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Jake Kennington shares his transformative journey from structural engineering to personal development coaching, discussing how engineers can build meaningful lives without sacrificing their careers. He explores the importance of personal growth, embracing change, and developing a strong personal foundation.

Main Topics:

• Transitioning from Structural Engineering to Personal Coaching
• The "Strong Column, Weak Beam" Life Philosophy
• Importance of Personal Development for Engineers
• Overcoming Creative Voids in Engineering Careers
• Practical Strategies for Personal Growth
• Embracing Change and Finding Purpose

About the guest: Jake Kennington is a structural engineer, author, speaker, and transformational coach who helps engineering leaders and business owners build fulfilling careers without burnout. With over a decade of experience, he founded Human Engineer Coach to guide professionals in aligning their work with personal well-being. His message: success doesn’t have to come at the cost of health, relationships, or purpose—you can have both money and meaning.

In his SEAU talk, “Engineer Yourself First,” Jake uses the structural principle of strong columns and weak beams to emphasize that personal growth must come before career growth to avoid collapse. He especially supports engineers in their first 7–10 years, a time often marked by self-sacrifice. Beyond coaching, Jake also champions creativity and continual self-expression, exemplified by his self-published children’s book in 2023. His work blends technical insight with a human-centered approach to leadership and life.

Links:

Jake Kennington - LinkedIn

Human Engineer Coach Website

Engineering Challenge

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PDX 2025 is the  Product Development Expo designed for engineers who want hands-on training from industry experts. PDX focuses on practical skill-building, cutting-edge tools, and real-world solutions.

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About Being An Engineer

The Being An Engineer podcast is a repository for industry knowledge and a tool through which engineers learn about and connect with relevant companies, technologies, people resources, and opportunities. We feature successful mechanical engineers and interview engineers who are passionate about their work and who made a great impact on the engineering community.

The Being An Engineer podcast is brought to you by Pipeline Design & Engineering. Pipeline partners with medical & other device engineering teams who need turnkey equipment such as cycle test machines, custom test fixtures, automation equipment, assembly jigs, inspection stations and more. You can find us on the web at www.teampipeline.us