What’s the hesitance, be a proud aspirant!

Are you the TVF Abhilash?

Confusing?

Let me frame my question again.

Are you an Electronics engineer sitting in a small room waiting to crack the UPSC exam? Does your day start with flipping through the IES ECE Syllabus and end with a hot cup of tea with fellow Abhilashs’?

With a sound 1.5 million engineering graduates leaving the sprawling campuses every year, the probability of you being one is reasonably high.

No?

Okay, you might be a Kailash then. Instead of the IES ECE Syllabus, your day might begin with flipping through IES Civil Engineering Syllabus, but it will end the same way.

The UPSC exam is popular among the youth and equally competitive. Abhilash managed to clear it with a 5th attempt; maybe Kailash won’t. Statistically speaking, many of us don’t.

With years of hard work, dedication, and sleepless nights going down the drain, hearts will break.

So, what can fix the pieces of our broken hearts and shattered dreams?

Go for other administrative exams.

Failing at UPSC is not the end of the road. The amount of work, focus, and determination you had for roughly six years can get you into anything. If not national, aim for state administrative exams. The pattern for different exams varies, but the preparation stays almost the same. Tweak your approach to fit the criteria of your new exam, and you are good to go!

Opt for higher studies.

It might not be a good option for many. Someone who has already spent six years of their life towards UPSC will want a secure future in the present. But if you are someone who has decided not to pursue UPSC after their 1st or 2nd attempt, you can always go back to complete your further education. Getting a master’s or even a Ph.D. in a relevant subject can help you secure a good job.

Stick to plan B

All aspirants think that becoming an IAS will be a cakewalk. Hundreds of books, a small crumpled room, a sad coaching center, and thousands of similar faces with the same dream. Soon you realize it will be tough to secure your goal. And many start to devise a plan B!
This plan B can be your savior in case you fail to fulfill your IAS dream.

Look for a job

If you are fed up and need something to take time off from all the judgments, advice, and sadness hovering around you, the good idea is to get a job. Sit, introspect, and analyze your skill-set. Make a list of things that suit both your skill and interest. Finally, decide on something you won’t mind doing for 8 hours a day.
If you get an answer, it’s time to take the dust off your CV and put it to some good use.

Follow your passion

If 9 to 5 is not your thing, find something that excites you. To put it plainly, what’s your talent? Can you cook mouth-watering dishes that people can’t stop drooling over? Or maybe you are extremely good at making people laugh? Yes?
Great! Put the chef’s hat on or grab a mike at that famous comedy club. Who knows, maybe, you were always a star in the making.

To conclude, it isn’t easy to be the TVF Abhilash.It takes an unimaginable amount of hard work and sacrifices to reach this destination. And sometimes even that is not enough.

The good news is both Kailash and you can be Sandeep Bhaiya instead. Not just that, you can be the next Ramachandra Guna, Satya Nadella, or my favorite Anubhav Singh Bassi!

So, why wait? Get ready to be the next star in the making.
Good luck!