8 things i wish someone told me when i was preparing for IES..

I was not perfect. No one in my whole family or friends never actually thought about IES leave alone clearing it. Even when my college friend talked about it in 4 year it was something unachievable at least for (non studious) me. Ironically he's in BHEL now and i'll be probably getting railways(touch wood).Now when i look back there is definitely a experience advantage. That's why if one in family become an IAS, his brother,sister,cousins etc have a huge chance of making it into services. Well, i wish i was one of those fortunate with high achieving family but i belong to a family of farmers(father's) and mikmen(mother's).Follwing are the things i wish i had known beforehand, though not necesarrily in the same order. Please don't mock me if you already know!!

1. Ies is a damn easy exam of course you need to work your butts off. What i mean to say that in class all the examples we do are the toughest one's. Ies is a mix bag of easy, damn easy and little difficult one's.Most questions are repetitive.Once you have understood the concepts,they all seem the same.
2. Objective exam is much easier to score but you need to do the subjective question's practise to get hold of concepts.Yes, solving only objective one's will give you half knowledge.It's solved questions in book will give you complete picture and prepare you for new questions just in case.
3. Revise revise revise Your ability to forget is monumentary.I read p k nag thermo at least 10 times sincerely apart from class notes. But my mock interview i had forgotten 2nd law. Just like that.This is the golden rule for success.Don't trust your brain..
4. Comfort level for environment. As you know delhi has harsh environment. So unlike me (kanjoos makhichoos) invest in a heater in winter and cooler in summers. I recall wasting entire afternoon in summers in my heated up room and morning and nights fighting cold in winters. It's a sheer waste of time.Buy a comfortable chair and bed and gadda too.Don't think it's for few months, Think of it as an investment for concentration in studies.
5. Don't set a time table when not following it upto hilt gives you frustrations. Just get up and start reading untill you feel hungry or tired. If you waste time in getting your body to follow your time table.It's useless.
6. Do not buy foreign author books No matter how much our teachers criticize indian authors, they are value for money and time. Don't forget you are not here for research purposes, only competitive exam purposes.I bought kalpakjian, popov and tried to read them. You need extra dimag to actually understand them in first place and they were of no use at all.
7. Library Oh God!! how much i wish i had known these library hidden in Delhi when i was preparing. They are such a nice place to sit away from the familiarity and claustrophobic sleepy atmosphere of your room with no one disturbing you. Some even give tea and nice lunch. Most of them have air conditioning and subscription of newspapers and magazines.And they are located near the sarais too. Look for them nearby your room and you will find them if your are lucky.
8. NPTEL Videos and others available on youtube.You will be surpized to find huge study material online, But please don't overdo it. Only in your spare time take a look to memorize the concept or understand it.

I ve been meaning to tell 10 but i can't recall anymore. Please comment if anything in this post interests you..

Coaching Days..

        I live in a sarai still. I see guys preparing for something or other on roads, buses, mess etc. Looking back i realize how difficult it was yet easy. All the pressure you feel inside, you see other people getting selections which you need, friends in private sector going places with their job like restaurants,tours even foreign trips, people in your facebook profile getting married even having kids and even your juniors doing more stuff than you and your life is stagnant. On the top of all this you are not even studying as much as you want to. You struggle to understand the concepts,wake up in the morning, trying to sleep at time, try to keep you attention and sleep in check in class,parents irritating you , eating the worst food of your life, may be even getting sick at times and feeling home sick too. It just seems never ending path and still when any exam is there you feel you are grossly under prepared  Every exam gives you a hope and every interview more hope. For some the wait might be over soon for some it's more difficult. Some may never get lucky.

      But this is the time when life is still in your hands.Time when you can launch yourself anywhere you want. You can place your self at any orbit. Your identity will depend on the hard work you do now. Once your aim is achieved whether it's a PSU or IES or M. Tech this achievement will stay with you unlike your college.You might not have been a bright student for your life (like me) and people would have told you you have potential or not (again like me), it's your chance to prove them right or wrong. It's your chance to prove yourself to the world. A world or nosy relatives, back biting neighbours or even showy friends. In fact it is probably your last chance to go to places with help of books and knowledge. You can offset a bad academic record and shut anybody's mouth forever.It's a great opportunity if you know how to use one.
   
   I was always told IES is tough, I hadn't been a bright student throughout my life, graduated from a private college with less than 65% marks. With such a bad track record, i never thought of making in to ES written leave alone interview.There were always NIT. IIT people, toppers, who knew every concept beforehand sir taught us but i don't know.It's not like a studied for every damn day or did everything told to me by made easy teachers. I slipped often, was confused often and was so sure i am a failure that i left mechanical engineering completely and changed field. You can sense how much frustrated i was.I was even rejected for DCE mtech.When i cam do it i feel everybody can.
    
You are a person who took a risk instead of a cushiony private job.You must have dreamt something when you entered this phase unless you were pushed by someone. So, make the best of it. Always keep your goal in mind. You may digress for a while, get distracted but do not for God's sake forget why you are tolerating all this in first place.For a future. A future that will make all this struggle a worth it. Otherwise all this suffering will be meaningless, useless. Just a step more everyday will bring you closer to your goal. So my friends study with a vengeance and realize youe own destiny... 

When few days are left for IES and you know you have not done enough!!!

I have reached in a blissful slumber state after my selection.Though there is boredom now after 3 and half years of constant tension, i no longer need to prove myself in life. Thanks to "Mayank Tiwari" for suggesting a nice topic to write and i urge other curious people to suggest topics according to their experiences with IES.

I did not define the time limit in my blog like 3 months or six months or 1 month. It only depends on your state of mind. In short when exam is close enough for you to start worrying which again depends on your state of mind. Saurav Tiwari sir said in one class "There is no perfect time to start preparing" and he is absolutely true. Recall in engineering days one night was enough for a subject which we were give a whole semester to study or sessionals when one lunch hour was enough. We are obviously not talking about seriousness of the exam but the point of not losing your heart and of course time when you feel your preparation is inadequate for exam. Trust me!! there is no point worrying over this. You can start your preparation even a week before exam (not that i am advising you to do it). Whatever it is you have not read or done, please don't get disappointed. Because then you would need a smoke, good meal or session with friends to so called cheer you up and you would end up losing more time than ever and again feeling guilty about it. My dear friends it's an endless cycle.

Things often won't go as you planned. You would wake up an hour late, Food won't come up in time, Your girlfriend or boyfriend might take long time to finish off (call or meeting), Parents may irritate you till your limit. Please don't be upset and take a deep breath and remind yourself this time won't stay forever.You have to take one step at a time to leave this coaching phase everyday.

Well whenever you decide that time left is less and some urgent measures are needed then you can follow my plan which i followed.It may or may not help.Please make suitable adjustments according to your need.

1.  At whatever time you wake up, wash your face and start studying. If possible already earmark the subject you are going to study.

2.   At least after 2 hour take a break to eat or bath. It offers a opportunity to refresh once more.

3. Try to take two subjects in a day, one theoretical and one numerical.When sleepy start solving numericals and when exhausted of numbers read theoretical one.

4. Time is less, don't aim to finish a subject inside out or start to end. Meaning don't go too deep in topics nor you need to do every chapter at one go.You can change subjects everyday on your choice, starting from where you left last time. As you would gradually need to look back to revise, automatic revision will take place.

5. Read notes (class notes or your own) again and again instead of books as time is less. If you start your prep now (october) i would like to advise solve books now

6. Needless to say start solving previous year papers. IES is very repetitive and often questions are asked from same topics every year. So. even if you haven't studied much you would have a clear idea about important topics.

7.  If you see a certain topic appearing again make a point to revise it. If you are planning to leave a subject completely skim for topics who have maximum chance of coming, read it once.

8.  Don't forget giving the test series as i ve already explained it's importance.

As i ve told time is less don't bother with tough topics or subjects. It's unlikely IES exam will be comprised of all the hard topics. It's a mix, more often of easy questions with a pinch of hard ones. You must take steps to grab the easy ones and leave the hard ones. After all cut off is hardly 50% of total..

That's it for now...I will update if i recall anything. Please feel free to comment or ask any doubts about the post

Some Days...

    Well i feel some days are just waste.. progressive wise. There are days when you don't feel like going to classes or opening a book and you waste all your time sleeping or surfing internet. I don't have solutions to these days but i am having one of these days .May be that's why i am writing even. Otherwise if you are too immersed in studying you don't feel like doing anything mind consuming except studying.

You see i quit my college the last day of my exam and dived into IAS coaching. People told me you have nothing else to loose, till your joining comes take a chance. I had a hard time convincing my mom too for this. She wanted to me sit at home for a while and manage it. Strangely it was the exact opposite thing she wanted me to do last year.She wanted me to go out either at pretest of job , M tech or even marriage. She hated me a lot in those days. Hated me for wasting money, time, marriage prospects. But now her attitude has changed completely. I often find her praising me for my perseverance, hard work, intelligence. From being no good daughter i became ideal daughter overnights. My all weaknesses are now my quirks. Now she claims she always knew i was going to do well. She has my janampatri to validate that claim. Well. this is how our family changes after success.  When i see my brother and sister respecting me like anything i think i never realised how much i needed this selection. Paradoxically most of your friends stay the same of course of they have not failed in this exam.

My coaching is from unearthly 6.30 in the morning and i am not been able to wake up at that time since last week. I feel terrible. No matter hoe much i try to tell my self it's okay but i no it's not. Then again i am not even sure i'll get time to prepare for it. My joing would probably come till december. And after waiting three and half years for it i am in no moon to take extension.

I know this got sort of personal but i am a human being after all. I can't write high funda stuff all the time.

Had i known IAS is actually easy i would have invested my mind into this. But at that time it was equivalent to going to the moon. So i aimed at lesser level and expected even less.
I wish someone has told me all this before. That you can achieve whatever you put your mind into. 

While preparing for a competitive exams..

I know i may not be a authority on this, but i have gathered a few experiences which i feel like sharing with everyone

"Everyone knows the way, but only few walk on it"

This is absolutely true in coaching scenario. Everybody knows to study regularly, not to leave the examples, homework pending etc etc. But a few more tips from my side.

1. Don't get frustrated while solving questions.

You may not get them at once , you may not see the solution, you might be making silly mistakes and there would always be one student in class who will be doing them alright faster than you.Yes, there are students in class who are from NIT'S or IIT'S or even toppers who seem to know and understand things before hand, giving answers etc etc. But you have your own positives too. IES is not about all these things. It's more about perseverance, constant work and dedication. And you need yourself a seat you are not in direct competition with them. There is place on top for both and many others.

Personally speaking, i did not find the names of brilliant students of my class in IES list.Some got PSU's and were lost there, some were overconfident and god knows for what reasons BUT they are simply not there.

"Be competitive, but with yourself" 

Do your best everyday. Don't get frustrated with others or even yourself. Trust me frustrations takes away all the energies and make you stressed making you waste more time than you can afford.

2.You tend to forget more than you expect from yourself.

It is completely normal to forget the subjects you ve read thrice, wondering whether you wrote these notes yourself, and the formulas you solved 100 questions.

It's alright and if you practice and revise there is a huge chance you will recall them in exams. But don't forget to revise subjects periodically, make notes, formula copy etc. These things save time when exam is near and you need to be confident.

3. Skipping test, exams..

 Yes i know you are not prepared, your study schedule has not went the right way,test is just waste of time and i definitely know it's better to study than face the exam unprepared. We all give ourselves petty excuses because now we ve got to face ourselves while attempting the exam. Please..please,, wash your face and go and take that exam. You would know what formulas or areas need revising, what topics you are not best thus leave then , strong points, how to manage time, mark bubbles and the list is long.  It's more like facing your fears. Until you suffer the humiliation of forgetting the most obvious thing , doing a simple calculation mistake , rejecting a simple question thinking it's tough etc etc you will not be ready to take the real exam. It is so much better to do all this in mock test instead of real exam. MOst importantly devise your strategy of attempting exams and improve it. 

I may write the few more things but i would first like to know the impact of this post. Without feedback all this effort seems to go all waste.To you i may be another big mouth person teaching you boring things..

ESE 2012 cut off got from UPSC through RTI

Thought of writing many things accompanying the cut off but i guess the pics are self explanatory.Cut off 's are not out of reach just regular adn planned studies are needed to achieve it. Hope this inspires you all for a better future...Please don't forget to post a thanks at least..

IES Medical..

This blog is purely informational in nature. This may help you when you have a medical date. Then this would prepare you on what to expect..Unlike me where everything was a confusion...

Well, at first you are give a lot of forms which you are supposed to fill and keep it with you untill asked for which is at different rooms, stages. Yes, This form has identical 3 forms so fill it without questioning. Then your height and weight are taken. Underweights are told to fill themselves up with water or food. You can also request a few kgs added as a person did in my board. Staff is usually helpful and willing to declare you fit so feel free to request whenever appropriate.

  Then you would be divided into two groups and taken following rooms with no specific order

1. Eye Check up

Here an irritated and irritating doctor put torch in my eyes and asked whether i had any surgery done. Then he showed me ishihara colourblindness slides which i had already googled. But there it seems different as he put torch over the glossy paper making dots looking unreal and confusing. But he doesn't minds missing a slide or two.

Then you are shown a white board with circles having gaps.You have to tell on which side gap is there. They show you tiniest line with one eye and hurried manner.Again they don't mind little mistakes.

I felt perplexed and confused as they give no time to adjust eye aperture but it's fine with them

2. B.P and pulse rate

A physician take your bp and pulse. Then they make you jump 20 times and take your pulse again.

3. Urine Test

It's highly embarrassing.No segregation of males and females They issue you a a bottle which you are supposed to fill in a dirty bathroom of your gender.You can take your own sweet time. You can even see other people carrying their filled bottles with different colours. I felt like vomiting and huge ..

breach of privacy.

4.X ray

Well in this you are supposed to take out every cloth from upper part and wear a gown. You are then asked to keep your chin on a metal curved bar and stick your chest on the metal plate placed parallel to you. You breathe deep and hold it till he says it's over. Og course timing is different for girls and boys.

There is another test separately  for males and females. For females i can assure no embarrassing  moments untill you are married and for males i have no information.

Between all these tests you flip from one room to another and there is lot of waiting involved as hospital is seeing patients too which understandably are their priority. You can bring friends who easily mesh up with the crowd. Don't disturb your parents as they will have to wait a lot. It's only in the evening you are allowed to go. If there is something wrong they ask you to do the test again..

P.S. The above information is ture based on my board and experience. Your experience my vary so please use common sense. Above all it's just an information..

Post IES Selection...

Well, for the few days it was very heady and i was literally in the clouds but now it again feels normal. But as some changes i discovered are as following..

    I got to know who my real well wishers are!! Few of my so called friends didn't even wished me congratulations .Some were  so jealous that it was apparent.One of my best friends(We used to stay together ALL THE TIME) now can't see me eye to eye. And she is not even engineer who could give this exam or ever planning to give this in her whole life. Few of my long lost friends found my number and wished me others managed to message me on facebook. And it's cool. I really regret the lost friend but i guess i should have guessed it earlier when i was planning to make her my life long friend. I thought being unsuccessful make you lose friends but the vice versa is also true!!

   I need to take all the congratulations as if it is my first one. I know you might be thinking how is this painful. But it is. My cheeks ache from smiling (fake) so much. Acting must come natural to you.I must say the kind words all weighed and watched as i could be considered egoist and god knows what. I would hate if someone tells other "she changed after selection". But it is so true for others instead of me.Now no one wants to talks to me.They are feel so unsure for themselves.But i don't care. I still have my goods friends with me who are genuinely happy for me.

  My mother is insanely happy. She is sooooo happy i feel it was worth it. She has discovered a new found respect in others eyes.Though i feel like telling her don't be a show off, but when i remember her anxiety, her concern about my future and not to mention her depletion of resources on me for past 3 years i just let her be.

I feel thankful to all the PSU's where i was not selected. I wouldn't have studied so far had i ve been selected early in my coaching days. 

All i want to say that a phase comes when we are so unsure of ourselves, insecure about our future.We see our friends moving on and we feel struck.But as in hindi movies good ending is there.But keep on studying till then. No matter how much you feel it is not getting in your head, how much you feel you are going to forget it, how much the other guy is studying....These things doesn't matter much. Everyone has their own journey, own lessons and own mistakes. And God has a plan for you too .I know a guy who tried telling me the same things and i didn't believe it but now i feel like going back and trusting him. But then again i wouldn't have worked so much if i believed him and was sure of my success!!                    

Got selected in IES..2012

Well after all the drama and rejection in 6 PSU's, UPSC found me suitable for the job.

The selection was completely a surprise for me. and i have no clue what will happen next. I have never seen a iES offices in my life and now i am going to be one!!

  I am deliriously happy and proud of myself.My aim of writing this blog is almost over but i will still help anyone in need of guidance.

It was a total surprise. You must must remember AP Singh used to tell a story about a girl who misplaced her ies admit card and found about her selection through post. I always wondered how can she be so unmindful and doubtful for her selection. But i was one of them too. Who thought i was grossly underprepared. It was not even my best performance.

And not even in my wildest dreams i thought of an under hundred rank. When i cleared the written thought i had cleared it near the boundary line and even if i get selected i would be on borderline. But my rank was an eye opener.

I am glad that i started this post. We always think that winners are different, think different and always know they have it in them.  But in my journey i had all the doubts..my the anxities. And among all these rejections i never realised god has a plan for me..

And trust me god has a plan for everyone..

Best of luck guys..

BEL Interview Experience..

Well i know very few people are actully going to use it as BEL usually takes a few students.


My interview was at Delhi chanderlok building. There were 3 persons on the panel.I was 8 or 9th by sequence. As students were coming out usually taking 20 to 40 mins. Everyone was telling his own story. One student proclaimed that they asked about practical aspects of production like how his watch was made etc etc. Another one said they asked compositions of stee;ls and other material science concepts. One was thrashed for telling his fav subject as HMT as they asked they have no use for heat and mass transfer. Another one was asked all about refrigeration and air conditioning. Some claimed no hr questions were there but threr were others who were asked something like that.
  
    I said my fav subjects to be HMT and Production thinking they could pick either of them .But i was asked questions from every other subject than these. I was asked following questions..

1. All laws of thermodynamics
2. Entropy.
3.Bernoulli's theorem.
4.Strength of materials diagrams
5.Types of turbine and there uses.
6.Properties of turbine material.


Somehow i was waiting for the interview results but i was kicked out of this interview too making it 6th PSU interview from which i was thrown out. This experience has made me scared of appearing in the interview itself. But it is also true that i never extensively prepared for any interview i gave. And i don't know the reason of this reluctance. But here is my advice to everyone. Please be throughly prepared fro each interview you face. Because at some point you are going to regret it as i am doing now. Though my IES selection has given me confidence and something to be proud of but as a matter of fact i am still considered failure and of course i am still unemployed though i am contemplating a career in coaching other people.
Best of luck...