Engineering to Governance: IAS Shubhankar Pathak's Remarkable First-Attempt UPSC Journey

February 20, 2024

3 Minutes

Introduction

Stories like the Shubhankar Pathak ones are rare. He cleared the UPSC CSE 2021 exams in his first attempt and secured an all-India rank of 11. His journey from being an IITian to leaving his job and pursuing his dream of being an IAS officer is a testimony to his commitment and perseverance towards achieving the goal. Shubhankar’s father is a civil servant of the 1995 batch and is currently posted in Delhi only. His mother is a housewife, and his brother is an intern at Amazon.

Hate for Social Sciences to an IITian

When Shubhankar was in 9th grade, he had a keen interest in mathematics, but he never liked social sciences. His father was an officer, which motivated him to pursue UPSC, but his lack of interest in social sciences did not let him do so. Due to his deep interest in mathematics and his father being an IITian, he took his first entrance for IIT after 12th grade, but unfortunately, he failed. That one year when his other friends were going to their respective colleges seemed to him like a setback. However, he gave another attempt, and he got admission into IIT Dhanbad in Electrical Engineering.

Signs from the Universe and UPSC Preparations

In his second year at his college, he saw his seniors clearing the UPSC examination, and this ignited the spark of being an IAS in him again. He tried to study NCERTs but again failed to develop an interest in the social sciences. In 2020, he finally got a job as a software engineer in Bangalore. This was the time of COVID, and his work shifted to home. He saw these instances as signs from the universe and considered this the best opportunity to prepare for UPSC and fulfill his dream.

Shubhankar took online coaching and focused on studying less, with a great emphasis on revision. His days were hectic since he had to manage his job as well as his studies. Therefore, he decided to leave his job. He used to study 8–10 hours a day. He used to start his day by reading newspapers and current affairs magazines. He divided his day into two parts: in the first half, he used to focus on GS, and in the second half, he used to study his optional, mathematics.

Shubhankar took his preliminary paper on October 10, 2021, and prepared for his optional subject until he got his result. He dedicated the months of November and December to answer-writing practice. On March 17, 2022, he got his mains result, and he cleared the exam.

The Last Step and AIR 11

Shubhankar calls his interview date, i.e., April 6, 2022, the most important date of his life. Before the interview, he read a lot about himself, his father’s background, etc. On the day of the interview, he was nervous as well as confident. He maintained honesty throughout the interview. He didn’t try to impress the panel. Since the interview was quite heavy, he, in the end, dedicated Kishore Kumar’s song “Aaj unse pehli mulaqat hogi" to his whole interview, and the panel enjoyed it. Just two days later, he again started preparing for the upcoming prelims. However, in a few days, he got the result, and in the very first attempt, Shubhankar Pathak secured AIR 11. At the end of the day, as per him, the UPSC examination is an academic exam, and all you need to do is study consistently. This was Shubhankar Pathak’s inspiring story.

Also read: From Obstacles to Opportunity: IAS Nishant Jain's UPSC Journey to AIR 13