
What were your expectations after you took the board exam and before the results were out? Did you have a feeling that you will be at the top?
For the REE board exam, I did not expect to be one of the topnotchers. It is because after we finished the final day of board exam, my review mates kept on talking about some questions and answers on the board exam and they all had the same answers while I got different answers. I felt disappointed on my performance and thought that I have no chance of being one of the topnotchers but I was sure to pass the exam.
For the RME board exam, I was expecting that I will pass the exam since it was easy for me answering the test. But that time, I was not really interested with the results of the RME board exam because the REE board exam was the greater achievement.
What did you do the first minute you discovered you topped the board exam?
I immediately shouted that I was a top 9 electrical engineer in our home.
My family was very happy and kept on jumping in joy.
Minutes later, my girlfriend called me and told me that I was also top 9 in the RME board exam. I really did not mind about the RME board exam because being top 9 in the REE board exam was so much to me already. My family, relatives, professors and friends kept on messaging me saying congratulations and I was very glad about having a lucky 9 in both board exams.
I was very thankful for the wonderful blessings the Lord has given to me.
Who do you owe your success to?
I owe my success to our Almighty God, my family, relatives, girlfriend, review mates, review center, professors, friends, and alma maters.
I would like to thank all those who helped, inspired, and prayed for me in order for me to achieve this point in my life.
What incentives did you get from your university and review center after your board exam success?
My university did not give me any incentives but they did recognize my accomplishment through posting in the school webpage and tarpaulins.
Meanwhile, the review center and the local government of my hometown gave me cash incentives.
Share your most effective study habits.
Keep yourself focused and motivated in order to study effectively.
You also need to have a study schedule that best fits you and be sure to follow it. Always spend the day learning something new. Remember that constant studying is very effective for ideas to keep on our mind.
Be sure to become a more knowledgeable man each day at the same time don’t forget to give time for yourself to relax.
Give 5 important tips for future board exam takers who aim to become topnotchers.
- Enroll in a review center in order to become one of the best prepared board examinee.
- Create your weekly schedule. Having a guide of what to do during the week will make your study time to be organized and be properly utilized.
- Disregard unnecessary activities. Focus on striving hard for your dream of becoming one of the best engineers.
- Study with your review mates so you can exchange ideas or even combine ideas for a better one.
- Don’t forget having time for yourself to relax and praying to our Lord.
Inspiring Topnotchers
2x Topnotcher Built an Engineering Firm While Studying For Board Exam
Engineering Topnotcher Uses a Car Battery to Study for 1 Month
She Can’t Pay Tuition and Quit, Gets a Job, Came Back as Engineer Topnotcher
This Civil Engineering Topnotcher Tells Future Board Exam Takers to ‘Master the Basics’
