Students’ Speak: GATE preparation tips for working professionals

Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering 2026 ( GATE )

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Updated on Feb 7, 2020 11:00 IST
The most important thing in the job is the work and study balance, as both things are equally important. So you can’t neglect any of these or can give more priority to one.

By: Yash Singhal

The most important thing in the job is the work and study balance, as both things are equally important. So you can’t neglect any of these or can give more priority to one.

GATE, is one of the life-changing exams, that opens up avenues for students who want to pursue post-graduation or get placed in a public sector undertaking. The aim for all GATE takers is to crack the exam, study further to better their skills and give their existing salary packages a jump.

Most of the exam takers are working professionals and find it challenging to manage job as well as preparation. However, if you have the dedication, you can easily face all the challenges in your way of success.

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The most important here is time management, to maintain a good balance between a job and preparation. If you are in a private job, you need to be in a place with good work culture. This would allow you to request for preparation time by telling your condition.

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Once that is resolved, make at least four hours of daily study for your paper, and for this you need to manage your own time table. Focus more on the most scoring and the repeating topics of the paper. As these are the topics that will surely come in the exam and can ensure good result with least effort. Scoring topics are different for different streams of the GATE exam.

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Practice more for the aptitude, this is the most scoring part of the paper and can be solved easily within minutes, if you have mastered this topic. From this, you can also write many other papers as well.

The most important thing in the job is the work and study balance, as both things are equally important. So you can’t neglect any of these or can give more priority to one. Try to maintain the balance in this struggling period, as if you can be able to maintain this you can be able to crack the exam easily and you will be even given preference over the freshies during any placements or the recruitments.

But never think of quitting the job for the study purpose if you feel that you might not be able to crack the exam as if you do so then there might be a possibility that if you can’t crack it, you will find it hard to get a new job. You can quit if you are confident enough that you will surely be able to clear the cut off and can be able to get a good college. Only then it is advised to do so.

So here are some of the tips that you can follow up to manage the preparation time and your job, without quitting any of the ones.

About the Author:

Yash Singal

Yash Singhal writes articles as a mentor. He has been in the field of guiding and counselling students to get into the right stream by smart work instead of hard work.

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Answered 4 days ago

No, students cannot get admission in Dwarkadas J. Sanghvi College of Engineering M.Tech without GATE. Admission is entrance-based. Candidates are shortlisted for the M.Tech programme based on entrance scores in GATE. Candidates who qualify in the admission process are eligible to secure their seat i

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Gaurika Chhabra

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 5 days ago

Yes, Rajarshi Shahu College of Engineering does accept GATE for admission to its M.Tech programme. The college offers seats through both MHT CET and GATE scores. Students have to check and apply online for both. The college may reserve some of its intake for students having GATE score. 

A

Anupama Garg

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 6 days ago

At KIIT School of Electronics Engineering, GATE-qualified students follow the same general timeline for the M.Tech application. But, their selection process might move faster if they have a high GATE score, as they are then exempt from the entrance exam.

R

Rashmi Karan

Contributor-Level 9

Answered 6 days ago

At KIIT School of Electronics Engineering, the M.Tech selection process gives strong preference to GATE-qualified candidates. If an applicant has a GATE score of 400 or higher, they are exempt from the entrance examination. This recognizes their national-level competency and simplifies admission jou

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R

Rashmi Karan

Contributor-Level 9

Answered 6 days ago

IIIT Ranchi considers the score of GATE exam for M.Tech admission. However, it is not compulsory. The M.Tech admission will be through online/offline counselling based on the GATE score and/or written test and/or interview by the respective departments at IIIT Ranchi.

R

Raj Priya

Contributor-Level 10

Answered a week ago

Yes, many private colleges like VIT, SRM, Manipal, Amity, and LPU offer M.Tech without GATEas they conduct their own entrance tests. BITS Pilani offers a work-integrated M.Tech for professionals.

T

Tasbiya Khan

Contributor-Level 10

Answered a week ago

Candidates are offered seat in M.Tech based on GATE scores at NIT Goa. The seats are allotted via CCMT Counselling. In case the seats remain vacant, Non-GATE aspirants can also get admission by passing the written test conducted by the institute.

N

Nishtha Shukla

Guide-Level 15

Answered a week ago

If you are seeking admission in NIT Jamshedpur MTech, then GATE is mandatory. Students applying for non-MTech programmes do not need to appear for GATE. For M.Tech however, GATE followed by the centralised counselling is mandatory. Unless a student is applying through the self-financed/ sponsored ca

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Anangsha Aggarwal

Contributor-Level 10

Answered a week ago

Non-GATE candidates are offered admission in M.Tech based on institute-level examination. NIT Srinagar conducts an entrance test to fill up self-sponsored/ sponsored category and vacant seats after the CCMT Counselling is over. Such candidates have to apply on the institute's website and appear for

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Nishtha Shukla

Guide-Level 15

Answered 2 weeks ago

According to topper's and experts, the ideal number of questions to attempt correctly is 50 to 55, to obtain a GATE rank under 1000. 

B

Bhumika Uniyal

Contributor-Level 7