It is never too late to listen to your inner voice. This adage fits well on IPS officer Shraddha Pandey and her journey to UPSC. Starting from ground zero to conquering all the hurdles on the way, hers is a story of grit that every civil service aspirant should know about. Indian Masterminds presents her UPSC success story today.
BACKGROUND
Shraddha, who hails from Mumbai, pursued her M.Tech in Biotechnology from Pune. While working on her laboratory projects as a final year student, she realised that she was not cut out for this kind of work. Like any normal college student, she was confused about her career. She had two options in mind – either to go into the profession of teaching or to go for civil services. After graduating in 2009, she appeared in CSE 2010 as a trial, without any idea of the demands of the exam and she couldn’t clear it. After a gap of two years, she again appeared in 2013 and this time, she couldn’t crack prelims by just 2-3 marks. She finally cracked the exam in 2016 after much hard work and thorough preparation, and became an IPS officer.
LISTEN TO YOUR MIND ONLY
While talking about her UPSC journey, Shraddha once said in an interaction with media, “Initially I was so naive that I wasn’t even aware about the syllabus of CSE. One of my seniors advised me to go to Delhi for preparation. Without giving it a second thought, I went to Delhi to the same coaching institute that was referred to me by my senior. But things were not the same for me. I became exhausted and even cracking prelims seemed impossible for me.”
She then returned to Mumbai and started to explore things by herself, pursued her hobbies, and met a lot of people. All these things boosted her confidence, and from thereon, she never looked back until she cleared the exam.
WHY CIVIL SERVICES
Shraddha says that the exam is definitely tough but once you get the clear idea of why you want to be a civil servant, most of the journey becomes easy. “Choose a career where you can imagine yourself working happily in the next 30 to 35 years. If someone wants to join it because of money, power and perks, then this is not a right choice for them. This service needs people who can dedicate themselves to the country and its service.”
BALANCING WORK AND STUDY
In 2013, when she was preparing for CSE, she got selected in the National Insurance Company as Administrative Officer.
“The experience of dealing with people and files proved so worthy for me as it gave me an idea of my future job as a civil servant. Plus, when you work well; people appreciate you.” Giving an example, she said that once a man came to her for work and she immediately solved his issue. He got so overwhelmed that he said, “Every government office should have women employees because they are capable enough to do work with full dedication.”
Though it’s hard to balance both work and study, Shraddha managed to do it well as she had a Plan of Action. “You should realise that as a working professional you have limited time. If someone is studying from 9 am, you have to start your study from 5am.There is no shortcut to success. It’s ok to face failures but keep faith in yourself and make your own way.”
Last but not least, she says, “As my parents supported me throughout my journey, every parent should support their girl child because one day she will surely make you swell up with pride.”
