Tips to Crack IES

Preparation tips for IES

Govt job especially UPSC jobs or Central Govt jobs have always been an attraction for many Indian people. These are good paying jobs that are also held in well regard. If you are an engineering graduate – a career in Indian Engineering Services can be a lucrative deal for you as the joining salary is a 39K and also accommodation benefits!

Though thousands of engineering graduates apply for the exam it’s not impossible to crack the exam and grab this lucrative job with some strategic preparation.

Past Question Papers : Like any exam – the key to cracking IES is to go over past years question papers strategically. For this read and solve at least 10 years question papers ( past). Often questions or rather topics are repeated. For prelims solve as many objective questions from past papers as possible.

Syllabus : Go through the syllabus of IES provided by UPSC. The syllabus will be the starting point for succeeding in the exam – as it will indicate the subjects needed to be covered and what type of questions you can expect.

How To Tackle Non Technical Paper : This is a challenge for most engineers as they are not very familiar with non technical subjects like current affairs and social science subjects. However with some strategic and dedicated prep acing the non technical paper should not be a problem! For Engineering Ethics ( a topic) follow the Youtube Videos of Naveen Pandey and try to brush up the basics of Philosophy – you can go through An Introduction To Engineering Ethics by Mike Martin as a primer. For other topics such as project management, Engineering Drawing, ICT, Quality Management etc – you should follow particular reading lists prescribed by UPSC.

Current Affairs : You should read the following newspapers daily – The Hindu, Indian Express and Times of India and also follow GK blogs like GKToday.

D for DAF : DAF will be your personal resume on the basis of which you will be interviewed . DAF will be a summary of your achievments – both academic and extra curricular – awards won, societies you have been part of, leadership experiences etc. Be very careful that you include in your DAF everything you know thoroughly. You should be cognizant about everything in your DAF, including current developments related to your interests. For example if your hobby is playing cricket – then make sure you know about latest developments and debates about cricket!