In India, there is a high value of the UPSC exams. Many students start preparing for this exam from their school days, and some may start after graduation. The preparation strategy and time vary from person to person.
It is mainly advised to start preparing at least 9 to 10 months before the prelims exam. This doesn’t mean that a student can’t clear the exam with 6-7 months of hard preparation; as told earlier that this is a general time without a hectic schedule.
Not all aspirants have the facility to give full-time to the studies. Many of them have to do a job for many reasons. But if you get the proper guidance then it becomes much easier for you to crack the exam and a good IAS coaching can help you in this.
In this article, we will be discussing the preparation tips for such working professionals.
Challenges

UPSC Preparation Tips for Working Professionals
It is not at all easy to prepare while you are working. This also doesn’t mean that a working student has fewer chances of selection. Moreover, the working person gets an extra edge in the interview round.
Let us see a few challenges faced by such people.
- First is always the time. People working may not get adequate time to study as they may be doing a 6-10 hour job, and after that tough schedule, they have to bring out time for studies.
- The second is a lack of energy and focus. As a working individual, you may feel tired after working for hours and sometimes have a bad mood. This would have a significant impact on studies.
- You may want to quit the job, but you can’t, maybe because of personal family reasons or any other factor.
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There are not only challenges but also some benefits of preparing while working. Let’s see this.
Benefits

UPSC Preparation Tips for Working Professionals
- We can’t think of something better than having limited time and resources for preparation. Working people keep their resources limited, and this helps in better preparation.
- You have a backup job with you, and you don’t need to think a lot about if and but plans. This makes you more focused on the exam.
- The working people have a better self-confidence than other competitors as they have faced the professional life.
- You have your financial support, so you need not depend on others. This also helps as you can prepare for long times.
- The working professionals have an extra advantage over other candidates in the interview round as they have more hard work than a candidate who had more time for preparation.
UPSC Preparation Tips for Working Professionals
- It would help if you never thought to quit your job. Instead, you can take a few leaves before the pre-exam. Taking a break before the mains exam and again joining the work after the mains paper. The interview is favourable for such candidates as they may not feel something new.
- Close the social media completely. This is the best time-saving option and would help you concentrate on your studies rather than focusing on what is happening on social media. If you can’t stop everything at once, do it one at a time. This is one of the most important UPSC preparation tips for working professionals.
- As told earlier also, begin your preparation at least nine months before the prelims exam. The first few months will lay a strong foundation, and after that, start with both pre and mains studies.
- Give 5-6 hours to devoted study. Studying current affairs, General studies daily.
- Try to complete the prelims and mains syllabus before at least a month or so. Start practising the test series from then. If not completed the course because of the shortage of time, you can leave some mains specific topics and prepare them after you write the pre-exam.
Read More: NCERT Books for UPSC Preparation
- Weekends are the most important as you get the most time there. Plan your weekends accordingly and try not to put a lot of burdens that may feel you lethargic. Instead, you should be ready for the next week with total energy.
- Keep your resources limited and not indulge yourself in too many books for each subject. This will help in selective study and save you time.
- Revise during dinner and take small minutes for study rather than hours of continuous study.
- Suppose you are confident of getting a good score in prelims. Take a few leaves and give complete focus on the mains. This is again one of the most important UPSC preparation tips for working professionals
- You can also take online batches and join weekend courses. This will guide you and help you in your preparation. Various coachings provide such batches. One of those is The Thought Tree, as it provides the best teaching according to the syllabus, not the books. They have the best teachers and study materials that have produced many good results for the UPSC civil services exams.
Conclusion
We have seen from the article the important point for a working professional who wants to prepare for the UPSC exam.
Never make a burden on yourself and take small steps at a time. Success is the outcome of what actions you do today. Hence, don’t focus on what will happen tomorrow and give your 100% on today’s efforts.
Moreover, students should join The Thought Tree as they are the best UPSC coaching in Jaipur.
I hope the article will help every working aspirant.
All the best for your future, may you become successful in your life.
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