UPSC CSE

Civil Services Exam is the most prestigious and coveted exam of India. This exam is conducted every year by Union Public Services Commission, a constitutional body. With the penchant for power and prestige attached with Civil Services a lot of people strive hard towards achieving this goal. The working professionals are no exception who despite tough and exhaustive work routine prepare for this exam and succeed too. The previous year’s success stories are the testimony to this where top rankers belong to professional backgrounds. Though It is tough to crack the IAS Exam and it becomes even more difficult when you try to crack it as a full-time working professional.

The most asked question by UPSC aspirants is – “How to prepare for IAS while doing a job?”

Do you have this question in your mind too?

A journey of thousands of miles begins with a single step. Keeping this in mind, prepare a study plan for your upcoming IAS exam and make sure that it does not hinder your work performance. With a few changes in your routine and adhere to a time table you can easily work for your dream.

The following are few steps that could be followed for the same:

1. Time Management – ​​Make sure to make good use of it

This is the most essential requirement for the preparation of the Civil Services Exam for working professionals. Though the process of IAS exam lasts for a year, so get ready to devote extra part of your time for IAS Exam Preparation. Apart from reading regularly for 3 – 4 hours daily, make sure you keep reading in the intervals as well. like - Reading newspapers (The Hindu and Economic Times) every morning while having breakfast or such. Read latest articles to increase your level of current affairs.  Such filling of gaps between daily tasks will help in preparing for IAS Exam more efficiently. 

2. Understand the Structure of IAS Exam

As we have emphasized in the above section that you must be well versed with the UPSC IAS Exam Pattern and its structure. Before considering the fact that How to prepare IAS Exam Preparation, it is important to know what to prepare. Before delving into actual preparation one must grasp the basic understanding regarding the structure, pattern and approach to IAS Exam Preparation. While most of the aspirants have a wrong notion that prelims and mains exam should be prepared separately. The integrated preparation should be done right from the beginning of preparation. Hence it is advised to familiarize yourself with the pattern of the exam and study only what is required.

3. Make a Study Time Table for IAS Exam Preparation

If you are a working professional then it is very important for you to follow a strict study time table to crack the IAS exam.  You should prepare for 2 to 3 hours on weekdays and 5 to 6 hours on weekends. Each section should come 3 times in a week so that you are able to keep track of your performance. Later you need to go for revision and mock tests for which special time has to be given. Keep a distance from all kinds of social media platforms as they often confuse you through tendering wrong piece of advices. Instead of studying till late at night, you are advised to study during the day itself so that you can relax your mind and think new ideas.

4. Selective Learning: A Necessity

As far as the study material for IAS Exam is concerned there is no dearth of study material in the market. Studying the wrong Study Material or through multiple resources can jeopardize the prospects of selection in the exam. So it is of utmost importance to read selective and important from exam point of view. It is also important to prioritize your readings as NCERT Books to develop a good understanding of the fundamentals so they could be read as earliest as possible. Later on Reference books can be studied.

For daily issues and events the newspapers like The Hindu, The Indian Express and News Mint can be followed on regular basis.

5. Be well acquainted with current developments

The IAS Preliminary Examination of Civil Services is mainly based on General Knowledge and Aptitude while mains exam is all about knowledge in diverse fields. The nature of questions in prelims exam is of objective nature while mains exam is purely subjective in nature. The static portion should be read in sync with current events and contemporary changes. Newspapers and website like GS Score will definitely act as the primary source for current issues and events provided you have an ability to link static with dynamic content.

6. Solve Previous Years Question Papers and Mock Tests

Since you are acting as a professional you may lose your ability to take the test after some time. Therefore, to increase your grip on the objective test, you need to solve as many mock tests and practice papers as possible related to the IAS exam.

7. Revision and Mocks : The most vital element

The entire effort of yours will be completely in vain if you do not give time for revision and practice. The regular revision and mocks can further enhance your learning acumen and analytical ability. This also helps to fix the frequent errors and hence there are lesser chances of committing mistakes during final exam.

Adherence to above points and sticking to the time table can yield better results. The GS-IL program launched by GS Score could be a further give momentum to your preparation through self studies. GS-IL is a 3 phase program that will run over the period of 2 years. It aims to gradually prepare you for the Civil services examination through self-study targets, test-based assessments. Each stage is designed to address your needs while focusing on self-study and self-assessment without hampering the prospects of the college curriculum.