After talking to upsc aspirants and rankers in the last few years, I’ve come to these conclusions
1) upsc prep attracts people of certain mindset ( don’t want to be ordinary, likes challenges, autonomy, etc)
2) this mindset is half the time not congruent to work in a rigid authoritative atmosphere once you clear the exam ( feel disempowered, overworked and under appreciated and underpaid, lacking independence)
3) this mindset makes people who don’t clear have low self worth because they attach this outcome to their identity.
Net effect is, at least half of those who clear are unhappy but can’t say it because others feel they have won in life.
Almost all those who don’t clear (but have given their heart and soul to prep for at least a full exam cycle) are much more capable than they think of themselves, but are not amounting to much only because they are stuck in the past. What’s happening is mass manufacture of unhappy underachievers.
The present system is deeply flawed in its ability to create societal good.
#upsc
I completely agree that movie and web series makers have glamourized this purely academic and career pursuit of #UPSC into some sort of holy grail.
But this perception about the UPSC exam existed even before these movies and web series came about, the feeling of becoming a king after selection was reinforced because society treated them as a king
Films are just exaggerated reflection of society
Respect and admiration when unchecked becomes reverence and diefication, and this at a mass scale becomes a cult/fandom etc.
This is not a UPSC preparation specific phenomena, its across the board.
This is being driven by social media as well, because it runs on numbers, followers, likes, engagement.
For the future we must be mindful of "Emotion Merchants", facts may hurt and seem blunt and non palatable, and may not gather more eyeballs,but decision making must be done keeping in mind the odds and the facts of the exam.
Taking academic and career decisions (which upsc preparation actually is) must not be influenced by mindless dreams fuelled by Emotion Merchants but by a rational calculation and assessment of your own dreams and aspirations and your drive to become part of civil services. #UPSCaspirants