The Circle of Dreams
“I went to the US to pursue my under graduation and came back to India to finish my degree in a college in Gandhinagar. The degree was not that fruitful and thus, I decided to do an MBA and have a money-making job. That is how I ended being in MICA in Ahmedabad.”
Life after MBA
“Both of my parents are Civil Servants and they wanted me to do the same, but I kept trying to push the idea away saying that it was not my thing. However, when I went to Mumbai for an internship and told my friends about preparing for the UPSC exam, their response was unanimous, ‘Mall, you are an idiot, you should just go for it.’
I graduated this year from MICA and got placed in a Bangalore-based company. Unfortunately for me, the company ended up firing 150 people and my job offer was revoked. I started looking for jobs and ended up working with a start-up, but with time, I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to keep doing it. That is when I started considering the UPSC preparation seriously. Moreover, I am 27-years-old and cannot wait any longer. So I decided to give it a try.”
Aiming for UPSC
“It has been about 2–3 months since I started with the preparation. Ideally, I should be putting in 9–10 hours every day which frankly, I am struggling to. Eventually, I have to put in more and I do not know how that is going to happen. Motivation is one thing that is difficult to find. I was hoping to find a study partner or a group of 2 or 3 serious aspirants because I think, that would really help.”
Why UPSC
“One great thing about the services is that it is a gateway. A lot of people move on to do other things. Also, I guess it is about having that power, authority and above all, the respect. I do not want to struggle for things all my life because frankly, from what I have seen, life is very comfortable if you are in the services. You have a nice house, a car, a driver to take you around; and life is sorted. The first few years are a little harsh, but I feel that is the case with every job.”
The preparation challenge
“It does feel very weird talking about my preparation since I am an MBA graduate and I am sitting at home not doing anything, so I talk about it only to a very few people. Batchmates, obviously know because everybody talks about it, but I still tell a lot of my relatives that I am working because I do not want to have that discussion with them. Also, all my friends are very encouraging in front of me. They are always encouraging but I am sure that a lot of people doubt as to how effectively I would be able to do this because I was a very lazy person in college and rightly so, I do struggle with it a lot sometimes.
Yes, I am very scared because I have failed in a lot of things in life. I was low on confidence for various reasons in my past. Thoughts like — ‘What if it doesn’t work out?’ or ‘What if I find something else that is more interesting?’ — are always at the back of my mind and I feel like giving this up. And trust me, these thoughts are scary, but then the preparation is interesting and fun, and I feel like giving it my best shot.”
— Rishab Mall | UPSC Aspirant | MICA
To know more about us and our courses, visit https://www.prepathon.com/ and be a part of India’s best test-prep community.
