What’s Next after UPSC CSE Exam failure?

July 18, 2024

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“Sir, I failed the UPSC Exam”. Mohit said

“You deserve that Mohit” I replied. “In my 15 years of career as a mentor and coach, I have seen thousands of such students”

Mohit was shocked to hear this. Instead of being sympathetic I was showing him his place.

“Sorry Sir, I couldn’t understand?”. Mohit uttered in a slow voice, showing due respect, though the contempt was visible on his face.

“You don’t understand difference between failure and non-selection, and you are disappointed that you could not clear the prelims. Abhi toh party shuru hui hai Mohit, Prelims is just starting. The real exam is Phase 2 and Interview, whose marks are counted for the selection”

“So, are you suggesting that I should forget my dream of becoming a District Collector. I have been preparing for the last two and half years?”

“No, I have not said anything that suggests you stop preparing.” I interrupted.

I further continued “First, you need to understand that not getting selected is not equivalent to failure. In school or college exams, you fail if you score below a certain percentage. However, in competitive exams there is no pass or fail.”

“Okay, let me correct myself. Sir, this is the second time I could not qualify prelims of UPSC CSE. What do you suggest I should do for my future?”

“I suggest you consider three things”, I said and continued,

“First, you continue to prepare for UPSC CSE, you are sincere, and you have good analytical abilities to score in the Mains exams.

Second, you also appear in other exams where your UPSC CSE preparation will be useful. There are many other government jobs which are as good as some of the jobs you will get through UPSC CSE.

The third point, which will be valid after 1-2 years, is you also keep the option of working in the private sector open. Right now, the only action point is in your love for government jobs. So don’t start hating the idea of private jobs.

“Sir, with all due respect to you and your suggestion, I would say that I don’t want to divert my attention from UPSC preparation. I want to stay focused.” Mohti responded to me still in deep thoughts and a lot of conviction in his voice.

“Mohit, like lakhs of other students, you also have a confused goal” I said and he interrupted me before I could explain my point and said,

“No sir, I am not confused, UPSC Exam is my only goal” Mohit replied with all seriousness.

“Wrong. As I see this, your goal is a prestigious government job and Civil Services Exam is a means to achieve that”. I explained when he finished speaking.

“Yes, that is correct sir” Mohit said with a confused smile. “But is there any other way to get a good government job?”

“Mohit, all jobs from UPSC Exam are not the same. Only toppers become IAS, IPS or IFS officers, rest others go to other services in taxation, railway, audit & accounts, postal services, Group B officers and others. All jobs are not administrative jobs”

Criteria	RBI Grade B Officer	IPoS Group A Officer
Selection Process	RBI Grade B Exam conducted by RBI	UPSC Civil Services Examination
Focus Areas	Monetary policy, banking regulation, economic research	Postal and financial services, logistics, customer service
Initial Posting	Manager in various departments	Assistant Superintendent of Posts or Senior Superintendent of Posts
Primary Responsibilities	Formulation of monetary policy Economic research and analysis Banking regulation and supervision Financial market monitoring Currency management	Overseeing post office operations Managing postal staff and logistics Supervising postal savings and insurance services Implementing government policies Grievance redressal and customer service
Career Progression	Manager, Assistant General Manager, Deputy General Manager, General Manager, Chief General Manager, Executive Director	Superintendent of Posts, Director of Postal Services, Chief Postmaster, General Member of the Postal Services Board, Secretary in Ministry of Communications
Regulatory Role	Supervising and regulating banks and financial institutions	Ensuring compliance with postal laws and regulations
Financial Services	Overseeing financial markets and inclusion initiatives	Supervising postal banking and insurance services
Foreign Exchange Management	Managing foreign exchange reserves	Not applicable
Developmental Functions	Promoting financial inclusion and literacy	Upgrading postal facilities and digital services
Innovation and Technology	Directing innovation in banking and payment systems	Promoting digital transformation in postal services

The difference between RBI Grade B and IPoS Group A Officer

I continued “There are many other public sector jobs in which the impact on society is much bigger, but these jobs are not offered through the UPSC Exam. Let me give you an example of the job of RBI Grade B vs Group A officer in postal department.

“This is something very new, I never knew about this. But sir, this is Grade B level in RBI is not Group A is better in government” Mohit asked.

“You should not compare these two jobs like this. In RBI, Grade B is senior to Grade A officer. RBI Grade B is a middle management level position.” I explained.

“But sir, I am not from Economics and Finance background, how will I work with RBI? Do you think that they will select me?” Mohit seemed puzzled by my response to him.

“So, you think if you get through UPSC CSE and become Tax Commissioner you will be able to manage finance but not in RBI. Moreover, there are opportunities in other Regulatory Bodies and AIFI / DFI such as SEBI, NABARD, IFSCA, PFRDA, IRDA, SIDBI, EXIM, NHB, IIFCL, IFCI, NaBFID, etc. With your UPSC preparation you may appear in these exams and get success. The competition in these exams is much less. Some people join these jobs and continue UPSC CSE preparation and some of them get selected too. When you have a job at hand your confidence increases.” I said.

“This is good idea sir. I am sure that these exams will be spread throughout the year so I will have flexibility to appear in those whose dates are not clashing with the CSE. ” Mohit added.

“Yes Mohit, you can choose. But please understand that if you have not cleared UPSC Exam, it does not mean that you are a failure. My point is you shall not go your studies waste. Simultaneously you may appear in other related exams and make your career successful. In all these regulatory bodies and AIFs/DFIs, you will have about a similar number of vacancies as in UPSC Exam, but less competition.” I explained further.

“Thank you, sir, meeting you always adds a lot of value. I will work on this. I think the RBI Grade B exam will happen soon; I will not miss the opportunity.

About the Author – Chandra Prakash Joshi

Chandra Prakash Joshi , one of the founders of ixamBee is an ex AGM RBI, ex SVP Yes Bank, with 13 years of senior-level experience in the banking & finance sector. He joined as RBI Grade B Officer in 2004 ( AIR 5), in 2008 got promoted to AGM (Grade C), one of the first three in his batch to get promoted. He holds a PhD (Development Communication) and is an MBA ( ISB Hyderabad.)

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