@nikhilrai0827880Yo same here. IIT Delhi and IIM Calcutta. Got placed in a London IB as a trader, switched to PE and then UPSC. 4 years sabbatical. Got couple of VC interviews, gave almost GS answers
. Got almost an offer from a Bombay NGO for a large paycut in a finance role, almost because it's on hold till results come out. It's very difficult, I can empathise, but gotta tell the truth. There will be someone who can see that knowledge in public policy, PPP, Sustainable energy etc. may be useful. Quite a few startups. Goodluck and cheers!
@nikhilrai0827880Oh yes of course, alum network is the best source. But you isolate yourself during the prep, not easy to just say hey hello what's up. I've sounded out to a few close friends. I will, to others as well, after situation is completely clear. It's my last attempt (age), so I don't need to worry about that. Also startups are not bad at all, some excellent ones out there. The ones at series B/C funding, growth stage. You get equity and a higher role. The problem I found is that you really like what you studied for UPSC and you want to somehow make use of that knowledge... but to each his own, of course.
@nikhilrai0827880Absolutely loved learning everything I did and meeting the people I did, in the process. But found that the exam has lots of idiosyncracies unique to it. A lot of advice and one is not necessarily sure exactly what is expected to score well. I've known other people from say IIM Bangalore ( Where the students as you know are extremely padhalu kism ke) and my college who couldn't clear prelims in 3-4 attempts. Amazing leveller, in that sense.
@nikhilrai0827880How about you? How was your experience? You know your difficulty will be to convince your potential recruiters that studying further for this exam will not affect your performance at work. Not many UPSC aspirants in the formal private sector for there to be a precedence.
@nikhilrai0827880Haha I got 120 in 2018 pre and absolutely abysmal marks in the mains, which did the trick
.
In non start up formal organisations, contacts can get you shortlisted to the interview stage, even final round, but you'll find practical people aage. I'd recomment you to not tell them that you're still preparing. Just tell them you wanted to give only 2/3 attempts, gave your best shot and now back to career. What you do in your private time is none of their business and you can study when not working. Or come up with your own story, your call.
You did a good thing by wanting to study for this. It's not a crime at any rate. Don't let the results (hoping for the best of course) bog you down and affect your confidence. Stay postive and happy!
At least you still have qualifications and work ex to fall back on.
@vvvikas0078212Agreed brother, that's what I suggested to him. ( In case it wasn't clear, I said don't lie about the past attempts/sabbatical and don't need to tell them about future attempts)
@nikhilrai0827880I amreallynot the best person to advise you on maximising mains score. I'd rather keep my mouth shut in that respect. But as someone said, and from observing my failures, simplicity, neat handwriting and lack of unnecessary fundae usually pays off ( This too can easily change based on the evaluator ). I honestly have no advice, nor am I qualified to give it. Hmu if you wanna discuss global macro trading strategies, I'm your man lol
@vvvikas0078212Haan exactly. Anywho I'm not a major poster on this forum, and I'll get back to doing that.
Good luck everyone!!
