Cracking UPSC CSE can take years of efforts and attempts by aspirants. However, there are many who clear it in their very first attempt. Vaibhav Gondane is one such lucky person. Clearing CSE in one attempt was possible because from a very early age he had decided that he wants to join Indian Foreign Service and had also started preparing for the civil services exam right from his college days.
Indian Masterminds presents the story of Vaibhav Gondane, who secured rank 25 in UPSC CSE 2018 at the age of 22.
ALWAYS ATTRACTED TO FOREIGN SERVICE
Hailing from Pune, Maharashtra, Mr. Gondane comes from an urban English educated background. This was the major reason why he felt IFS was just right for him as he felt he would not be able to do justice to the role of an IAS officer posted in remote areas.
On a media platform, he said, “I was always attracted towards foreign policy and international relations and it increased as I grew older. Besides this, my role models while preparing for UPSC CSE were also from the IFS, namely Vikas Swarup sir and Nirupama Rao ma’am. So, Foreign Services was a natural choice for me as I wanted to work in a specialised service rather than in a generalist one like IAS.”
MOTIVATION MATTERS
Mr. Gondane chose engineering for his graduation but since the 10th standard only, he wanted to appear for UPSC CSE. According to him, the motivation behind choosing civil services as a career ensures your success in it. “For some people, it’s their parents dream to see them in civil services. Some are motivated by the attractions and luxury that come with this service. If you ask me, if you don’t see civil services as a platform to do something for society and are not motivated by the work you’re going to do as a civil servant, then you might not succeed. Majorly, because if it is not your dream or motivation, you can’t keep up with the preparation for more than 2-3 months.”
PREPARATION FROM COLLEGE DAYS
Deciding to choose civil services as a career during your college or before that can act as a blessing. The IFS officer says, “If you start your preparation during college time, then you don’t have any external financial pressure. You have much time to take up studies with ease. However, during that period, time management is the key. You’ll have your academics, co-curricular activities and lots of other things on your plate. In that case, you’ll have to learn the art of managing time and prepare time-table according to your engagements.”
While giving tips to aspirants, he emphasises that one should give equal importance to each subject and topic. Hyping up one thing or doing the opposite can affect your result, he said.
