Before you start, ask the following questions:
- Were you a good student? If you got 50–60% marks throughout school and graduation, then UPSC is a bad idea for you. Simply put, if you couldn’t manage your school/college syllabus, how do you expect to be able to handle the ocean that is the UPSC syllabus? Yes there are exceptions where past poor performers manage to get in, but they are just that- exceptions. There is a reason why IITians and other top-performers are over-represented in the civil services.
- Can your family afford to support you during preparation? If your wider family is not depending on you for their livelihood (for example, your father is still working or is retired with a good amount of money), then it makes sense to spend a couple of years to prepare for your dream job. Else, please don’t ask your parents to sell their land to pay for your coaching and living costs in Rajendra Nagar/Mukherjee Nagar for years on end. They will happily sacrifice for you, but the pain and guilt you’ll feel may overwhelm you. Ultimately, that will be your undoing.
- Can you sit and study for long durations of time? Saying that the syllabus of UPSC is vast is an understatement. It takes a long time (~1.5–2 years of hard work, studying atleast 8 hours a day) to complete the subjects (static + dynamic portions). If you cannot lock yourself in a room and study like crazy, this exam is not for you. Honestly, the syllabus is so big and the competition so intense that procrastination even for short durations will prove costly for you.
- Do you love to write? UPSC Mains is all about writing long, coherent answers, often on abstract topics. And you have a limited amount of time to write. Constant writing practice is quintessential to success in UPSC and if you dislike writing, you may want to consider another career.
- Do you have a Plan B? Around 10 lakh students compete for <1K jobs. Just based on shear probability alone, failure is overwhelmingly more likely than success. You can say to yourself that you work hard, but so do tons of other aspirants. Idealism and passion are good qualities, but being realistic is also very important. Hence, it’s foolish to not have a backup plan. Whether that plan involves clearing PCS, Bank PO, SSC-CGL etc, you should definitely have a backup plan to fall back on if you don’t get selected.