Cracking UPSC CSE in the first attempt is a big thing and getting one or two-digit rank in it is an added achievement. When the results for UPSC CSE 2021 were announced, the list had Saksham Goel’s name at 27th position. Since it was his first attempt, so securing AIR 27 was like the cherry on the cake for him.
His success was possible because of his focused attention on the exam and consistent preparation. Indian Masterminds presents his UPSC success story today.
PARENTAL SUPPORT
Many of Saksham’s family members are in government services, including his grandfather and father. So, the seed of becoming a government officer was sown in him at a very early age and, gradually, he explored the civil services and made it his dream.
After completing his schooling from Agra, he studied humanities for 11th and 12th from DPS, Vasant Kunj, Delhi. Talking about this in a media interview, he said, “I was a good student and scored above 96 % in my 10th. Generally, if a student scores that much, he is expected to take Maths or Science, but when I said I want to go with Humanities, my parents showed full support. They always pushed me to do what I like to do.”
He then went to St. Stephens College for his graduation.
UPSC PREPARATION IS A MARATHON
As every aspirant has his own strategy, Saksham chose the one which suited him best. Since 12th, he started reading some conventional books for UPSC preparation like ‘Laxmikant’. After joining college, the first year, he focused on his academia and in the second year, he read some more books advised for UPSC. “My approach was to do this with ease. Someone told me once that UPSC is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. So, exhausting yourself in the early stage of preparation is not advisable,” he said.
He adds that since one of the subjects in his graduation was Political Science and he chose it as his optional for UPSC, so, in the last year he focused on his college studies more. “College syllabus and UPSC syllabus for Political Science were in sync. So, I thought it best to focus on college studies.”
Just after his graduation, Covid lockdown was announced. He used this time to be with family and prepare for UPSC simultaneously. He said, “I used to study between 10pm to 3-4 pm in the morning. That was it for me. The day time was to spend time with family and play ludo with them,” he said smilingly.
ADVICE TO ASPIRANTS
During his college days, he attended many lectures of alumni who were serving bureaucrats. This helped him to explore about the kind of job they do and be sure that civil services can provide job satisfaction to him. “Every aspirants should prepare the strategy according to their strength and weakness.
Taking too many advices can go wrong. What I would suggest is to read books by former bureaucrats. This will help you to understand the job because in normal understanding, people choose UPSC to become a collector. But, the job of an IAS officer doesn’t end with collector, it might start with that,” he said.
