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Civil Services (IAS/IPS)

37

PUC Arts · pathway 37 of 50

Civil Services (IAS/IPS)

Any bachelor degree, then UPSC CSE · 3–4 Years degree, then exam preparation

No degree makes you an officer; any degree lets you sit the exam that might.

Reading dry material patiently does not bore you, and you are curious about why a government office works the way it does. You want responsibility more than recognition, and you pick subjects that interest you: a dull one will not survive years of preparation.

For years before any posting, the work is reading, writing practice answers and following administration in the news closely. If you clear a service, it becomes meetings, files and field visits, and decisions that affect people who will never know your name.

UPSC has three stages — Prelims, Mains and Interview — and general-category candidates get six attempts between ages 21 and 32. Look beyond it too: KPSC recruits far more people than UPSC does, and staff selection, banking and railway exams are open to any graduate.

You might like this if you enjoy Law, society & government

Go deeper — Inside the Courses: Public Administration · Political Science · Sociology · History

pathway 37 · Civil Services (IAS/IPS)

The road

  1. SSLCClass 10
  2. 2 yearsPUC — any stream
  3. 3–4 yearsAny bachelor degree
  4. 3–4 Years degree, then exam preparationCivil Services (IAS/IPS)

Common ways in: Bachelor of Arts (BA) — pathway 40 · Political Science — pathway 43 · Public Administration — pathway 46 · Engineering — pathway 15 · Pure Sciences — pathway 25

Where it goes after that

Work

  1. IAS Officer
  2. IPS Officer
  3. IFS Officer
  4. State PSC Officer
  5. Sub-Collector / Assistant Commissioner
  6. Deputy Superintendent of Police
  7. Block Development Officer
  8. Years later — District Collector
  9. Years later — Secretary to Government
  10. Years later — Chief Secretary

Study further

  1. LLM
  2. Policy Studies
  3. Public Administration
  4. PhD in public policy
  5. Policy think-tank research
  6. UGC-NET Political Science
  7. Public administration case research

Government

  1. IAS / IPS / IFS via UPSC CSE
  2. KAS via KPSC
  3. Indian Revenue Service
  4. State administrative services

Your own

  1. Civil-services coaching academy
  2. Policy consultancy
  3. Social enterprise
Who can apply
A completed degree in any discipline. Age 21 to 32 for the general category, with relaxation to 35 for OBC and 37 for SC/ST. Final-year students may sit the Prelims.

Where to study it A shortlist of well-regarded places, not every college.

Other places to study: JNU New Delhi · University of Hyderabad · Delhi University