UPSC CSE is indeed the pathway to enter one of the most prestigious careers in the country. It not only provides an opportunity to bring in change in society but also helps earn huge respect. But, what if you don’t get success in this exam? Is it the end?
No! A former UPSC aspirant and now a successful QA Engineer in an IT firm based in Noida, Mr. Krishna Kumar doesn’t think so.
He appeared for 22 Prelims (including state civil services exams), gave 8 interviews and was chosen in the reserve list two times. Yet, he couldn’t get into the final list even after getting so close. He might not have achieved his goal of becoming a civil servant but he believes that UPSC has made him a better person.
He gave more than seven years of his life to UPSC preparation but now when he looks back, he doesn’t see it as a waste of time. A graduate from SIT Tumkur in Karnataka, Mr. Kumar 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.
NO ONE WAS HAPPY
Even though he wanted to give his full time to UPSC CSE, his family and his financial background didn’t allow him. There was a loan and his father needed his help for family responsibilities. So, he juggled between work and study, and in 2018, he finally left the job. By that time, he had given three attempts for UPSC CSE and written one Mains.
No one was happy with his decision to quit. “My parents told me stories of many who gave 5-10 years for preparation but couldn’t crack the exam. They felt that I had a settled career, so why was I ruining everything,” said Mr. Kumar.
He came to Delhi on his own to prepare but didn’t join any coaching. “I didn’t have that kind of money. I chose to shift from Bangalore to Delhi because of the environment and preparation spirit,” he said.
LEARNINGS FROM HIS JOURNEY
This journey gave him a major life lessons. One of the most important lessons was that preparation is not for getting a good job and a secured life but it is meant to change one’s mindset, learn new things, get a better perspective, and pick up some life skills.
Mr. Kumar got everything ‘UPSC’ had to offer and he is content with it. One another learning and advice he wants to give to aspirants is: “If anyone is starting the preparation after the age of 25, then they should have a backup plan. If they are not able to even crack Prelims, then they shouldn’t give more than three years to this exam if they don’t have financial security. While for the ones who start at an early age, then the opportunities are endless and chances of success are also high.”
Mr. Kumar also advises to take the help of mentors in the preparation as they can help the aspirants to differentiate between what to read and what not to read.
