Even if one does not make it to the IAS, there are so many other options available to an aspirant.

In Kavishala Talks Sonal Goel shared her views on social issues and the things which are going on in our country. Sonal attempted the paper for the first time in 2006 but could not make it to the interview round. When she wrote the paper again in 2007, she cleared it with a rank of 13. Ankur Mishra from kavishala hosted this session, here are some important key points from the discussion:

  1. Always have a back-up career option beside the UPSC. 'It was my father, a CA by profession, who made sure that I have an alternate career option ready. Thus, I completed my CS in 2004 and soon started studying law and completed that too. Alongside this, I also started preparing for the CSE.'
  2. Understand your motivation well. 'I knew I wanted to make a difference, and was prepared to do that even if I did not manage to secure a position in the civil services.' // 'I belong to a business family and I thought that being in the services will give me a chance to do something for the society and the nation. It wasn’t the appeal of power that attracted me to this job'
  3. An aspirant must take into consideration the cost, logistics, and time that these coaching centres will take up. Many candidates stay in areas where exposure is less and if you plan to shift to a place just to attend coaching classes, then ensure that you do your research well before taking the plunge.
  4. Keep yourself motivated. 'For me, listening to music proved to be a great stress buster and that, in turn, also helped me stay focussed. Another habit I took to was reading and that also proved to be beneficial.'
  5. Even if one does not make it to the IAS, there are so many other options available to an aspirant,