An exam in which against 1 vacancy 4 times applications are received, where success rate ranges between 0.1% to 0.3%, should I consider this exam and this career path for me? Will I be able to crack the exam? Is it really that difficult?
Let's have an insight into civil services before deciding whether this particular cup of tea is for you or not!
Civil services – with the primary goal of providing services to the public is one of the most prestigious administrative professions consisting of several high profile posts of our country, like Indian Administrative Services (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Revenue Services (IRS) etc.; a total of 24 posts. Owing to the responsibility that comes with it and the competition one needs to beat to get into civil services, it is considered to be one of the most difficult and challenging career paths.
The entrance method which is divided into three stages is designed to check the overall knowledge of the candidate along with the candidate's personality.
The entrance procedure goes something like this:
- Preliminary examination (objective paper)
Mathematics, mental ability, analytical skills, current affairs, general knowledge all are evaluated in this exam. There are two broad sections to test all this namely General Studies and Aptitude Test.
- Main examination (essay type)
Knowledge of languages: English mandatory. In addition to one Indian language of the candidate's choice which is listed in the Constitution along with the knowledge of history, civics, geography, Economic and social Development, ethics is judged. Two subjects have to be chosen out of the subjects studied in graduation.
- Personality testing (interview)
A one to one interaction is conducted where situational questions are asked and the decision making, IQ, confidence and adaptability and such personality parameters are tested.
Eligibility: A graduation is mandatory to be eligible to sit for the UPSC exam which is the entrance for getting into Civil Services.
Now the important question, how do you get to know whether you are cut for this particular career? A few check boxes which will help you analyze yourself would be the following:
- Motivation to serve the nation
- Genuine interest in general knowledge and updated about the happenings around you
- Socialist
- Great decision maker along with problem solving skills
- Able to handle responsibility
- High IQ level
- Street smart
One of the important things that you should keep in mind while opting for this particular career path is the word "servant" at the end of services. If you are ready to serve the nation for betterment and not thinking about yourself for once, then may be civil services is for you.
With greater benefits (more of authority and power along with fringe benefits like bungalow, leave travel allowances, domestic help, concessional prices at public places and not to forget, the salary part) comes greater responsibility. If you are ready to own up the responsibility and take accountability for it, you should definitely give civil services a try.
How sweet you like your tea, totally depends upon you. The more sugar you add in the form of hard work during preparations and focus, the sweeter and better your tea would be.
Happy Tea sipping!
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