#CareerBytes: How to prepare for UPSC with a full-time job
What's the story
The UPSC Civil Services exam, commonly referred to as the IAS exam, is considered one of the toughest in India.
Exam aspirants come from a variety of educational and professional backgrounds.
Notably, a good number of aspirants prepare for the exam, while doing a full-time job.
If you're one of them, here are general tips to help you crack the IAS exam.
Information
Time management will take you places
Since you have to devote a major part of your day to your job- taking out time for studying would be challenging. This makes time-management more important than ever. Spend majority of your post-work time in preparing for exam, and efficiently utilize work-breaks for reading/studying.
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Refer to a variety of sources, to improve your preparation
In order to prepare for the UPSC exam, it is important to refer to a wide range of sources.
This will help deepen and diversify your knowledge, that will come handy on the day of the exam.
So, read a variety of regional and national newspapers and magazines.
Also, take help from resourceful government websites and portals, to always stay updated.
Practice
Practise plenty of past years' papers and mock test papers
Regularly make time to practise mock tests and past years' UPSC papers.
This will help you get a fair idea about question framing, difficulty levels, time management, and other factors.
Additionally, it'll help you monitor your progress, analyze it, and improve in areas where you might be lacking.
Furthermore, regular practice will help brush off exam anxiety, and boost up your confidence level.
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Opt for selective study
Since the syllabus for the exam is vast, while the time for preparation is limited (especially for daily job-goers)- it is advisable to adopt Selective-study method. This means, you can shortlist the important topics, and devote your time studying them, leaving out less-probable ones.