Sleepless Nights in Railway Stations to Bureaucracy: Ronald Rose’s Inspiring IAS Journey

January 19, 2024

3 Minutes

Introduction

In the labyrinth of bustling railway stations, amidst the chaos of whistling trains and hurried footsteps, emerged a man whose journey broke the norm. Here is how IAS Ronald Rose who cleared the UPSC examination in 2006, ascended the bureaucratic ladder to become an IAS officer, while working tirelessly in railway stations.

Becoming an IAS: Every Child's dream?

The general perception of the Civil Services examination is that it is a tough paper and this perception is often complemented with various myths surrounding the exam. Ronald breaks some of these myths. 

People often ask Ronald whether being an IAS was his childhood dream, but contrary to their expectations, when he was a child, he wanted to become a doctor. In his time, kids either wanted to become a doctor or an engineer, because they didn’t know anything else. Up until his tenth standard, he also wanted to become a doctor. So not every person has an ambition to become a civil servant right from their childhood and anyone can join this journey at any stage of their life.

An Enriching Experience in Railways

After completing his tenth standard, Ronald got to know about the Vocational Course for Railway Commercial conducted by RRB. Most people were not aware of this exam, and he was no different. It was his classmate’s mother, who perhaps, out of pity, handed him the form and told him to apply. This was a job-linked course, where completion of 11th and 12th standard with Railways as a subject and clearing the entrance examination would get you a job at the Railways. He passed the exam, and at the age of 17, when he should have been going to college, he left for the railway station early in the morning. At 2:00 a.m., when he approached one of the railway staff, the man asked him what a young boy like him was doing there. On showing the appointment order to the man, he told Ronald to lie down on the bench for the night. And the rest was history. For seven years, he stayed at the railway station because he wasn’t allotted a house. He had countless experiences, good and bad ones, but he gained two life-lasting things out of this experience: the friendship of the other candidates who were selected with him, and the skill of interaction and communication with people which shaped his life immensely. 

An Eye-Opener

Then came 1999, the year of the Odisha Super Cyclone. Ronald wasn’t a community-conscious person and he never kept up-to-date with what was going on around him. During the time of the cyclone, his senior at the railway station took the initiative to take the railway staff for some relief work in a region called Kendrapara where Ronald saw the immense destruction. This was an eye-opener for Ronald, who had previously never bothered about what happened around him. You could call this a coming-of-the-age moment, where he realised that something was amiss in life. 

With the same peers who had cleared VCRC, he started discussing what could be done, and they arrived at one solution: Civil Services. This was how his interest in UPSC was generated. He first completed his degree in B.Com at Madras University through distance education and then started attempting for UPSC, while working, hence debunking the notion that a working individual can't clear the exam.

Studying in the Chaos

During his working hours, he didn't get free time at all. The only free hours were after midnight when the last train would depart, so he would study from 12:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. Another misconception that people hold is that one needs 16 hours of studying every day to clear the exam, but this is not practically possible and quality time of three or four hours is sufficient. Ronald breaks another misconception: the necessity of having an excellent academic background to clear the exam. Civil Service has nothing to do with one’s academic life. The only thing that UPSC expects from the candidates is aptitude and attitude. Ronald also supports coaching because it provides you with an atmosphere of like-minded people who have the same goal as you. 

Taking Failures in Your Stride

Ronald believes there are two kinds of people: people who will support and encourage you to write this exam, and people who will tell you to get a desk job. But failures are a part of success, and first-time success is very rare. To clear this exam one needs to develop patience and perseverance. Prepare, analyse, and execute: You build this during your preparation phase and after selection, you are required to implement them.

Post- Selection Journey

After selection, people tend to think, “This is it!”, but this is simply the beginning. You have just reached the top of the mountain, but now there’s a whole kingdom waiting for you. Simply entering civil services should not be the sole goal, you need to learn to look beyond that. 

Conclusion

Ronald's journey proves that some of the opinions we generally hold about the UPSC examination are misconceptions. From spending sleepless nights in railway station benches to becoming an IAS officer, his journey stands as a testament to the power of perseverance and determination.

Find out more about Rose's preparation journey here.