Every year, lakhs of aspirants appear in the UPSC CS Exam to pursue their dream of becoming a civil servant. However, only a handful of them are actually able to achieve their goal. So, what happens to all those who are not able to make it to the final list in CSE, even after multiple attempts? Is that the end of their dream? Is there no shores beyond UPSC? Certainly not. Life opens much other doors of opportunity for the ones who dedicate their everything and give 100% in their preparation.
One such achiever is Krishan Kumar. He might not have achieved his goal of becoming a civil servant but is at a much better place in life now. Even after clearing 22 prelims (UPSC CSE + state PCS), reaching 8 interview rounds, and making into the reserve list twice, he couldn’t become a civil serant. However, his zeal for success did not stop there. He is now heading the QA team in an IT firm based in Noida.
In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, he said that looking back, he does not see those years as waste of time but a learning process that has helped him become a better person in life.
FAILURE AFTER FAILURE IN CSE
Mr. Kumar spent more than five years for UPSC CSE and state civil service preparation. “Now, when I look back, I don’t see it as a failure or waste of time. Those years made be better, well read, sensitive and a responsible citizen of this country. I have learned what I could not have in any other ways,” he said.
He completed his graduation from SIT, Tumkur in Karnataka. Soon after graduation, he took up a job in a Bangalore-based IT firm, in 2013. But, while he was continuing in this job, his heart was all the while yearning for something else.
He had already attempted CSE once in 2012 and couldn’t clear it. He continued studying here and there and gave his second attempt in 2016 and cleared the Prelims. He couldn’t clear the Mains this time. Again in 2017, he cleared the Prelims but didn’t appear for Mains. In 2018, he finally left his job and shifted to Delhi for the preparation. That year, he reached till the interview round of UPSC CSE but missed the final list due to poor marks in Mains.
LACK OF FAMILY SUPPORT
He didn’t have any job now and his parents also could not support him financially. So, he decided to appear in the state PCS. Between 2018-19, he gave several attempts in state civil service and forest service exams in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. He crossed the final cut off in UPPCS and JPSC but no service was allocated to him. He qualified the exam but due to his graduation subject no service was allocated to him.
Meanwhile, he kept appearing for CSE and in 2019, he managed to clear Prelims. But, in 2020, he could clear even the Prelims. After attempting the UPSC Indian Forest Service exam one last time, he finally gave up and returned to his field.
Speaking about it, he said that he didn’t get family support, both morally and financially as they couldn’t understand why he left a settled career. “Also, I was trying my hand in various things which led to my failure. Instead of appearing in various state services, I should have focused on Bihar, Jharkhand and UPSC CSE only, as the syllabus is different and I faced problems with optional too. In UPSC CSE, I took Maithili as an optional which was allowed in BPSC, but for UPPCS, I had to choose a different optional. This led to distraction.”
EVOLVED AS A HUMAN BEING
Mr. Kumar hails from Darbhanga in Bihar and is the son of a bank clerk. He is the fourth child after three sisters. Although he was always attracted to humanities and actively participated in co-curricular activities in school and college, yet, it was only during his civil service exam preparation that he started to understand society, politics and geography of the world better.
“While I was reading sociology, I came to know that I am a meta preference son. I realized what all my family, especially my mother, had to go through to bring me into this world. Being a science student, I was not aware of all these, but UPSC taught me to understand humanities, which helped me evolve as a person,” he said.
MAKES A COMEBACK
It wasn’t easy for him to start his career again in IT. The big firms asked him about the gap years, but small companies and startups considered his years of preparation as experience. He first got a contractual job for six months and finally got an offer from Friday Media Group. However, the company was dealing with loses and he was laid off. That was really a difficult time for him.
He moved to Delhi as there were plenty of opportunities like content writing and aspirant mentorship. However, he didn’t join any and finally took up an opportunity in a Noida based company. There, within 2-3 months, he was promoted and got an opportunity to excel.
CIVIL SERVICE NOT THE ONLY WAY
His learnings during the preparation days are helping him in his current job. “I can understand the business well as everything is governed by geography and economy. I can apply 360 degree rule in the capitalist world too. All in all, I feel satisfied,” he said.
He now understands the issues of women, society, and the country well. His outlook and views on many subjects have changed. He also believes that by becoming a civil servant, one can contribute to society on a large scale, but, that is not the only way. One can also serve society and the country by being a good citizen who is aware of his rights and responsibilities.
