How to become an IAS officer | Eligibility and Job Roles

Hey everyone, today in this article, we will talk about how to become an IAS officer. 

To begin with, let’s start with the first thing that comes to our mind after reading the topic.

What is IAS?

IAS or Indian Administrative Services is the most challenging exam to crack in our country, conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. Every year some of the students are selected amongst lakhs of students who write the exam to fill the position of IAS in government set-up.

In movies and real life, you might have seen the respect given to an IAS wherever he visits and has significant powers even to suspend people who are doing something wrong.

IAS as a career is the best choice available to any individual as it is the most prestigious exam in our country. IAS attracts many young individuals to showcase their knowledge and talent and work in the government sector.

Are you attracted by the roles mentioned above of an IAS officer?

It looks like everything is accessible from the outside, but when someone is into such roles, there is a big responsibility on his shoulders that is beyond our imagination. Also, cracking such an exam is not easy as the syllabus is vast, the checking is complex, and the final interview round is considered the toughest interview conducted by any organization.

To give yourself a better chance of selection, you need to join the best IAS coaching that provides you the best facility and motivates you in your preparation. I love ‘The Thought Tree’ as many things attract an aspirant to join them.  

Now, let us move on to our discussion on the eligibility of this exam.

Eligibility to Become an IAS Officer

Day by day, the number of aspirants is increasing, and so is the competition to get selected and maintain the standards of the IAS exam.

Moreover, proper preparation along with the right strategy enhances your chances of clearing this high-level exam.

Generally, the IAS exam is conducted in three stages,

1. Preliminary exam
2. Mains exam
3. Personal interview

To get a high rank and confirm your selection, a student needs to get a good score in the mains and the interview round.

Want to appear in the IAS exam? 

If you qualify the below eligibility criteria, you are good to go.

1. A student must be at least a graduate from any stream, from any reputed and recognized university.
2. There is good news for the ones in the final year of graduation that you can also appear for the IAS prelims, but you should have your final result appear for the mains exam. The degree needs to be attached to the application form for the mains exam; hence, you must complete your degree before the IAS mains.
3. Students who possess a technical and professional qualification recognized by the government or its equivalent are eligible to appear for the IAS exam.
4. Finally, it would help if you had a minimum age of 21 years to sit for the exam. Also, proper age relaxation is given to the students belonging to different castes as per government criteria.

How to Become an IAS Officer?

There are the following things required to be eligible and become an IAS officer and serve our nation.

• Students are mostly confused while choosing the subjects after the 10th to become eligible for the IAS exam. It is not compulsory to select some particular subject, but you must possess aggregate 50% marks with any stream.
• Now, after schooling, the next problem comes about graduation. UPSC lays no boundation for any specific degree. If a student does a bachelor’s degree from a recognized university in India, he/she is eligible for the exam.
• Now, after graduation, here comes the most important requirement, the IAS papers.

A student needs to qualify in the IAS pre-exam, secure good marks in the IAS mains exam, and finally, get cleared in the interview with good marks.

Note: There is no limit on the number of attempts as one can appear for the exam till he is eligible as per maximum age criteria. Generally, a general category student can appear for 6 times till 32 years of age, nine attempts for an OBC category student, and SC/ST student can occur for any number of times till 37 years of age.

What are the job roles of an IAS officer?

The job of an IAS officer is the most beloved one among any other jobs in India.

The various job profiles are given below that will boost up your confidence in becoming an IAS officer.

• Sub-divisional officer: The role is to coordinate the work of various departments and in charge of their development activities.
• Divisional commissioner: The officer has to coordinate various activities like law and order, revenue, and development administration at divisional levels. The Divisional Commissioner heads the revenue administration in his division and hears appeals against the orders of District Collectors.
• District collector: The district collector, also known as the district magistrate, is responsible for smoothly running the district’s administration. As the duty of the collector, he has to collect the revenue from the district.
• Chief Secretary: The primary role of the chief secretary is to ensure inter-departmental coordination. He is responsible for solving interdepartmental disputes and difficulties.
• Cabinet Secretary: he is the link between the political system and civil services of the country. His responsibilities are to monitor and coordinate with various departments and ministries.

There are always some positives and negatives to every job post. Similarly, for an IAS officer too there exist some pros and cons.

Pros and Cons of becoming an IAS officer

Pros:

• IAS gives an opportunity to serve our country through various departments. 
• It is the most secured job in our country with various privileges and perks.
• We know that we feel a great sense of happiness and pleasure when we help and serve anyone in our daily life. The work of an IAS officer is the service for the people; hence, it gives immense pleasure and satisfaction working for society.
• The job is highly reputed and is respectable too. Once you start your journey after becoming an IAS officer, it seems like you are in another world.
• It brings out the leadership quality inside you in front of the country as it involves political leadership.

Cons:

• There is a great responsibility, and the workload is too much to handle. 
• There are no fixed timings as sometimes you may have to start early in the morning and get free late at night.
• As an IAS officer, you have to answer for anything going under your department. Hence there is a pressure situation all the time.
• You have to deal with many corruption in the country without being affected and not losing your honesty.

It is never too late; if you wish to become an IAS officer, you can start anytime. Be honest with your preparation, and joining the best IAS coaching will surely help get better results with advice, tips, teachings, material, confidence, and many more things that you get at the best coaching.

All the best!