The Upskilling Playbook
Discover how top engineers choose the right skills, find resources, and apply them to excel in their careers.
Executive Summary
Being an engineer in India is tough. Years of hard work still leave you in a competitive and uncertain market.
Even landing a job doesn’t guarantee security, with new AI tools constantly threatening to make you obsolete. The pressure never stops.
Yet, some engineers manage to rise above this.
They're thriving at leading companies and startups. We interviewed 21 of them, and their key takeaway? Keep upskilling.
This report explores how top engineers choose the right skills, identify the best learning resources, and apply their expertise to grow.
By the end, you'll have the insights to craft your own upskilling strategy.
Early on, explore based on interest. Later, get strategic and focus on skills that'll make you stand out.
Career Phases Focus-shifts over time
Early on, explore based on interest. Later, get strategic and focus on skills that'll make you stand out.
Goal Setting Align skills with goals
A clear career direction helps you map out the skills needed to move from point A to point B.
Resources A means to an end
Don’t waste time searching for the "perfect" resource. Pick something decent and start. Perfection isn't the goal, progress is.
Making Time Prioritize learning time
Track your time usage. Block out non-negotiable learning hours each day. Create a plan so you know what you're tackling.
Skill Building Practice to master
Use what you learn at work, in side projects, or by contributing to open-source. The more you practice, the more it'll become second nature.
Bias for Action Don’t wait, just start.
The biggest mistake is waiting for the perfect moment or an ideal resource. Instead, choose something that excites you and dive in. Everyone we spoke to agreed: progress happens when you take action.
Chapter 1 : How to choose what to learn
Two phases for upskilling
Your career direction
Chapter 2 : Where to learn from
Learning resources recommended by engineers
Chapter 3 : How to find time to learn
Building a learning system to find time
Chapter 4 : How to apply the skills you learn
On the Job
Personal Projects
Open Source Contribution
Chapter 5 : Have a high bias for action
Learn and Execute
Your dream tech job is waiting.
Our 7+ years of expertise ensure you're matched with the right company and role. We're more than just a job board – we're your career partner.
“Flexiple has exceeded our expectations with their focus on customer satisfaction! The freelancers are brilliant at what they do and have made an immense impact. Highly recommended :)”
Henning Grimm
Founder, Aquaplot
“Overall Flexiple brought in high-level of transparency with extremely quick turnarounds in the hiring process at a significantly lower cost than any alternate options we had considered.”
Kislay Shashwat
VP Finance, CREO
“Todd and I are impressed with the candidates you've gathered. Thank you for your work so far. Thanks for sticking within our budget and helping us to find strong talent. Have loved Flexiple so far — highly entrepreneurial and autonomous talent.”
William Ross
Co-Founder, Reckit
“The cooperation with Christos was excellent. I can only give positive feedback about him. Besides his general coding, the way of writing tests and preparing documentation has enriched our team very much. It is a great added value in every team.”
Moritz Gruber
CTO, Caisy.io
“Flexiple spent a good amount of time understanding our requirements, resulting in accurate recommendations and quick ramp up by developers. We also found them to be much more affordable than other alternatives for the same level of quality.”
Narayan Vyas
Director PM, Plivo Inc
“It's been great working with Flexiple for hiring talented, hardworking folks. We needed a suitable back-end developer and got to know Ankur through Flexiple. We are very happy with his commitment and skills and will be working with Flexiple going forward as well.”
Neil Shah
Chief of Staff, Prodigal Tech
“Flexiple has been instrumental in helping us grow fast. Their vetting process is top notch and they were able to connect us with quality talent quickly. The team put great emphasis on matching us with folks who were a great fit not only technically but also culturally.”
Tanu V
Founder, Power Router
“Flexiple has exceeded our expectations with their focus on customer satisfaction! The freelancers are brilliant at what they do and have made an immense impact. Highly recommended :)”
Henning Grimm
Founder, Aquaplot
“Overall Flexiple brought in high-level of transparency with extremely quick turnarounds in the hiring process at a significantly lower cost than any alternate options we had considered.”
Kislay Shashwat
VP Finance, CREO
“Todd and I are impressed with the candidates you've gathered. Thank you for your work so far. Thanks for sticking within our budget and helping us to find strong talent. Have loved Flexiple so far — highly entrepreneurial and autonomous talent.”
William Ross
Co-Founder, Reckit
“The cooperation with Christos was excellent. I can only give positive feedback about him. Besides his general coding, the way of writing tests and preparing documentation has enriched our team very much. It is a great added value in every team.”
Moritz Gruber
CTO, Caisy.io
“Flexiple spent a good amount of time understanding our requirements, resulting in accurate recommendations and quick ramp up by developers. We also found them to be much more affordable than other alternatives for the same level of quality.”
Narayan Vyas
Director PM, Plivo Inc
“It's been great working with Flexiple for hiring talented, hardworking folks. We needed a suitable back-end developer and got to know Ankur through Flexiple. We are very happy with his commitment and skills and will be working with Flexiple going forward as well.”
Neil Shah
Chief of Staff, Prodigal Tech
“Flexiple has been instrumental in helping us grow fast. Their vetting process is top notch and they were able to connect us with quality talent quickly. The team put great emphasis on matching us with folks who were a great fit not only technically but also culturally.”
Tanu V
Founder, Power Router
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