Be it the millennials or the generations before them, a large number of them are in jobs and leading a life they don’t really feel happy about. Most, however, continue living the same life, fearing the unknown that change might bring. But, then, there are some who dare to explore new vistas and are ready to put in extra work to carve out the life they want for themselves. 

Mr. Divyansh Singh is one of those few, who chose to explore change. And, because of his hard work, he finally achieved what he always dreamed of. In UPSC CSE 2021, Mr. Singh got AIR 49 and is hopeful of being alloted IAS. 

However, this is not the first time that he cracked UPSC CSE. He cracked this exam three times earlier and is currently working as an IRS officer. Indian Masterminds presents his UPSC journey today. 

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LEAVING MICROSOFT JOB

Mr. Singh comes from a humble background and his father work as government engineer. Like every other middle-class guy, Mr. Singh also hoped for a stable career and went for Engineering as he liked Science and Maths. He got admission in IIT Delhi and then got a job in Microsoft, a dream job for many. Talking about it on a media platform, he said, “Everything was fine and perfect but when I actually started working, I realised this is not the kind of work that I would like to do for 30-40 years. So, I decided to explore. I even searched ‘How to find your passion’!” 

While he was confused about his future, someone suggested to him to read So Good That They Can’t Ignore You by Carl Newport. “This book helped me a lot. The writer had suggested to focus on Creativity, Control and Impact, when you choose a job for yourself. I realised that civil services offer all three of them and that suits my personality, so I decided to go for it.” 

The decision was not rash – he analyzed everything and then quit his job.

CRACKING UPSC THRICE 

Withing 4-5 months, he prepared and gave the first attempt in 2018. He cracked the Prelims but couldn’t get through Mains. But in the next two attempts, he cracked the exam and got ranka. In 2019, he got AIR 484 and was give IRS (Custom), and he joined it. Since, his ultimate goal was IAS, so he again made an attempt in 2020 but the rank didn’t improve much. 

“Before giving CSE in 2021, I had decided that this is going to be my last attempt. I worked on the mistakes I was repeating, focused on high scoring papers like Essay and Ethics and the results are before you.”

ALWAYS BE READY TO EXPLORE

Mr. Singh advises everyone to explore their potential and be confident in themselves. “Nobody wants to be stuck. But if you want change, then you’ll have to work harder. This might feel difficult for a while but pain will be much less than the regret you will feel your whole life.”