From GATE Rank 4281 to IES Rank 38 - My struggle for Success

Written by : Ankit Shukla (ESE-2015 Rank 38)

                                                                                                                                                             
                                                       

  After passing out in May 2014 from MNNIT Allahabad,  I joined a Private MNC (in which I was  campus  placed)  in July and while working there I realised that  if I continued working here may be I  will get a chance  to go to Thailand or some other company location, but  I will surely not be able to get  into any government  Group A service. I used to talk to my colleagues in  company and everyone would  suggest me to leave  the job and prepare for ESE. One of my friend (Mr. X )  who wrote the ESE 2014  very well also suggested the  same and more than anyone else I myself was  gradually getting  disenchanted with my present job  and started planning a way out.

 I resigned in mid-September and came back home.  My family members except my father were  surprised  and critical of my decision. My mother said “ Log  sunege to kya kahenge ”. It was my father  who had  unlimited faith in my decision. I ensured my family  that I will definitely clear the ESE 2015  anyhow. Now  my family suggested me to join some reputed  Coaching in Delhi to avoid taking any risk.  But having  a bad Kota experience in pre-engineering days and at  the same time Mr. X writing the exam  so well without  any coaching just after passing out, were the two  reasons I was reluctant to go to Delhi.  I thought if he  can do it without coaching why can’t I.

 One month passed in getting settled to the home  environment at Allahabad and gradually I realised that  I have no strategy what to read and how to read. I  also sometimes felt guilty for not going to Delhi. My  another college friend (Mr. Y ) suggested me to come  to Delhi and take at least the photocopy of some  coaching classroom notes. It seemed a good idea, I  brought a reputed coaching’s classroom notes &  printed materials to Allahabad but seeing the  voluminous material, wondered,  if I would be able to  complete them. I also decided to take a separate  room for study near my home so that it was free of  any  kind of family disturbance.

 The time was flying by fast. November had started  and I began reading some books and printed notes.  Till December I finished printed notes of some  subjects while for some subjects I relied on standard  books like Sadiku for EMT, Antenna and Microwave. At  the same time I was giving online GATE test  series in  which I was struggling hard to score even 50 out of  100. In January I started reading class  notes of  communication systems, Digital Electronics and then  realised the worth of these class notes  which were  especially designed for ESE pattern. On GATE exam  day I was feeling confident  without much preparation  because it was not my aim to top GATE exam. My  GATE exam went  average. A couple of days later  when answer keys were uploaded I started tallying my  answer, and I felt  let down at my dismal score. I was  feeling down for some days. I started writing some  motivational  article (in which I presented a  comparative analogy between human life and atomic  structure) on my  blog to feel myself motivated, you  can even read that article at  Your Success Your Life-  The Hidden Story

 On 22 February, I went to Lucknow to give IB ACIO  exam. After coming back, I again switched to  class  notes of other  subjects and felt guilty of reading the  class notes so late. I knew that there was not  enough  time I  wouldn’t be able to complete all class notes  (which at last came true) so I decided to read  those  subjects  from class notes which were time-taking and  read them regularly and repeatedly because  that time  I had  only one option read, learn and practice. In  March I started practicing previous years  ESE  questions. I  solved them, and marked the difficult  ones with star symbol, so that I would take a  look  back at them at  the time of revision. On 14^th March  GATE result was announced and guess what?  Yes, I  failed  miserably, GATE rank 4281. Though I was  disheartened but somehow prepared myself  to  give  BARC  exam.

 On  those days I couldn’t sleep properly because the  exam date was approaching fast and only 2 months  were left. On 20^th March I gave BARC exam. In April  started revising my notes and made a revision  strategy keeping in mind the last days before the  exam, because revision is the most important part of  any long term exam. On 20^th April, BARC result was  declared and again I failed. This failure shook me  off  from within. It was a time I had every right to break  down but I thought this is the perfect time to  rise up  and fight, for it is the weak who kneels down and  weeps but I was not one of them. I became  much  stronger after that failure for it is said “When you lose  everything, you are free to do anything”  and I  decided to try my level best after that.  I followed on  my strategy diligently and always kept  myself on a  mission mode. I wrote motivational quotes on sheets  of paper and pasted it on walls of my  room. Some  sheets I always kept in my pocket, for they were a  constant reminder and instant source of  motivation to  me.

 Few days before the exam, Mr. X called me and  enquired about my preparations. I told him I have  done  everything possible for this exam but I am even  prepared to face the worst. And at last, the day came.  I  kept calm and patiently gave my exam. During  those 3 days I was in strict discipline in terms of food  and sleep. After writing the exam I was feeling  satisfied and when I calculated my objective paper  marks, I was thrilled with joy for it was extremely  high with respect to my expectations. 

 I cracked written exam and during interview my  performance was average, so I got expectedly 108  marks.  But fortunately my written marks were high  enough to land me to a decent All India rank of 38.  That is  all about my struggle for becoming IES.

 All the best to you for your attempt at ESE. Try to  make it your last attempt at ESE by first of all  believing that this exam is nothing but a game for  you. You just need to follow the rules of the game.  There will be failures in the journey but don’t get  afraid of them, instead, use them as stepping stones  for the next opportunity. Failure in one event doesn’t  mean failure in life. Set your eyes on the next  opportunity. The stage is all yours, go and get your  dream come true.  

 Mr. X and Y are my best friends since college time.

 Mr. X = Harshit Mittal, the person who actually made me  believe that clearing IES is possible.  He  cleared ESE-  2014, just after passing out from college with Rank 42 and  is currently  undergoing training  at Indian Railways,  Secunderabad. 

 Mr. Y = Dhananjay Singh (Ex-Design Engineer at  Freescale Semiconductors). He is like my  big  brother. He  cleared ESE-2015 along with me, with Rank 12. He did it in  his first attempt.  Currently he  is Asst. Manager at  DMRC, New Delhi.