Become the best engineer in the room, land your dream job, and make the world a better place

This will not be a course about appearances.  It's not about polishing your resume, or adding token activities, or any other tactic or strategy that someone might tell you is the way to land a job out of college.  It's also not about learning any so-called secrets about recruiting, or common interview questions, or any of that other non-sense*.  

This is a crash course in taking the steps to actually become the best engineer you can as quickly as possible, getting the most value out of your educational institution, and setting up your future career for success.  It's about becoming more valuable so that employers want you.  It's about improving your odds of making a difference in whatever you endeavor to do, whether that's at a large institution or at a small startup looking to change the world...

I need to find out if there are enough of you out there that not only have the desire to gain this information, but the initiative to actually do something about it.  So if you're interested and want this course to come to fruition, sign up to the mailing list below, and spread the word!

* although your resume will look better, and you will perform better in an interview after this course

signup to the mailing list to let me know you're interested and receive the latest updates

 

  • Who is this course for?

This course is designed for students looking to make an impact through engineering and get a job they are passionate about, but who may not have access to the guidance needed to help get them there.  Although not required, ideally students have at least 1 year left of education to allow them to take full advantage of the likely underappreciated resources at their disposal. 

Already a working professional?  I'd still like to hear from you as depending on the final interest, I may create a second course tailored for working engineers.

Who the f*ck are you...

and why should I take a course from you?

Santi Udomkesmalee

I've been an engineer at SpaceX and NASA. I've worked with, hired, managed and mentored some of the highest performing engineers in the world. After 1000s of resumes and 100s of interviews, I've noticed there's a glaring problem with our higher education. I've rejected smart students from top schools because they didn't have the learning experiences and thought process development needed to elevate them from "someone with promise" to someone who has a high probability of being awesome. So I decided to try this experiment to see if I could simultaneously help students better achieve their goals and also increase the talent pool available to help solve the world's most difficult challenges.

A few more things about me

since you don't know me, and I don't know you

  • I led the hardware team responsible for maintaining thermal control of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft

  • The highest literal mountain I've climbed is Huayna Potosí at 19,974 ft

  • I've told Elon Musk that he was wrong in a meeting (I failed to convince him)

  • I've traveled on the Trans-Siberian Railway and spent 3 weeks on horseback in northern Mongolia

  • I was in charge of the SpaceX Dragon Parachute system

  • I've spent a year traveling around South America

  • I lived on Mars time when I worked as an operator for the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity

Testimonials

Nick Lima

Director Of Engineering at Helion Energy

"Santi is one of the best engineers I know. His wisdom and guidance have been an important part of my growth as an engineer and leader."

Patrick Foran

Senior Thermal Hardware Engineer at SpaceX

"Santi's mentorship was instrumental in helping me further my career. His deep technical knowledge across many topics enabled me to succeed in a demanding work environment."

FAQ

  • Will this course be free?

    Nope, sorry. My current best guess at the price is somewhere around $300, but this has high uncertainty and may go up or down. The price of the course will converge as the scope of the course matures. The course will have a 100% satisfaction money back guarantee. (Last i checked your college doesn't give you a satisfaction guarantee, so you better make the best of your tuition!)

  • What exactly is going to be covered in this course?

    That is still TBD based on the feedback I get from all of you. I know the mistakes that I see engineering students make, but I am also keen to hear what you struggle with, what you're curious about, and what you'd like guidance on. I will be updating this page as more details about the course come together.

    Overall, the course will focus on what qualities make a great engineer and cultivating the mindset, technical foundation, and experience required to get there. Although there will be technical discussions in the course, this first course will be focused more on mentorship and guidance rather than technical deep dives on specific topics.

  • What is the format of the course?

    Also TBD, but the current plan is to have about 4 chapters, each with multiple self-watch video lessons. The chapters will be paced out one per week to allow a few exercises to be done with your fellow classmates. Courses will likely be limited in enrollment per session to facilitate some activities and communication. There also may be some "office hour" type sessions with myself to allow for some group discussion about the topics.

    But please send me feedback on this. I want to find a format that works best for all of you.

Have a question?

or want to let me know what you'd like to see in this course?

email me!