As the final results of ESE 2025 are declared, many candidates who have scored average to good marks often ponder what it takes to become an ESE topper. Key qualities such as determination, willpower, clear priorities, and unwavering commitment play a vital role in achieving top ranks. It is important to understand that ESE toppers are not naturally gifted or exceptionally talented individuals. They are ordinary students who have mastered the art of channelizing their energy and efforts in the right direction.
During the rigorous preparation for the Engineering Services Examination (ESE), staying motivated and determined is often more important than mere knowledge and intelligence. The cornerstone of success lies in having a well-structured strategy and ensuring its timely and consistent execution.
ESE toppers’ study tips
If you aim for the stars and imagine yourself at the top, you need to put in extra effort, which most exam aspirants do not implement during the critical phase of exam preparation. In this blog post, we will cover ESE 2025 toppers’ study tips, the most common similarities, and the unique aspects that provided them with the much-needed extra edge over others. In addition, we have done our best to analyze ESE toppers’ strategies and the crucial factors that distinguished them from the rest. You can also follow these study tips to get that extra edge in your ESE Prelims and Mains 2026 that you have always yearned for:
1. Work smart with the right amount of hard work
If you are a competitive exam aspirant, you must remember that there are no shortcuts to success. However, you can choose the route of smart work. Reading complete textbooks and daily newspapers sounds fancy to most engineering competitive exam aspirants. You do not have a lifetime to prepare for a competitive exam such as ESE. In this time-bound course of preparation, one needs to work smart to clear the highly competitive Engineering Services Examination.
2. Choose your sources wisely:
If you decide to opt for a coaching class and prepare for the upcoming ESE Prelims and Mains, be careful while finalizing it. Take time out and go through the ESE toppers’ testimonials about the respective coaching or test series. You must read testimonials in which ESE toppers recommend coaching and highlight the benefits associated with the respective preparation.
3. Keep faith in your teachers:
ESE toppers mention in multiple instances that their undying faith in their teachers and mentors at MADE EASY enabled them to attain new heights. Most exam aspirants practicing questions as an exercise and following the guidelines of teachers can suffice for effective ESE 2026 exam preparation. You must consider your teachers as true guides to prepare for the Engineering Services Examination. This will help you clarify your doubts in the best possible manner and progress effectively towards your ESE topper goals.
4. Be strict with your schedule:
Whatever schedule you design for yourself to prepare for the upcoming ESE Prelims and Mains, you must follow it diligently. The duration of daily study can range from as little as 3 hours to 10 hours (on average), based on your priorities and exam-oriented goals. Be disciplined enough to stick to your schedule, irrespective of the distractions around you. Avoid following what others say or do, especially if you are serious about becoming an ESE topper. You must understand that several individuals talk a lot about the path to becoming a topper. However, the reality is much different from what is shown to most exam aspirants. You need to ensure that you design a custom schedule for dedicated exam preparation. Apart from this, you must also commit to following and sticking to the schedule so that you can crack the exam with the desired marks.
5. Consistency is the key:
ESE toppers mention that maintaining consistency in one’s study schedule is equally important as having a strong study plan. Most toppers specify that consistency, smart work, and timely dedication have the power to outplay luck significantly. Therefore, if you often say that your luck did not support you when you needed it the most, you must remember the role of these factors in efficient ESE preparation. You must keep in mind that you cannot control luck. However, you can control and improve your level of effort toward your Engineering Services Examination attempt.
6. Optimum syllabus coverage:
Syllabus coverage at the right time is crucial for the Engineering Services Examination. If you aspire to higher ranks in intense competition, you must cover the essential aspects of the ESE Prelims and Mains 2026 official syllabus. If you leave any part of your syllabus, there is a high chance that you will lose significant marks in your competitive ESE Mains 2026. Most importantly, you must accept that scoring full marks in this exam is practically impossible. Therefore, you need to prepare your syllabus in such a manner that you score the best possible marks in the exam. You also need to be mindful of this and ensure that you do not keep unrealistic expectations of yourself.
7. Practice Makes a Man Perfect:
A significant amount of practice leads to a boost in the confidence levels of the ESE aspirants. You must practice the ESE previous years’ question papers. You can combine the same with that of the GATE exam. If you find that certain topics in your branch relate to the other branch, you must channelize your efforts towards solving the questions in that particular subject. In addition, you must keep a check on the previous years’ questions, as there is a high chance of questions reoccurrence in the Engineering Services Examination. Therefore, routine practice of such questions helps to target and solve those questions in the right way.
Many ESE toppers in their interaction have mentioned that consistent reading of books on the topics helped them remember and even prepare for some non-technical subjects for ESE.
8. Focus on Preparing for Conventional Questions from the Start:
Practice writing answers for previous years’ questions of your branch. In addition, practice questions from other exam papers that go for the conventional model such as Civil Services Examination, Indian Forest Services exam, etc. An exam aspirant’s writing skills improve with consistent practice of different types of questions such as Conventional Questions. Most experts recommend that accuracy bags more points when it comes to ESE Mains. However, if you are aiming for top ranks in the upcoming ESE Mains 2026, then polished writing skills will provide that extra edge for the exam aspirants.
9. Plan for Exam Before You Appear for it:
This is one strategy that many ESE toppers follow and profess in their topper’s interviews. One should not go and appear randomly for the ESE. Instead, you must set your target scores for each paper of ESE at each preparation stage much before you appear for the actual examination. This will help you strategize your attempt for the respective engineering competitive exam. If you could attempt the decided number of questions in the Engineering Services Examination, then you can focus on the revision to eliminate any possible obstacles during the actual exam attempt. If the attempt is way below the pre-decided attempt, then go for informed guessing or elimination to attempt a greater number of questions correctly. This practice is beneficial for the final ESE Prelims and ESE Mains and one can attain it easily with the help of a good test series irrespective of the attempt mode.
10. Joining a Test Series is Essential:
Along with the above points, you must also prioritize joining a renowned coaching institute’s offline test series. You must remember that the number of enrolled students in the respective coaching institute is a huge factor that helps to analyze the announced ranks with the right parameters. One must take test series as an opportunity to learn and add to your existing knowledge, instead of judging one’s absolute knowledge and performance. Several ESE toppers have specifically mentioned that they took the ESE test series as a learning opportunity to know about concepts they did not even know about. It also helped such students prepare well for the subjects included in the latest syllabus of the ESE Mains 2025. In addition, it is equally important to analyze your performance, discuss your doubts, and improve your strategy after each test.
11 . Prioritize interpersonal skills:
Although the language is not a barrier to the ESE interview, personality and communication skills hold a significant place in an exam aspirant’s attempt. Mostly ESE interviews follow technical lines but may be routed towards certain points. This includes previous job experience, your hometown, or any other relevant point in your Detailed Application Form (DAF). One needs to develop the skill set for the same. Apart from this, one must possess complete knowledge about the relevant information that concerns an exam aspirant.
12. Flexible Strategy:
Most experienced ESE faculties suggest ESE aspirants become flexible with their preparation strategies. If you ever think a particular approach is not working well, be dynamic enough to change it. If you experience that 5 hours of study is not yielding the desired results, you must quickly implement the changes in your study schedule. If you think class notes are not enough, put in the best effort to switch to standard textbooks for the best impact on your ESE 2026 preparation.
MADE EASY Results: ESE 2025 Success Highlights
MADE EASY, a name that has guided lakhs of students in the journey of ESE, GATE, and other competitive engineering exams for the last 24 years. MADE EASY’s results are the reason why candidates trust us for ESE and GATE preparation. Let us have a look at the MADE EASY results of ESE 2025.
Civil Engineering
- 9 selections in top 10
- 19 selections in top 20
- 194 selections out of 202 vacancies
- 64% selection from classroom and online courses
- 96% of total selections are from MADE EASY
Mechanical Engineering
- 10 selections in top 10
- 19 selections in top 20
- 58 selections out of 61 vacancies
- 78% selection from classroom and online courses
- 95% of total selections are from MADE EASY
Electrical Engineering
- 10 selections in top 10
- 20 selections in top 20
- 75 selections out of 79 vacancies
- 80% selection from classroom and online courses
- 95% of total selections are from MADE EASY
Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering
- 10 selections in top 10
- 17 selections in top 20
- 107 selections out of 116 vacancies
- 77% selection from classroom and online courses
- 92% of total selections are from MADE EASY
So aspirants, if you want to become one of the toppers like those of ESE 2025, you must put in your best efforts to implement the above-mentioned hacks for effective exam preparation.
Now, let us find out the answers to the most commonly asked questions linked with the journey to becoming an ESE topper.
FAQs:
1. What is the salary of an IES officer?
Ans. The basic pay of an IES officer is ₹ 56,100 along with other allowances like dearness allowance, house allowance, transport allowance etc. The basic pay increases with one’s performance and designation. Therefore, if you aim to increase your IES officer salary package, you must ensure that you work dedicatedly towards your roles and responsibilities throughout your tenure.
2. Where can I find the interviews of ESE toppers?
Ans. You can find the interviews of the ESE toppers on the MADE EASY official channel with the name – ESE 2025 Toppers’ Talk.
3. What is the date of the ESE Prelims 2026?
Ans. The UPSC will conduct the ESE Prelims 2026 on 8th February 2026.
4. What is the date of the ESE Mains 2026?
Ans. The UPSC will conduct the ESE Main 2025 on 21st June 2026.
5. Is there any number of attempts limit in the ESE?
Ans. Candidates can attempt ESE from the age of 21 to 30 years.
6. Which branch suits the best for the ESE?
Ans. ESE is conducted in 4 branches, Civil, Mechanical, Electrical and Electronics Engineering. Every branch is best for ESE if the candidate has prepared well.
7. Do IAS and IES belong to the same type of services?
Ans. Both yes and no. The IAS primarily includes the administrative sector of the Government of India. The IES primarily includes the technical and specialized aspects associated with the engineering government sector.
8. Which is the language / medium of question papers?
Ans. In ESE, questions are asked in English language only.
9. What is the format of the Engineering Services (Main) Examination Question Papers? How long does each paper last?
Ans. The test will consist of conventional (essay) format question papers. Each paper continues for three hours.
10. Is it necessary to focus on current affairs while studying for the ESE Mains 2026 Exam?
Ans. Current affairs are not asked in ESE Mains exam. However, candidate should prepare current affairs and general knowledge as them as it helps in prelims and interview.
11. What are the best courses that will help you become an IES officer?
Ans. If you are serious to become an IES officer, you must choose the right guidance at the right time, you can refer to the following courses:
You can choose one or more courses to receive essential guidance and become an ESE topper. Such guidance will help you move towards becoming a Civil topper, Mechanical topper, Electrical topper, or Electronics and Telecommunication topper.
In conclusion, put in your best efforts without being overly stringent about anything. This includes strategy, study sources, or approach. No ESE toppers expected themselves to secure full marks in this highly competitive exam. Most exam aspirants who turned toppers were confident that they would see their names in the final list of selected candidates. This motivated them to put enough effort into their preparation, which worked out well for them. All the best!
You must remember that toppers are not people who never failed, but those who found a thousand ways to recover a hundred times after failing.
Dear Aspirants, Your preparation for GATE, ESE, PSUs, and AE/JE is now smarter than ever — thanks to the MADE EASY YouTube channel. This is not just a channel, but a complete strategy for success, where you get toppers strategies, PYQ–GTQ discussions, current affairs updates, and important job-related information, all delivered by the country’s best teachers and industry experts. If you also want to stay one step ahead in the race to success, subscribe to MADE EASY on YouTube and stay connected with us on social media. MADE EASY — where preparation happens with confidence.