Eligibility and Requirements to become IAS Officer
Job Security. Great house. Chauffeur Driven Car. Subsidised bills. Lifetime Pension. If as a job-seeker, this doesn’t make you drool.. I don’t know what will. Yes, being an IAS officer comes with a lot of perks. But…these are not the reasons why you should want to be one. The only reason why you should be an IAS officer is if you want to improve the lives of millions of Indians. See, waging ‘Nationality’ wars is simple which is why a lot of bored and jobless people are doing it online. But reaching the level where you can actually do something for your nation that takes Hard-Work! And I know that you can do it which is why today I am going to tell you everything you need to know about becoming an IAS officer.
So in today’s article, we are going to start by understanding who are IAS officers and what do they do? Eligibility Criteria for becoming one. Exam Details. Cost of becoming an IAS officer. Salary and Career after you get selected. But most importantly, towards the end, I’ll give you some Bonus Tips that will help you crack what is possibly the toughest exam of our country.
Look, becoming an IAS officer is a lot of work. But do you know what’s worse? Being stuck at a sub-standard job you don’t like that doesn’t even pay well. By the end of this article, you will have everything you need to get started on how to become an IAS officer. Let’s begin. IAS stands for Indian Administrative Service. And simply put, IAS officers assist the ruling government in the disbursement of funds, maintaining law and order, crisis management, revenue collection, implementing policies, giving feedback etc… If I had to compare them to a Super-Hero, I’d say they are like.. Spider-Man and Woman They have great power but it comes with great responsibility.
Now, how to become an IAS Officer? For that, you need to write an exam called CSE. Civil Service Examination At the end of the exam, you will get a rank and depending on that rank, you will be allocated to IAS, IFS, IPS and 24 other services that come under it. In this section, we are going to discuss what is the eligibility criteria you need to meet to write that exam. There are 4.
1. For IAS and IPS, you need to be a citizen of India.
2. Age Limit is between 21 – 32 and there are extensions in some cases as mentioned here.
3. The number of times you can attempt this exam for GC is 6, OBC is 9, Physically-Challenged candidates if 9 an for SC/ST is unlimited until they reach their Age-Limit.
4. You need to have a graduate degree or an equivalent qualification at the time of application.
There is no percentage requirement. You just need to pass the exam. Final year students can also apply. Now before I tell you about the exam syllabus here are the 3 things that you must know.
1. CSE is conducted by UPSC. Union Public Service Commission.
2. Every year around 10 Lakh people apply, 5 Lakh write and around 1000+ get selected.
3. The CSE exam has 3 stages. The first stage is called Preliminary which is conducted in June.
The second stage is called Mains and it is conducted in Sept or Oct. The third stage is an Interview which is conducted in Mar or Apr. And the final result comes in May end. So as you can see, it’s a year-long exam! Coming to the Syllabus. Prelims will have 2 papers and both will be objective multiple-choice papers. Paper I will test you on General Studies which includes subjects like History, Geography, Current-Affairs etc.. Paper-II will test you on Aptitude which includes Comprehension, Problem-Solving Skills, Analytical Ability etc.. Both will be for 200 Marks each. After you qualify Prelims, you will write Mains. Mains is a written examination and it will have 9 papers. The subject topics include Language, Technology, Indian Heritage, Security and Disaster Management, Ethics etc.. The Mains account for 1750 marks in total.
After you clear Mains, you will be short-listed for a Personal Interview. It’ll be for 275 marks. The purpose of this interview is to find out if you are Mentally Alert, have Moral Integrity, Leadership Skills etc.. things that you will need if you are going to make important decisions for the country. At the end of these 3 stages, the final rank will be prepared based on a total of 2025 marks and after making the cut you will be on your way of becoming an IAS, IFS, IPS Officer…
Coming to… How to prepare for IAS Exam? In case you are a beginner, 10-12 months of advance preparation is usually advised which means that if you are applying for
Stage 1: Prelims in June then you should’ve already begun your preparation in August. But in case you haven’t…then don’t worry because there are students who clear the exam with 5-6 months of preparation as well because it’s not just the quantity of time but the quality of time matters as well.
For more details on eligibility, syllabus, exam dates keep checking the UPSC Official Website upsc.gov.in I’ve left the link in the description. Because you don’t know what when changes. So make sure you keep checking the website regularly. Registration Fee for Prelims is Rs. 100/and for Mains, it’s Rs. 200/and these fees is also exempted in some cases. For people who want to opt for coaching centres, it can cost somewhere between 1.5 – 2 Lakh INR. But as every student who doesn’t get selected will tell you.. it costs more than just money. It will cost you your effort, the opportunities that you let go of, your intellectual capital, but most importantly, preparing for IAS costs you something that’s priceless and that’s.. your time. The salary of a Junior IAS officer can be around 60,000 INR per month but it comes with a lot of perks like HRA, Travel Allowance etc.. Once you become a Senior IAS Officer, it can be around 2.5 Lakhs per month or more.
Now how to make sure that you crack this prestigious IAS exam?
If you want to crack the IAS Exam, you must do these 3 things…
1. Watch, Read and Breathe News. If you want to clear the IAS Exam, then you need to keep your current affairs game up! Plus, reading a newspaper will improve your communication skills which in turn will make you more confident during the interview. If you want to know how I learnt to speak in English fluently then check out this video. I’ve left the link in the description.
2. Keep your mobile phone away. While preparing for IAS, the only thing that will save your ass is Time-Management. And the biggest enemy of that is your mobile phone. You think that you’ll only spend 5 mins on Social Media but we all know how that ends. And
3. Rest. While preparing your time-table, keep enough time for exercise and sleep. Because a healthy body will have a healthy mind. So that was all about how to become an IAS officer. If you want me to make a separate article about what other Government Jobs are available and how to apply for them then comment below and let me know. See, the road to becoming an IAS Officer is tough. It’s filled with hard work, dedication…true but what nobody tells you is that it’s also a bit frustrating because while your friends move on and start earning you, on the other hand, are left alone to prepare for a year or more and that seclusion is what gets to most people. But hey, all of this moulds you as a person and once you become an IAS Officer the responsibility for making the society better for all of us will fall on your shoulders! So if you think you can do it, then go for it because I believe in you.