Most Civil Services aspirants quit their job for preparation. Abhihsek Mishra couldn’t do it, because of his financial situation. But there is a will, there is way. He decided to prepare while doing his job. He managed his schedule, cut himself off from social gatherings and focused on his goal. And, it all paid off, when he cracked MPPSC-2020 with Rank 5 and got deputy collector post.
He did not only crack MPPSC exam, but also passed an UPSC CAPF. Abhishek is an example for those who think that they don’t have enough time for something.
Speaking exclusively to Indian Masterminds, Mr. Abhishek Mishra narrated his journey.
JOURNEY SO FAR
After graduation in 2018, he joined an MNC. He started his Civil Services preparations in March, 2019. But due to his job, he never joined any coaching and focused on self study.
His cracked the MPPSC in his first attempt in 2019. He got Assistant Director’s Post and was also in the waiting list for Deputy SP post. He cracked the exam again in 2020 with Rank 5 and got Deputy Collector post. Due to various reasons, MPPSC-2019 exam procedure got delayed and the result came out in four years, even after MPPSC-20.
Meanwhile, he also cracked UPSC CAPF – 2021 and got Assistant Commandant in BSF. But, he did not join it.
BACKGROUND
He hails from Parausa village in Bhind District, MP. His father is a farmer and mother a homemaker. He has two elder sisters.
He did his basic schooling till 8th in his village. After that, he moved to Gwalior and completed his 12th. He did B. Tech in Electrical Engineering from NIT, Bhopal.
After graduation, he started working for Wipro in Pune from where he resigned after the MPPSC result.
CIVIL SERVICES PREPARATION
For MPPSC preparations, Abhishek sought guidance from his friends who were preparing for the exam. He started to read NCERT and then moved to other standard books suggested for the preparation.
He believed that ‘Syllabus’ is the key for this exam. He said, “Before starting the preparation, just learn the syllabus and always study according to it. Prelims is very tough and you have to read a lot. But for mains, just stick to the syllabus.”
His strategy was focused on following just one book for each subject, apart from NCERT. After reading these books two times, he made two types of notes. First, he made long notes for mains, then drawing short notes from long notes, for easy revision.
He said, “Revise as much as you can, so that things would be memorized. I did it 9 to 10 times.”
He focused on online test series and Previous Years Questions Papers (PYQs) as well. He suggests that aspirants can use online tools for better study like YouTube videos and online tests.
PREPARING WITH JOB
How did he manage to study with a private job and cracked the exams in such short span of a time? “I will say consistency and better utilization of time were two main factors. I used to study while traveling to the office. I even ignored all the parties at office,” he told Indian Masterminds.
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
His Interview questions were a bit unexpected. He was asked questions from his engineering background, Chandrayaan-3, farming, rebels of Chambal region and his current job.
Board members asked him, “You are in a well paying job. Then, why do you want to join Civil Services, for more which will lead to corruption? He replied, “Money is not a concern for me as I am already earning enough. But in my regions, Civil Services have been respected and people see it as a hope for them. It has a certain value there.”
“Right now I am in job, I want to join service. There is a difference between job and service,” he replied.
He was asked how ravines came up in Chambal? He cited Gully erosion and loose soil as the reason. But an interviewer called it wrong. So, he again tried to add more points like rapid deforestation and high intensity rainfall in short duration even the region receives minimum rainfall etc.
But with every answer the response of board members was that’s wrong. They said him that you should at least be aware of this.
Later, Abhishek got to know that his reasons were correct, but the members were checking his confidence and whether he can provide multiple view point on any issue or not. Abhishek said that’s what they check there in Interview.
FUTURE AIM
On future aim, he said that his focus will be on harnessing technology in his job. “Currently I’m going to join state service and then I’m thinking to at-least give one or 2 UPSC CSE attempt along with the service,” he said.
