Mains 2022 - All Papers PDF + R**** Rona + Paper Discussion
Guys, Essay Paper is over. How was it?
Hi everyone,
Gave my 5th and last upsc mains on 25 th September. Was feeling relieved at the prospect of the exam getting over, but there was also a sense of sadness of not being part of this preparation cycle anymore.
I Have been a member of forum since 2016 when i gave my first mains.. Met my wife here on forum, made great friends, the memories of forum will always be etched for the rest of my life.
I changed my optional to anthropology for this one last attempt. Gave my all this time,but my case rests with UPSC, as always..
My learnings for new comers and old timers as follows(I've cleared IIT-JEE twice and prelims too, so I think some things could help others):
1. Its too easy to get swayed by people who got selected. This exam is a graveyard of smart, hardworking, genuine people. Nothing guarantees success. Its easy for people to shower motivation, it doesn't cost them anything. But getting fooled by them and hanging out on that motivation is gambling precious time in hope of something that is highly subjective in nature. (Basically motivation dene me kuch nai jata, lene me saal thuk jata hai)
2. People might say its all worth it, but in these years, the sacrifices that I and my family has made are not worth it. My father is in IPS and I've seen his life upclose. The charm of power-respect-prestige fades away and the govt makes you work like a dog with no personal life. Nothing is more important than health, family and mental peace.
3. We over-glorify hard work, success and romanticise the sacrifices. Its easier to keep trying, but it talkes more courage to actually say "NO". Just studying day in and day out is a good comfortable zone with no external accountability. Also, we're afraid of going out and facing the world. Studying, is more predictable and less scary. The more we postpone facing it, the harder it will get. It hence takes courage to exit the process and put your ego aside.
4. Results are no reflection of competency. The people that UPSC selects becomes all sorts of stuff. We daily read about IAS officers scamming for crores, running sex rackets, cheating in the exam, culting crores of MGNREGA funds meant for poor people. UPSC is not god, neither is their judgement perfect. Hence, there's no point in judging yourself through their mirror. You're special and will do something good in life
Result should be immaterial. In reality it is NOT as the society is used to shunning away those who’ll fail. Most likely, the coaching/the peers will simply move the focus on those who’ll pass the Mains. A lot of us might receive apathy. People will make you feel that you didn’t work hard enough EVEN WHEN YOU DID ALL YOU COULD. There might be people who would’ve fallen ill and yet given their heart & soul. It’s time, we all initiate change & respect even those who didn’t make it. It’s time, we actually begin appreciating efforts and not just results. If Nishkama karma is taught by all UPSC coaches & teachers, then it’s time we celebrate the Nishkama karma Yogis & not just those who’ll make into the final list.
I just want all my peers to know that this guy behind the username of GaneshGaitonde is extremely proud of all of us. The intensity, the sacrifice & the madness that we all showed for the Mains while fighting numerous personal battles deserves nothing less than a salute 🙂. We all know what a mad battle mains is , Right ? At least, we must appreciate each other for setting an ambitious goal in life & working day in and day out to achieve it !
Cheers to the warrior in all of us. All the best Dosto :)
5th attempt , 4th Mains . PSIR
Fakir suit pehnega is bar. 1st time .
Out ! Maths optional, last attempt!!
Congratulations to all those cleared ...deserve all appreciation !!
From crying my heart out in first attempt after missing prelims cutoff by few margin to accepting mains failure in last attempt with a smile ! The beautiful journey ends with the undesirable result. Unemployed for 5 years , one MUST MUST have a backup plan .
Over to rbi grade b 2023 ! Hope to rise from ashes !
Out, Maths optional
5th attempt, 3rd Mains, 0 interview
For me what hurt more than failing at CSE repeatedly is getting comfortable with the failure. Sitting idle, doing few rounds of likhai-padhai all round the year seems easier than going out to the work and put effort to chalk out a different destination. It feels like i have made peace with the failure. Iss baar nahi hua to agli baar ho jayega!!! My mind trick me to keep stuck myself in this preparation as it seems easy and comfortable. I had work experience of good 7 years before jumping into this trap, still i didn't rejoin my work during entire preparation phase and remain unemployed for 5 years!!! Why? Not because preparing another year will add substantial value to my preparation, its because I am hesitant to give up the comfort which I enjoy during preparation without any accountability. Again I am thinking ab to ek hi attempt bacha hai, woh bhi dede😀
One thing I can say with a little responsibility (I have believed this since a long time though) is that Vision 365 is a complete waste of time for those who need short notes to internalise content (Like me)
Not only UPSC, but any paper won't ask the topics that they have been dumping in the previous 2-3 years. The quality of content is also poor (again saying this with a sense of responsibility)
Those massive booklets have only 3-5 important issues which can anyway be prepared through Test series - I2U2 etc (Reverse engineering).
Another reason I believe for that may be UPSC scanning the popular content booklets both for prelims as well as Mains
I may be wrong in future and I am no authority to pass verdicts but Vision 365 has had very very low output ratio in both Prelims & Mains in all my 4 attempts at this exam. Just want some new entrants reading this to consider this alternate opinion as well because I know people keeping everything aside to just read these booklets. They are NOT AT ALL SACROSANCT (Also don't ask which magazine to read please :P)
IN WITH PHILOSOPHY OPTIONAL
3RD ATTEMPT 2ND MAINS 2ND INTERVIEW.
LAST YEAR SCORE WAS GOOD 184 BUT DUE TO LOW SCORE IN ETHICS AND PHILOSOPHY MISSED BY FEW MARKS.
LETS HOPE FOR THE BEST THIS TIME.
5th attempt , 1st mains
Out with pubad
Exhausted. Depressed. No personal and professional growth in the last 6 years. No idea what to do. Life seems to have ended.
Bhai, i am really saddened by the last line. To you and my other friends, LIFE HAS NOT ENDED. Life is more than being an IAS, IPS, IFS, Prime Minister, President of United states
To all those looking for hope
One of my friend exhausted all his attempts in March 2022. His father suffered from a heart attack after that and he had to start from level Zero on the Career front. It was definitely NOT EASY
He chose to pursue data science courses and up skill himself. Today he called me after hearing about my failure and After 8 months :
1. He has got an offer from a coaching in Chandigarh to manage the prelims programme. He is asking them to pay him around 60-70k per month (which is very good as a beginner) . Now, initially he didn't want to work with them as a freelancer as he was disgusted with UPSC prep. But somehow I persuaded him to consider this in April
Lesson : You will be able to earn well without UPSC too
2. He has completed almost 60% of the course quickly as he had the ability to absorb the course quickly. He was able to give lot more hours efficiently - Thanks to his UPSC preparation
Lesson - Your personality/values/traits are probably far better than a lot of others
3. I asked him : How is life post UPSC preparation? He answered I don't even remember how it felt like when I was in the preparation. Rather, he said now as an outsider, he knows how toxic UPSC preparation can be at times. He is happy and content.
Lesson - You will be Happy for sure but please give yourself time to heal
4. He told me he wouldn't give the exam again even if he was given another attempt at this exam.
Lesson - Allow time to do the healing & you will not find this as attractive as you once did
We do overcome these obstacles eventually. Please be kind to yourself. To Quote our former PM Atal Ji - क्या हार मे ? क्या जीत मे ? किनचित नहीं भयभीत मैं | कर्तव्य पथ पर जो मिला, ये भी सही, वो भी सही 🙏
Out. PSIR
1st attempt 1st mains
I totally agree with what@Ganesh_Gaitonde and@vaibhavvdash75610 are saying. Graveyard or not, the exhaust that this exam causes is real, we all think a lot and choose to go on this path. There are easier ways out there, don’t get sucked into this vicious cycle. Definitely don’t let this exam decide your worth, no exam is that worthy in the first place. To everyone that is already preparing or is just entering the preparation, I personally think it’s best to have an end date in place for this exam. You try only for however hard you wanna try, just coz the exam gives you chance to give 6 attempts, you don’t have to put your life on hold. Practice a thin veil of detachment with this exam.
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