While attending community college, Feustel worked as an auto mechanic at International Autoworks, Ltd., Farmington Hills, Michigan, restoring 1950s Jaguars. At Purdue University, Feustel served as a Residence Hall Counselor for two years at Cary Quadrangle for the Purdue University Student Housing organization. His summers were spent working as a commercial and industrial glazier near his home in Michigan. During his master's degree studies Feustel worked as a Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant in the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department of Purdue University. His M.S. thesis investigated physical property measurements of rock specimens under elevated hydrostatic pressures simulating Earth's deep crustal environments. While at Purdue, Feustel served for three years as Grand Prix Chairman and team Kart driver for Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity. In 1991, Feustel moved to Kingston, Ontario, Canada to attend Queen's University where he worked as a Graduate Research Assistant and Graduate Teaching Assistant. Feustel's Ph.D. thesis investigated seismic wave attenuation in underground mines and measurement techniques and applications to site characterization.