Civil Services Mains 2020 Results: In or Out ? Way ahead, gratitude and Pain

Patootiesaid

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Todd_Chavezsaid

@mahi2501 What I mean was that if someone is putting dedicated efforts, understanding the demand of the exam and not wasting time on reading irrelevant things for GS papers which are of little utility in the end (which we often do in initial attempts)... then there is a high chance (though obviously not certainly) that you will reach interview atleast once (unless they drastically reduce seats in next 2 years). But, this exam has so many flaws, that one can never ever be sure of getting a rank... Essay and Ethics alone are enough to prove how subjective and thus, uncertain this exam is... If you have science optional, then you have some amount of control in this process. But for humanities and language optional, you can see how much their marks vary in each subsequent attempts. And still after reaching interview, there is so much variables in interview, that you can either be IN or OUT.

But, if we, as a aspirant, starts to believe that this exam is all about luck, then we will be frustrated daily about this randomness and will never be able to prepare diligently. I wasted my 2019 attempt in this frustration and negative outlook and solving random mocks and then more frustration and I failed by a huge margin in prelims. Thanks to Patootie comments on forum, I atleast was not frustated this time. I gave only 4-5 mocks (because 'I' believe they divert you attention to not so important portion of the syllabus) and was not able to revise some portion of Polity and History, and also messed up in the last month, but still I had positive outlook this time. Although I scored only around 102-105 but I will say it was the revision which I neglected in last month, which costed me dearly in prelims. I made around 7 questions wrong which I had studied and are easily given in multiple standard sources, but didn't revise those things in the last month. We have to look what we are doing wrong and amending it, rather than blindly copying some topper's strategy. There is a good amount of chance that we may still not be successful at Prelims or Mains, but atleast we will be satisfied with our efforts. I also believe Prelims is highly random in last 2 years, but UPSC is not going to change pattern in foreseeable future, and we just have to play in this brutal game, but it is 'us' who are choosing to give this exam, so we have to accept its consequences also. 

The crux is, new aspirant shouldn't focus too much on that 'luck' factor, it will deter your meticulous preparation in initial phases. That initial phase of preparation is highly crucial, as it is the time when your enthusiasm is very high and it is which builds your base later on and allows you to make amends as and when required.If you have decided to give this exam, accept the uncertainty and give your best. You can also have some backup in mind after a certain threshold to be pragmatic in this preparation. You can speculate on that 'luck', 'randomness' etc when you are out of this process, but if you are still 'in' the process, it will do nothing good but will definitely affect your preparation in a negative way.

Agree with this! Especially the part in bold. This failure pushed me to a really dark place, and it’s slowly getting better now. The pain is easing up. At its worst, the pain was with respect to the futility of my efforts. 

Not a single person can say that if you do x, y and z things, you will clear the examination. I believe it is true for each and every stage of the examination. There is randomness, subjectivity and more than a dollop of luck. This is a fact and anyone who  denies this is lying to everyone else and probably even themselves. 

 However, I believe we give ourselves the best chance when we do not focus on these factors which are simply beyond our control. If we believe our efforts are futile in any case, we might stop honestly putting in the effort that we are capable of. On the other hand, if we believe that we will reap later the rewards of what we sow now, we might put our minds to the best possible use. 

If I choose to give the exam again, I want to be at a place where I don’t get too emotionally invested in the outcome. Somewhere during mains preparation, I did become that way. I fell back into the trap of making my life all about the exam. It’s simply not ideal. 

If I want an honest crack at the exam, I will owe the exam a lot. However, simply because I pay off that due, I cannot expect quid pro quo. This exam owes me nothing. If it owed me, it would have owed thousands of others as well. It’s simply not the nature of the beast. 

Todd_Chavezsaid

This exam is really a good mixture of hardwork and luck. Those 50,000 serious candidates who give this exam, really walk on a thin ice.

UncleDeadpoolsaid

Sorry to spam but I really need some advice on this

I am 26 yr old now. I wrote civil services 5 times and couldn't clear. I don't feel like writing this year. I got a job through SSC CGL 2018 as excise inspector. But I might not get home posting. Should I join the job? I don't have any other backup. Available options are - 

1. Join the job and try to clear civil services with one last attempt while working

2. Look for a corporate job as I don't really have the motivation to clear the exam.

I feel like I need to settle down as quickly as possible and I don't think a group B job is going to satisfy me. Pls give me your suggestions.

Regards.