Advice from the Top 1% of Software EngineerㅣExaltitude Jean Lee 

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"Blindly following trends is a recipe for failure because you are always one step behind" this is the most advice some new people in SE need to hear

- Recognize that influence stems from likability and credibility. (0:31) - Identify and focus on your unique strengths and what you want to be known for. (1:14) - Avoid blindly following trends; prioritize learning and inquisitiveness. (1:56) - Seek a balance between ownership, mentorship, and autonomy in your career. (3:13) - Embrace simplicity and prioritize ruthlessly in your projects and features. (5:01) - Ensure everyone on your team understands the long-term goals and priorities. (6:02) - Understand the impact of money on life and find work that feels meaningful and enjoyable. (8:01)

1. " Blindly Following Trends Is Receipe for Failure because you always step behind " 2. "Prioritize the things " 3. " Clearly define what exaclty you want "

If you wanna be successful in any company you work for, just be HUMBLE, don't try to put others collegues down, ignore or be a duchbag just because your job is "more important" or you have more knowledge, learning how to listen is the first key to skyrocket you as a professional and human being

My late friend had both likability and credibility/ability to deliver. She also invented Celery and made a difference in alot of things. RIP my friend. Love you

I started going to college (part time) at 27 and didn’t start coding until 30. Graduated with a degree in CS and have been working in the field for 18 months now. I love what I do and wouldn’t change a thing. If you like solving problems, start coding!

I always feared that I was learning the wrong things but now I feel I'll be okay as long as : 1. I have good ethics and morals and can be friendly to others. 2. And have at least learned the coding concepts regardless of language, system, etc. practicing life long learning everyday is very fun but also important to keep my brain healthy enough for long term work Just summarizing for myself

0:28: Influence in tech: likability and credibility are key for success. 1:48: Success in software engineering requires inquisitiveness, passion, and a focus on core utility features. 3:37: Experiencing rapid growth and learning from experienced founders led to the success of WhatsApp, with a focus on engineering culture. 5:41: Prioritizing user experience and guiding principles in software engineering management. 7:37: The impact of financial opportunities, the importance of finding fulfilling work, and the value of continuous engagement in one's passion.

Very sensible and straightforward advice and insights. Nothing fancy or unnecessarily contrarian.

This is really refreshing to hear. Simplicity and prioritisation will drive you forward. Especially in this age of bombardment of content.

What an awesome video and message. As I start my first day of my first software engineering job tomorrow I’ll be sure to reference this video afterwards and then once again every year or so as my journey continues.

As an expat working oversea, I agree with her 100% that the likability and creditability are the main characters we look for when forming the A Team for new project.

One person's success could be another person's failure. Follow your journey than following another person's footstep... Honesty and Discipline is the mantra for success!

The bad thing about loving your job so much is that everything else seems boring even the latest and greatest tv show. And when your doctor says you need to reduce stress and work it is extremely difficult.

These conversations would really be helpful to future engineers.

its hard to find good videos like this these days. she drops fact after fact here.

Amazing interview! I would work for her in a heartbeat! I wouldn't be good enough to be on her team but still!

She is top 1% for a reason. This video is wholesome 👏👏.

love the straightforward message, truly inspirational, i hope to build my career up and this gave me so much energy listening to someone who is passionate successful and driven. cheers.

Wow, this channel is a total gem. I genuinely appreciate the amazing content you guys are delivering

With all due respect I think there is a little value in this video. The speaker describes one particular product with certain core values that might be not relevant to your personal experience. Not every company gets acquired enabling you to cash out and to tell about things money can’t buy. And the videos title has nothing to do with its contents.

Universal Basic Income. How about we make it happen so that everyone can just "redefine the meaning of work" and not only the ones who win out on billion dollar sales?

I teach web dev, I do mentoring and I cant even start to explain the thoughts beginners have about react because or the ecosystem chaos. It's like a maze now. You need to learn sooo much to land a job now. Solid HTML CSS JavaScript AND React isnt enough now. You need nextjs too. Layer over layer.

simplicity with prioritisation. And doing meaningful stuff.

Good interview and refreshing because it wasn't selling us a subscription, good content!

Forgot top 1% software engg. Can Jean Lee give a talk on how to be in top 1% of beautiful women🎉❤ Beauty with brains

You earned subs. I can say I like you already when you explain the concept credibility and likeability. Man. I hope to learn more from you. I am an empty sheets 😅

Oh yeah, it's always fun when a rich person tells you how unimportant money is or the CEO gives a pep talk about how "work should be fun" right before hopping on the corporate jet to conduct business from a ski lodge in the Swiss Alps. I'm sure they're right, though. If I had everything they have then I too would take it for granted.

This is a true gem. I recently enjoyed a similar book, and it was a true gem. "Mastering AWS: A Software Engineers Guide" by Nathan Vale

Great video, Having a mentor to look upto makes all the difference. There are great roles in companies outside of big tech gaints.

whatsapp acquired for $19 billion. If she had like 0.01% of total shares, that would be a grand total of $1.9 million, millionare in overnight..super lucky and of course counting how many days she works there as well..

Breathtaking. Thanks. Gonna think it.

WhatsApp is now getting complicated by the day with it's design as they move to add in more features. It's a hard problem but they're approaching it wrong in terms of navigation and layout. Channels is messed up.

Very valuable video! Thank you!

Omg, she is so inspiring! 😻 Thank you very much gor this video!

In fact why should I be ? The truth is the more genius you are the lot of responsibility you should carry,,in fact you are not going to stand over the corner and watching people die or killing each other right,,and because you don't understand what is love that make you protect the things you care..

1:57 This is what I'm talking about. I've fallen victim from this RU-vid channels that were talking about new shiny platforms and frameworks that were not proven yet and will likely bring your project to shit if you relied on it. I was late to realize that they were just including this stuff in their content just for "clout". Don't make this same mistake ever.

Thank you so much for this. Loved The idea of what work should mean

I really like this video. My only questions are what is the top 1% of software engineers and what identifies someone as top 1%?

I never understood what whatsapp engineers were building except for the different UI each year unecessarily.

So basically be talented AND super luck out at being in the right place at the right time? I have friends here in SF that just own homes here and quit their career because they happened to work at Instagram doing normal level work during their facebook acquisition. They are no more or less talented than any of the friends in our engineering crew out here. It's just about lucking out for a huge % of people that make it.

Great video, ending was really a cherry on top ❤

Person vs. employee. Don’t limit yourself so!

credibility and likeability? aren't thing you find at any businesses today. wow where do i start. there are so many bad things about businesses you dont know. i never got the chance to create likeability or credibility. i took up coding 4 years ago to improve my financial situation. having electronics repair/engineering experience and coding experience i thought would help my situation. the problem there are so many businesses that pay so little for electronics its pathetic. it has been improving lately ironically. but my coding experience has helped me in stock market so much more. i am more likely to make more money in the stock market than as a tech!

Unlike 99% of all hiring managers

That’s great, but I still don’t like how WhatsApp collects so much user data that ends up being leaked or sold. It’s really not privacy safe.

Leaving a comment so I can get back to this

In other words not focusing on doing the job but pulling the strings to adjust into a work environment, woke engineers.

What great insights, and video.

Excellent!

So much depth

how to be a great engineer to how to spend the life.. awesome video..

I wish someone just gives me a chance, I just need one.

I really love this video and learned to become a part in my computer science journey. Your video help me to keep working on your prioritize task instead work on at the same time on multitasking. Learning new things every day as the technology changes we learn to solve own problems and clients problems. we can solve the problem if we understand the problem well. I also afraid to math a lot but i try to solve math problems as i become engineer. sorry for my bad english actually i'm learning to write in english.

Great honest video thanks for sharing!

According to programming language being fadeout, she doesn't have any idea that Cobol is still using :))

This was a great video, thank you

don't know,its like hearing your own story through some one else , really liked it .

advise me on how to sell people’s personal data

In this field chinese people are dominant dammmm

Amazing. Share a lot of insights.

The video fails to mention how the “top 1%” is defined and evaluated.

Wow great and authentic. Thanks

What an informative content ❤ thank you EO

Thank you. Very informative!

I like lots of different things is the problem.

Amazing advice , you inspire me!

Amazing interview!

00:00 Jean Lee's experience at WhatsApp demonstrates the rapid growth potential in tech, highlighting the importance of scalability and user engagement. 00:28 The necessity of balancing likability and credibility for professional influence and securing opportunities is emphasized. 00:57 Importance of identifying and focusing on a specific skill or attribute to stand out in a competitive field. 01:25 The critical role of adaptability and continual learning in software engineering, rather than relying solely on current trends or specific programming languages. 01:53 Encourages a focus on personal passions and strengths to achieve success, rather than following trends. 02:28 Emphasizes the value of prioritizing core functionalities and quality in product development. 02:56 Demonstrates the impact of reliable and functional technology in critical situations, like emergencies. 03:24 Reflects on the importance of balancing autonomy with mentorship in a professional setting. 03:52 Learning from company leadership and observing organizational culture as a way to develop professionally. 04:21 Discusses maintaining a consistent engineering culture during periods of rapid company growth. 04:49 Highlights simplicity as a key principle in engineering and product design. 05:17 The importance of prioritization in achieving simplicity and effectiveness in projects. 05:45Using user-centric design principles, like ensuring accessibility for all types of users. 06:14 The value of setting clear, long-term goals and values for team direction and prioritization. 06:43 Demonstrates how prioritization and simplicity were key to WhatsApp's success. 07:18 Shares personal reflections on the impact of significant corporate events, like acquisitions. 07:49 Discusses the psychological and lifestyle changes following financial independence. 08:19 Emphasizes finding meaningful and enjoyable work for long-term career satisfaction. 08:45 Reflects on redefining personal goals and the meaning of work post-financial success.

Thank you for this amazing video!

Great tips

They might have thrown away the "No gimmick" note, based on the recent bullsh*t updates they have been pumping out.

Great video. Thank you 🙏🏼

amazing !

her unflinching ability to say ass hole wowww . i like that 😂

WhatsApp has a terrible codebase. Atleast the Android part

we do not care about the programming language you are using, instead what is matter if you are able to memorise patterns to solve "far away from real life" coding challenges in 15 mins :))))

Wise woman!

Note to self: make app for grandmas in the middle of nowhere.

Just to put this out there: Your value as a person is not dependent on your economic productivity.

Why chopping the video if you have multiple camera? Why not make it smooth editing?

Right place at the right time. We all know why WhatsApp was successful and this is not it. It was because folks around the world didn’t wanna pay per SMS text.

Background music is too loud. Its unnecessary even if it was at proper volume.

Hiring managers only want ro see experienced in lot of different languages

To sum up what she said in one word: Prioritisation

Informative contents = )

1) Join a unicorn startup before the billion dollar sale or going public 2) Now you're a top 1% genius

Supet senior engineer explains her basic chat app

I guess the poster of "No gimmicks" fell off the wall. And whatsapp is back with channels , payments 🎃

Whatsapp is a piece of 💩 it couldn’t event sync data from android to iOS, that’s ridiculous

K, I'm a fan

Take a breather

I am going to get a tattoo saying "Following trends is a guarantee for failure because you will be a step behind" :-)

Why am i crying? 🥺🥺

The video is 9 minutes yet all the comments are like summaries with timestamps lol

I think y'all could've used some more jumpcuts.

First!

nice video

To join a unicorn at early stage is very lucky, 99% won't give u financial freedom