From PSU Rejection and heartbreak to an ISRO Scientist!

My journey was full of emotional challenges. I had prepared hard for GATE in 2017 only when I was in final year of college. I got AIR 797 in GATE 2017. I got calls from various PSUs but could not make it to final selection. It was highly disappointing for me. Finally ended up with taking M. Tech in IIT BHU in Machine Design specialization.

Meanwhile, my year long relationship with a girl was passing through a bad phase and finally it ended up. So it was that phase of my life when I had only disappointments from all sides.

I was passing through a severe mental stress. I used to ask questions from myself and God that why all these are happening with me? What mistakes I had made?!!!

Finally with the support of friends and family, I again came into preparation of GATE. 

I always wanted to work in government organizations. So, dream of working in PSUS and other government organizations like ISRO, BARC etc. kept me motivated.

Qualities Needed

According to me, top three qualities that any aspirant should have in order to crack this exam are:

• Commitment – Merely setting up the goals and not following the schedule will take you nowhere. Always remember that only you know yourself, your constraints and resources. Take the decision accordingly and prove your decision right by working in correct direction. Don’t look at other people to set examples for you.

• Time management – It’s a must part of preparation. You’ll have to maintain the discipline. I avoided a number of family functions, college functions, outing with friends, not to save the time but to avoid distractions and to keep the mind focused. Even if I used to go in some party, the thought of GATE used to rotate in my mind and used to push me to go back early and start studying.

• Hard work – There is nothing like shortcut to success. In such a competitive environment, work as much hard as you can. Your story doesn’t finish the day you fail, but the day you give up!

Dealing with Setbacks

When I was preparing for the first time in college, it was not that difficult to maintain consistency. The idea of working in PSUs kept me motivated and I used to follow the schedule strictly.

But, after first failure of not getting into PSU, and a break up, it was too difficult for me to again come into the flow. This was the time when my family and friends came into picture so vividly. I would like to mention some of my friends here who supported me emotionally. Ankit, Shivam, Manish, Pooja etc. These friends in IIT BHU were like my backbone.

Whenever I used to be sad, my friends used to cheer me up with their fantastic and funny stuffs. My roommate Manish was like “Come on bro!!!  See, I made my first gf in class 4th and then saw a more beautiful girl in class 11th and made another one, and so on and later I realized, pyaar vyaar kuch nhi sab bakwaas hai”!

I can never forget those people who helped me in building my confidence back.

Preparation Details

I was an average student but my graph of learning was always increasing type. I completed my diploma in Instrumentation and Control from IERT Allahabad. And then took lateral entry in mechanical branch in HBTI Kanpur. Due to change of branch, I used to work very hard. And my hard work paid off.

I started preparation in my 6th semester and it took 8 months to complete the syllabus once. I always had the habit of reading from standard books in college time. So my concept was already clear and then I finished the GATE syllabus by August and started giving tests.

I didn’t take any regular coaching from any reputed coaching institute. Books I studied are as follows: 

• Thermodynamics: Cengel Boles and P.K. Nag (solved numericals only)
• Fluid mechanics: Cengel , fox of Wiley publications, Bansal for numericals
• Production: Swadesh Kumar
• Material science: Callister (upto chapter 11 only)
• Theory of machines: S.S. Rattan
• Machine design: V.B. Bhandari
• HMT: Cengel Ghajar + P K Nag

Revision and Mock Tests

Revision is utmost important for GATE. I had prepared short notes on drawing sheets and almost every important formulae and points were written there. I used to give the tests of subject, revised one or two weeks ago, just to check how much I remember accurately. Since I also had the dream of clearing ISRO and BARC, I used to remind the things by deriving it. Timely revision is a must.

You can’t win the battle if you haven’t practiced with sword no matter how good your planning is.  Definitely mock tests are integral part of GATE preparation. I had joined two test series. I couldn’t attempt all the subject tests but attempted all the full length tests.

My average marks in full length tests used to be 80 in one test series and in the other, it fluctuated between 60 and 65. Personally, I don’t see any correlation between mocks and actual GATE. Just analyse your mistakes keenly and note it down, whether its conceptual or calculation mistake. Revise all your mistakes before appearing in GATE.

Always remember, bad times pass away!!! You just have to keep moving. Problems come in the life to make us feel alive. Right now I am working as a Scientist in ISRO and I feel proud to work for the Nation.

Thank you!

All the best to future aspirants.