Table of Contents
For the UPSC Civil Services Exam, roughly 11 to 13 lakh candidates apply each year, but only a small percentage OF UPSC aspirants qualify for each stage. In 2024, around 9.92 lakh candidates registered for the Prelims, and 5.83 lakh actually appeared.
For the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2025, over 10 lakh UPSC aspirants appeared for the Prelims exam, competing for 979 vacancies. Out of these, 14,161 candidates were shortlisted for the Mains examination.
UPSC aspirants usually give their 3-5 years on an average for the preparation of this prestigious exam. Unless & Until, you are in the Final Merit , no body can be sure of their selection even if they have given multiple UPSC Mains or Interview.
So the question arises , what happens with UPSC aspirants who couldn’t clear the exam!
- Most of the UPSC aspirants do not have any idea what to do , many out of them tend to give other government exams like PCS, SSC or other central & state level exams.( because in years, aspirants have only learnt one thing which is to study and get a government job).
- Many tend to work in Coaching institutes at various roles.
- Some of them go for teaching on Youtube, even establish offline centres for which we have seen many renowned examples.
- Still many UPSC aspirants are left with no Jobs or seasonal jobs or are under- employed.
The one & only inevitable thing in this whole process is Financial pressure for the UPSC aspirants .
I believe , whether one is capable for UPSC or not but one truth no one can avoid is – everyone has family to feed , everyone has life to live which cannot be possible without the almighty of this changing world i.e. Money. After few years , every one wants ,no matter whether it comes from job in edtech or any other sector, business, youtube or anything else.
If UPSC trend is changing year by year , don’t you think the skills required for doing jobs or business are also changing drastically. Then why don’t the aspirants start getting some skills , after few attempts, preparing themselves for the world outside. The mindset needs to be changed , the awareness regarding whats happening in the world needs to be there.
This is not the world where you just do efforts and rely on Kismat or God or anything else you believe. You need to consistently keep learning new things , new skills , new strategies. If remaining updated regarding UPSC or any other exam syllabus, content, pattern etc. is a pre-requisite to clear that exam then its far more true for the outside world. Because ultimately ,you are born to survive , no matter which way, which career, which stream..
The strategy before you enter in this UPSC game –
- Pre-plan how many attempts you wanna give.
- Pre-plan what to do after 2-3 attempts if haven’t reached mains or interview or your score is far from cut-off in the Prelims or any other stage.
- What is your family’s financial situation ???
The Reality check analysis for UPSC aspirants if you are already in the process for few years –
- What is your gap from cut-off marks in the mains or total (if you have given interview).
- If you haven’t cleared Prelims in 2 or at max 3 attempts, then analyse rest of the points to make a wise & calculated decision.
- How much energy level can you keep throughout the year consistently ? Momentarily, you can have adrenaline rush after watching a motivational movie/song or seeing some who cleared or your parents’ situation or may be because of their anger on you. But the real question is , whether you can maintain that enthusiasm throughout with calm & composed mind ? Dont under-estimate “Calm & Composed” words.
- What is your emotional state ? Emotions need to be in check . Emotions can make you enter any riskier game but you cant play throughout with emotions. Do you behave with emotions on regular situations or hurdles ? Emotional frequency or Emotional behaviour – the more they are, the more far you are from your goal or achieving anything, true for many parts of life.
- Financial situation – One of the biggest factor which might be controlling your rest of the factors as well. If yours or your family’s financial situation is not good, exit this UPSC/Govt. exam cycle in 2-3 attempts , if not fully then at least partially , become financial independent or at least start getting aware with outside world, your back-up plan.
- One story every year that a son of a Rickshaw-puller or a poor farmer or a Grade D employee etc. cleared the exam and the result is lakhs of candidates flood into UPSC and imagine themselves in the news headlines next year. I am not against those who did or those who can or will but the real truth is everybody cant , no matter how hard-working you are or how much struggling your story has been, the seats are limited every year.
- I am not saying don’t come or don’t prepare but you must do the proper analysis with how much risk you are taking and how much risk you & your family can handle or recover from.
My Conclusion-
Many factors i could pen down but above are the major ones. Stories of Winners are there but those who loose years , money, will, dream & a part of themselves, their stories are no where.
A Real Winner wins in the life which is not decided by one exam or a relationship, you cannot lose other things for the one which may not be yours. One who learns to manage & doesnt give up on life or situations, is the real winner.
Dont feel sad after reading this. When you get a reality check, you should not feel sad , lost or demotivated. Buckle up, analyse every scenario & probability. Make a strategy as per your scenario & keep working, keep changing as per the requirement , keep learning and you will definitely hit many milestones.
Disclaimer – Don’t make UPSC exam or any thing as your life, they are just a part of your life, you cannot sacrifice your decade of life for it, loosing family , friends or near ones . you have to manage everything.
Best of Luck….
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