I usually avoid giving advice since generic ‘gyaan’ is not of much use, and I rarely have specific and useful things to say.
However, since you have asked this question, here is what comes to my mind:
- Remember that the odds of getting into a top Civil Service (IAS/IPS/IFS) are probably 200–300 out of 10 lacs. While we all talk about the big successes, there are 100 times more candidates who don’t make it despite being very capable and working very hard.
- In my own batch at IIT there was a guy much smarter than me, who was academically brilliant. He never made it even to the interview stage, if I remember correctly.
- It does not mean that you can’t beat the odds but keep that perspective and know what you are up against.
- Decide how many years you want to give to the exam. Even though many people have spent 3–5 years, I am reluctant to suggest that one should spend that much time. Give it a year or two, and then give it your best shot.
- If you are writing the exam, go all out, day and night. It should be a total war, not a skirmish. You should be able to put in 10–12 hrs a day with intense focus, if not more. Though I am talking about number of hours, remember that the quality of effort is more important.
- Hard work is not enough - you need to know how to prepare the fastest for each topic/subject. In our days at IIT Kanpur, we used to get very good info about which topic to prepare from which book from previous year’s candidates. IITK used to produce many toppers and they had figured out a lot of things over time. It made the preparation very efficient. I suspect it must be much easier now due to organized coaching etc.
- It is a long exhausting journey. Unless you are personally super-motivated, don’t do it due to social or family pressure. At some point the only thing that will drive you is the fire burning inside you.
I will skip any specific advice on which subject to take or which study material to use. I am sure there are people much better qualified than me to do that.
All I can say is that nothing is easy, but everything is doable. Good luck.
-Rajan Singh
