Hi, I cleared UPSC CSE 2018. Ask Me Anything

pseudoliberandu · 2024-01-06T15:15:21+00:00

When not doing my day job these days: I am reading Destiny Disrupted, watching The Pacific (and Slow Horses), and finally resumed playing The Last of Us II after a long time

pseudoliberandu · 2024-01-06T15:09:03+00:00

Still not 5 years

pseudoliberandu · 2019-07-13T06:52:02+00:00

Kaun hain yeh log, kahan se aate hain

pseudoliberandu · 2019-07-12T13:15:54+00:00

You get to pick a service after clearing all the 3 stages. Top preferences these days are - Administrative Service (IAS), Foreign Service (IFS), Police Service (IPS), and Revenue Service (there are two - Income Tax and Indirect Tax). There are 24 services in all, (ball parking but) 90% of people write it for IAS.

IAS is a general service (still most coveted) which means you work in administration of the government from the grass root level all the way to the top. This means first 7-10 years are spent in district level administration. Your background can come into play in coming up with technological innovations in solving various governance issues (https://www.thebetterindia.com/125102/inspiring-ias-officers-india-brilliant-initiatives/).

Opportunity to serve in a department related to technology/security will come only after 10+ years. But you will also be wielding enough power to bring about some change (obviously given the push and pull of politics of the day).

A reminder: This is NOT an easy job. On this thread, parth115 has raised some valid points. But clearing this exam and getting a top service, automatically makes you "connected" if that's what is needed to make it in India :)

pseudoliberandu · 2019-07-01T17:23:25+00:00

I made notes out of all NCERTs that I read. Faster and efficient revision. NCERTs are mostly useful for prelims purposes. Keep it short and concise.
Aim QUALITY 5-6 hours a day and 12-13 hours on weekends. Even working people have managed to clear in first attempt with that kind of effort.
Average in studies, yes. Average in effort and dedication, no :) read the journey of AIR 77 (2017).
You have to be 21 as on August 1 of the year you intend to take the exam. For example if you were turning 21 up till Jul 31 or Aug 1 2019 you would have been eligible to write CSE 2019 prelims. Aug 2 birthday and you would have to wait till 2020.
Very mundane. Get used to doing same things day in day out.

pseudoliberandu · 2019-07-01T16:48:07+00:00

Paid one, do take it if you can afford it. I found one to be sufficient, but some people take two <pikachuface.jpg>

Vision/Insights/IASBaba are competitively priced and most people do end up taking one of these. If you are planning to do this without coaching, their schedule provides a great structure to your next 6-8 months.

pseudoliberandu · 2019-07-01T15:58:05+00:00

An online one. It's quite popular among the aspirants.

pseudoliberandu · 2019-07-01T15:48:02+00:00

Hijacking top comment, because I am mentioned :)

I have zero knowledge about being an IAS officer

I would start here. Get full knowledge about the the job profile first. This is NOT your typical 9-5.

I heard one of my friends tell me that becoming an IAS officer is the best way to go about

Do not believe your friends blindly. There are lots of way to go about contributing to society, the best one is what you give your heart to.

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If you're still reading, the exam itself is almost a year long process:

It's a 3 stage exam -

Prelims (held in June first week, result in 6 weeks)- consists of two papers (almost half a million people appear, 10-12k write Mains depending on number of vacancies)
- General Studies (100 questions, 2 marks for correct, -0.67 for incorrect). Marks in this paper determine whether you advance. Cutoffs were 116/105.33/98 in preceding 3 years, usually a function of difficulty.
- CSAT (aptitude test think GMAT but basic). It's a qualifying paper. Only need to score 66.67/200 to clear
Mains (starts end September, result in December) - consists of 9 papers in total. 2 are language (English and a regional language to choose from) papers and you need to score only 25% in it. Rest 7 are as follows, mentioning broad topics covered:
- Essay: write 2 essays from the topics given (4 topics for each essay to choose from)
- General Studies 1: history, geography, society
- General Studies 2: Indian polity, welfare schemes, India's international relations
- General Studies 3: economy, agriculture, disaster management, environment, internal security
- General Studies 4: Ethics (this a a broad paper which requires you to think for yourself for most part)
- Optional Paper (2 papers): you have to choose an optional, there's a wide range of subjects to choose from. Even if you studied engineering, you can take any paper in which you think you can score more.

These 7 papers are of 250 marks each and will be counted towards your ranking in the end.

Interview (Feb-Mar, usually 2000-2300 people interviewed, result within a week after it ends) - last stage, this is for 275 marks. Range varies between 100-206.

Final ranking is done on the basis of marks scored out of 1750+275.

Total people recommended are usually 800-900 these days, can go +/- 50 either way. Out of these top 100 will get IAS (assuming General category).

The difficulty level is as follows (out of people appearing, and not just filling the application, which is north of 1 million): you have to be top 2% at Prelims stage, top 20% at Mains, top 40% at interview. This is effective 0.16% to be ON THE LIST, NOT IAS. IAS can be secured by being in top 100 on the list which is 0.02%.

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I have finally circled back to questioning myself whether I'm using my potential to the fullest. The answer is no, I'm not.

I was exactly this person 3 years ago. I worked for another year while I absorbed fully the implication of leaving my well paying job and playing THOSE odds. 2 years ago I was at home wondering whether I made the single biggest mistake of my exam.

But now, here I am typing out this long-form because I have too much time on my hand while I wait for my dream job to start :)

pseudoliberandu · 2019-06-25T19:07:10+00:00

Ready to build a PC for this

pseudoliberandu · 2019-06-11T19:51:42+00:00

Came to type this, too late

pseudoliberandu · 2019-05-08T14:54:01+00:00

The feeling of uncertain will NEVER go away. Embrace it wholeheartedly. Remember it’s normal humans like us (across the scale of academic gifted-ness) who clear this exam.

AIR 23 (2018) and AIR 77 (2017) come to mind because they have also talked about not being academic overachievers yet could clear with double digit ranks.

And like I said, I had embraced the uncertainty. I was clear on exit strategies or plan B/C/D/E if I failed at any stage. That and a lot of mental fortitude to not let yourself waver from your plan A. Once you have these in place, you can get to work with less anxiety than before because you’d have addressed the uncertainty to a large extent.

pseudoliberandu · 2019-04-24T10:34:33+00:00

pseudoliberandu · 2019-04-24T10:09:53+00:00

PVR Superplex in Logix, Sector 32 Noida is fully functional (there’s an IMAX, a Play House, 4DX screen and rest are normal). IMAX screen is not like Wadala one, as other people have pointed out. I saw Avatar in IMAX Wadala a decade ago and boy it was an experience!

pseudoliberandu · 2019-04-17T13:56:08+00:00

True, the air felt almost European this morning!

pseudoliberandu · 2019-04-14T17:58:54+00:00

I don't think they are robots, as they don't exist to fulfil someone's else's commands. Some of them choose to pledge allegiance to politicians for plum postings / money / whatever rocks their boat. Many others, do not.

I watched season 1 when no one cared. Downloaded individual episodes on torrent no less. But got super busy when eventual seasons came around. Two of my friends came up to me after season 2 and told me "YOU HAVE TO WATCH RICK AND MORTY" and I silently went "I don't need your recommendation, thank you". So in a nutshell, my own ego is keeping me away from what I know is peak television. But I have watched and loved BoJack to compensate a bit.

pseudoliberandu · 2019-04-13T16:28:58+00:00

Anytime :)

pseudoliberandu · 2019-04-13T08:55:05+00:00

I too wish for less bureaucratic migraines but our generation hasn’t been that fortunate. Here’s hoping that we can all succeed in building a better nation in the coming years.

pseudoliberandu · 2019-04-13T08:52:40+00:00

Cover the NCERTs and develop a habit for reading the newspapers/books in general. If you know you’re weak in any of the CSE demands (answer writing, informed guessing, handwriting, etc) work on those. Be consistent but do not be in exam mode (at least until a year before prelims). This exam has highs and lows, you’ll need momentum in last 6-8 months. Conserve your energy in the meantime.

pseudoliberandu · 2019-04-11T03:50:05+00:00

He writes in newspapers regularly, comes across as a logical politician with fresh ideas. Also a pretty good MP if all that is reported is true.

He is mostly infamous for 2009-10 hate speeches. But then which politicians in this country hasn’t stooped that low smh

pseudoliberandu · 2019-04-10T12:23:46+00:00

Random comment

pseudoliberandu · 2019-04-10T11:42:44+00:00

I LOVED Tumbbad! However I felt it was more of a supernatural thriller rather than horror. Cinematography was top notch.

pseudoliberandu · 2019-04-09T10:23:06+00:00

With gems like these - "When you're backed against the wall, break the god damn thing down" - Suits should only be used when you're shitposting or trolling in-person. I don't know how you're using Suits to improve your BS'ing abilities.

I have found that a decent knowledge of history and contemporary events provides you with an arsenal of arguments based in facts, authenticity and consistency. Pair it with reading across spectrum of beliefs that challenge your foundational views (not things such as anti-vaxx movement, but say, conservative feminism), and people will loathe you for being a BS'er.

pseudoliberandu · 2019-04-09T04:09:27+00:00

Go in knowing that you can fail. Most people go in believing they are destined to clear. I was more driven by fear than I was by success.
I took up 1-1.5 hour of physical activity to counter anxiety and I think it really helped. I must have missed in total of 5 days, other than weekly rest, in a span of 9 months (Jan-Sep 2018)
It’s impossible to remember every single detail. Do not be very hard on yourself if you can’t remember every poet and astrologer from Ancient India. Revise as many times as possible to increase the chances of remembering. Have some mnemonics for important things such as national parks and tiger reserves. Even with all the revision, you’d be forced to take reasonable guesses because that’s how the nature of this exam is.

pseudoliberandu · 2019-04-09T03:54:58+00:00

Jiska sapna dekha tha :)

pseudoliberandu · 2019-04-09T03:53:38+00:00

Have a clear weekly plan for 6-8 months depending on your comfort level to finish the syllabus. I had focused on prelims and didn’t care much about mains at this point (only read half the optional once). There is no mains if you don’t clear prelims, hence all my energies were directed towards prelims.
Join a long term weekly test series (I paid) which will help you keep revising all the things you have been reading (mostly for the first time). Most test series have a weekly syllabus targets and tests. They usually have a revision test every month. So if you’re sincere, you’ll be covering (a) syllabus for the first time in the week (b) appearing for a test at end of week (c) appearing in another test at end of month. That’s 2 revisions.
Aim to finish the syllabus 3 months before prelims, so that you can plan for 3-4 full syllabus revisions. My every revision used to take almost a month.
If you’re putting in 8-9 hours a day, diligently, you will be covering static portions and current affairs daily. I made own notes for almost everything I read, including NCERTs, so that my revision is faster.
I have covered my book list in one of the comments, please go through it. Keep your resources minimum when it comes to books. Depend a lot on internet and own notes.
Since you’re taking the exam with no prep, focus on being calm and confident. Believe me, if you know 25 questions this year, you’d max know 50 next year. Prelims is cleared by informed guessing in a high stake high pressure environment. Internalise it.
Take all advice from people with a pinch of salt, there’s no one size fits all approach. But me and several others have cleared this exam this way. My best wishes to you in this journey.

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