How to Outperform 99% of Engineering Students in 2025

Summary

In this video, the creator shares valuable insights on becoming a top engineering student by 2025. Emphasizing diligence and persistence, the roadmap provided offers a balanced approach to excelling academically while enjoying life. Key steps include self-evaluation, developing core beliefs, identifying in-demand skills, and taking a holistic approach. Additionally, surrounding oneself with the right people and mentors is crucial. The video encourages personal growth and adaptability, highlighting that success is subjective and the journey should be enjoyable.

Highlights

• The roadmap to the top 1% is balanced, ensuring you can enjoy life while achieving your goals. 🎢
• Step one involves a crucial self-evaluation to confirm your commitment to excellence. 🔍
• Core beliefs influence your success; align them with your goals for optimal results. ✨
• Focus on mastering in-demand skills like design for manufacturing to set yourself apart. 🔧
• Networking is key—talk to industry professionals to learn what skills are truly valued. 🔗
• Take a holistic view of your education, balancing studies with internships and industry events. 🏗️
• Your environment impacts your success—surround yourself with inspiring individuals. 🌟

Key Takeaways

• Conduct a self-evaluation to determine if being in the top 1% is truly a meaningful goal for you. 🛠️
• Develop core beliefs that align with your goals, as your mindset drives actions and results. 🧠
• Identify and master skills that are in high demand but low supply to stand out. 📚
• Adopt a holistic approach by balancing academics with extra-curricular activities and networking. 🌍
• Surround yourself with ambitious peers and mentors to foster motivation and growth. 👥

Overview

In a world where countless engineering students aim for excellence, standing out requires more than just hard work. This video presents a comprehensive yet balanced roadmap to achieve top 1% status, emphasizing the importance of self-evaluation, mindset, and skill mastery. It's not just about reaching the peak but enjoying the climb and growing personally along the way.

Getting to the top involves more than just academics. Identifying and acquiring high-demand skills through hands-on experience and networking are critical steps. The creator suggests using a direct approach: engage with employers and industry experts to pinpoint important skills, and integrate them into your educational journey to differentiate yourself.

The environment you immerse yourself in significantly affects your success trajectory. By fostering relationships with mentors and ambitious peers, you can leverage their insights and experiences to navigate your path effectively. This journey isn’t solely about becoming the best; it’s about defining and building a career that brings you fulfillment and happiness.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 01:00: Introduction The chapter is aimed at engineering students from various disciplines, including mechanical, electrical, computer, industrial, and chemical engineering, who aspire to be in the top 1% of their class by 2025. It acknowledges the hard work of the majority of engineering students, but notes that only a few reach the top echelon. The video promises to reveal the necessary mastery and steps needed to achieve this goal, as demonstrated by the speaker's own experiences.
• 01:00 - 02:00: Self-Evaluation In the chapter titled "Self-Evaluation," the focus is on using a balanced road map for achieving success without burnout. The chapter emphasizes that diligence and persistence are key, and it's not necessary to be a genius to succeed. The foundation of this road map is performing a self-evaluation to determine if aiming to be in the top 1% is a true aspiration or merely a nice-to-have goal. This self-evaluation serves as the cornerstone for the following steps in the road map.
• 02:00 - 04:00: Develop Core Beliefs This chapter discusses the formation of core beliefs and how they can drive one's aspirations and efforts. It suggests reflecting on past decisions, whether in academia or early career stages, to evaluate if one has maximized their opportunities. The idea is to identify past regrets or moments of lesser effort, like choosing leisure activities over career-building actions, to motivate a stronger push towards achieving goals in the future.
• 04:00 - 06:00: Supply and Demand Strategy The chapter titled 'Supply and Demand Strategy' explores the different perspectives individuals have towards personal growth and development. It begins by addressing the reader directly, questioning their desire for personal growth and if they thrive on the process of self-improvement. It encourages those who are eager to grow to turn their enthusiasm into a tangible plan. Conversely, it acknowledges that not everyone desires change or improvement, and for those who are content with their current state, that's also acceptable. The key takeaway is the importance of being honest with oneself about their personal definition of success and comfort.
• 06:00 - 08:00: Holistic Approach The chapter 'Holistic Approach' discusses the importance of self-awareness and ambition in achieving personal success. It emphasizes that there are no right or wrong goals; happiness is derived from personal fulfillment, whether that means reaching the top 1% or becoming the best version of oneself. The chapter also suggests that the author's personal steps to success will be shared, implying a guide to achieving one's ambitions effectively.
• 08:00 - 10:00: Sponsor Segment - Brilliant The chapter emphasizes the importance of aligning beliefs with goals to achieve success. It explains how mindset influences actions and results, using the example of an engineering student aspiring to be in the top 1%.
• 10:00 - 12:00: Surround Yourself with the Right People The chapter emphasizes the importance of eradicating limiting beliefs and maintaining a persistent mindset. It highlights that believing in your ability to figure things out and improve daily can significantly increase your chances of success. The chapter underlines that effort precedes reward, insisting on the necessity of hard work before expecting any payoff.
• 12:00 - 13:00: Conclusion The conclusion emphasizes the importance of consistent daily effort in any field, be it engineering, basketball, or piano. It suggests that doing one extra task every day that others aren't willing to do can significantly set someone apart from others over time. Initially, the changes might not be noticeable, but after a month, one might become uncommon, after a year, special, and after several years, significantly ahead of the competition.

How to Outperform 99% of Engineering Students in 2025 Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 if you clicked on this video whether you're a mechanical electrical computer industrial or chemical engineering student you probably want to be in the top 1% of your classmates in 2025 The truth is the majority of engineering students work extremely hard but never ultimately reach the very top of the mountain So in this video I'm going to show you exactly how you can become the top 1% what you need to master and the exact steps I took to stay ahead of the
• 00:30 - 01:00 competition Now I know this road map is effective because I've personally used it You don't have to be a genius or burn out for it to work All you need is some diligence and persistence And the best part is this is a balanced road map You can still have fun and enjoy your life Step number one is actually the simplest and it serves as a foundation for all the subsequent steps we're going to talk about So definitely don't skip this step Perform a self- evvaluation Ask yourself if being a top 1% is just a nice to have
• 01:00 - 01:30 and a wish or if it's something that you genuinely want you're willing to die trying and put in the work and make it a goal to get there So how I approach making this decision is actually very simple and straightforward Just look at your past whether it's in high school college or your first job If you had a chance to start over would you push yourself harder maybe you regret not studying enough choosing to play video games over perfecting your resume or avoiding career affairs because you were
• 01:30 - 02:00 nervous If your answer is yes and you truly enjoy personal growth accomplishment and the process of pushing yourself to get better then that's great You're prepared to turn this into a real plan Now if your answer is no maybe you're content with where you are you don't have any regrets and you don't feel the need to push yourself further or you just like to stay in your comfort zone That's completely okay Success looks different for everyone What truly matters is being honest with
• 02:00 - 02:30 yourself about what you want But if you're watching my video you're probably a highly ambitious individual And just to be clear there's no right or wrong answer here Not everyone needs to achieve crazy success to live a fulfilling life Just do what makes you happy But regardless if you want to become the top 1% or simply the best version of yourself the next set of steps that I've personally taken to achieve success will help you do that For step number two once you've nailed
• 02:30 - 03:00 down what success looks like for you develop a set of core beliefs All right so what do I mean by that all of your beliefs need to align with your goal because your mindset will determine your actions and your actions will determine your results To better illustrate this if you truly don't believe that you can achieve the top 1% of engineering students because you're not smart enough then you probably won't If you believe achieving the top 1% is going to be incredibly difficult you're going to
• 03:00 - 03:30 feel unmotivated and you're probably not going to make it These are all limiting beliefs that you need to eradicate Instead if you believe that you can figure anything out by staying persistent and every day is an opportunity to improve your chances of becoming the top 1% or even 0.1% has dramatically increased And you can't expect to achieve results without putting in the work You truly need to believe that the work comes first and the payoff comes later To be the top 1%
• 03:30 - 04:00 not just at engineering it could be basketball or piano You need to believe that doing one thing every day that no one else is willing to do over a span of several years will set you apart from 99% of the competition Even if it's doing something simple or small you probably won't be able to tell a difference after a week But after a month you'll be uncommon After a year you'll be special And after several years you'll be light years ahead and
• 04:00 - 04:30 legendary And this can be applied to any goal It could be building a website to get your projects and accomplishments seen by employers or practicing advanced surface modeling in Solid Works Now once you've established a set of core beliefs you need to understand the law of supply and demand So if we think about becoming the top 1% of students as a game let's say there are 100 levels and each level gets progressively more challenging With hard work you can probably clear the first 90 levels but the last 10 levels
• 04:30 - 05:00 are where most students get stuck and require a sound strategy One of the keys to making it past these levels is to identify which skills are high in demand and low in supply and focus on relentlessly mastering them This is where you separate yourself from 99% of students But how do you determine what these rare skills are that employers look for in fresh grads sure you can try and Google or ask Chad GPT but there's
• 05:00 - 05:30 always going to be a level of speculation A much better approach is to go directly to the source This could be prospective employers students who have landed internships or full-time job opportunities and professionals in your field I discovered this method by accident as a freshman at Boston University while attending my first engineering career fair Talking to a bunch of companies like General Electric Rockwell Automation St Gobane and Applied Materials I learned exactly what
• 05:30 - 06:00 skills they were looking for Some companies told me straight up "We're looking for candidates experienced in solid works lean six sigma sensor design testing or something very specific like designing high volume diecast parts." Other companies were a little bit less direct and asked me interview questions on the spot Through these conversations I started to see patterns and which skills were in demand across industries So go to networking events attend resume
• 06:00 - 06:30 critiques join engineering clubs do internships and talk to professors outside of class After hundreds of conversations you'll develop an internal map of the key skills that matter most separating the musthaves from the nice to haves and most importantly identify those rare technical skills that most students lack What I learned is that for mechanical engineering students design for manufacturing and assembly numerical simulations and systems thinking are three skills that are considered high in
• 06:30 - 07:00 demand and low in supply Many students have a basic understanding but few actually graduate with advanced proficiency You should combine this list of skills with the skills that appear in job postings on LinkedIn of companies you're interested in For example if you're into aerospace focus on companies like Boeing Airbus SpaceX Saffron etc and identify the recurring skills Once you know what's in demand all you have to do is become proficient at those skills Now step four I would say is the
• 07:00 - 07:30 most important if you want to become the top 1% of students Take a holistic approach What that means is you need to think big picture For 99% of students their entire field of vision is just classes They don't know how to step back and zoom out to see that there's other things like research there's internships clubs networking events talking to professors all of these things It's pretty obvious that the top 1% of students don't just study and get good
• 07:30 - 08:00 grades You have to realize that there's only 24 hours in a day and you can't be perfect at everything unless you're a prodigy or genius So you need to sacrifice time from one area to gain advantage in another Like in undergrad I took dynamics class where literally all the professor did was derive equations and I really didn't have anything to lose by skipping class Attendance was only worth 7% of our final grade So I took a loss and only showed up to class
• 08:00 - 08:30 to take exams By skipping this class twice a week that freed up four hours from my schedule to attend industry networking events and work on my research projects which eventually led to me securing an internship The key is to know what are like the top five factors when it comes to achieving your goal And based on those five factors know when to zoom in and focus and when to zoom out and see the bigger picture Now before we continue one of my favorite platforms that aided in my development and helped me become a top
• 08:30 - 09:00 engineering student was Brilliant the sponsor of today's video It helps you get smarter every day with thousands of hands-on lessons in math physics data analysis programming and AI Brilliant breaks problems down using a first principles approach Their lessons develop problem solving skills by allowing you to experiment with concepts This method is proven to be six times more effective than traditional lecture-based learning Brilliance lessons are crafted by professors researchers and professionals from MIT
• 09:00 - 09:30 Caltech Microsoft and Google so you learn from the best Brilliant boosts critical thinking through active learning not memorization so you become a strong problem solver It also builds the habit of daily learning essential for both personal and professional growth One of my favorites is Brilliant's calculus course that develops your mathematical intuition with visuals and brings core calculus concepts like derivatives and integrals to life to try everything Brilliant has to offer free for a full 30 days Visit
• 09:30 - 10:00 brilliant.org/engineeringgone wild or scan the QR code on the screen or you can check out the link in the description below You also get 20% off an annual premium subscription So everything we talked about so far is more centered around yourself But the fifth and last step is more about your environment Surround yourself with the right people You probably heard the saying you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with And it's true If you expect to be in the top
• 10:00 - 10:30 1% you cannot be hanging out with people in the bottom 50% who are just coasting through They don't have the same goals as you They can't give you any helpful advice because they don't know what it takes It's very likely that their bad habits will rub off on you and negatively affect you in some way shape or form Instead you need to surround yourself with students and friends who you look up to and who have the results that you want to achieve Find mentors whether it's professors your best friend's dad who is a seasoned engineer
• 10:30 - 11:00 Anyone you can leverage in your network A mentor doesn't have to be someone who's a lot older than you It could be a senior mechanical engineering student that you meet in robotics or rocket propulsion club who has done multiple internships and can guide you along your journey And I just want to mention here that for fresh grads just entering industry having a good boss is super critical to your career success early on who can nourish and help you grow even when you plateau For example you don't
• 11:00 - 11:30 want a LZ fair manager who is completely handsoff and gives you full independence Yes you'll probably learn a lot through mistakes but there will be inadequate guidance and feedback On the flip side a micromanager can also hinder your growth So if this happens to you you need to find a co-orker maybe it's a senior or lead engineer who can compensate for your manager's lack of guidance and support that is so critical to your success early on If all else fails stay
• 11:30 - 12:00 for a year to gain relevant experience and keep your eye out for better opportunities At the end of the day success looks different for everyone There's no right or wrong path and there shouldn't be any self-judgment in how you define your journey What matters most is that you're making choices that truly align with what makes you happy But no matter what our goals are we should always strive to be the best version of ourselves so that years from now we can look back and have no regrets
• 12:00 - 12:30 So whether you're aiming for the top 1% or you just want to do things that make you proud have a plan and follow the steps that we outlined in this video remember to have fun and enjoy the process of getting to the top of the mountain That's super important All right guys That's it for today As always thank you so much for watching If you found this video helpful be sure to check out my video here where I share my journey of how I went from a failing to a top mechanical engineering student in university And I'll see you in the next
• 12:30 - 13:00 one Peace [Music]