Students’ Speak: GATE preparation tips for working professionals
Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering 2026 ( GATE )
Exam On - 7 Feb '26
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.
Explore colleges based on GATE
Want better recommendations?
There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.
- Chat with our counselor
- Get your personalised list of colleges & exams matching your preferences
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.
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.
Explore more Engineering exams with upcoming dates
15 Feb '26 - 19 Feb '26
3 Feb '26 - 3 Mar '26
7 Mar '26
31 Mar '26
15 Feb '26
12 Mar '26
1 Apr '26 - 30 Apr '26
7 Jun '26 - 23 Jun '26
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 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.
News & Updates
Explore Other Exams
Jan '26 | JEE Main 2026 Registration Ses... |
Feb '26 | JEE Main Answer Key 2026 for S... |
Apr '26 | TS EAMCET Application Form 202... |
May '26 | TS EAMCET Admit Card 2026 |
16 Jan '26 - 17 Feb '26 | KCET Application Form 2026 |
18 Feb '26 | Last date to pay application f... |
Sep '26 | DTU LEET 2026 Application Form... |
Oct '26 | DTU LEET 2026 Exam Date |
22 Mar '26 | OJEE 2026: Last date of fee pa... |
25 Apr '26 | OJEE 2026 Admit Card Release |
May '26 | AISECT Joint Entrance Exam 202... |
May '26 | AISECT Joint Entrance Exam 202... |
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
NHCE Bangalore accepts GATE score for admission to M.Tech programme. However, it is not compulsory. Aspirants can also get into M.Tech course based on their Karnataka PGCET scores. Selected candidates have to confirm their seat by paying the course fees.
N
Guide-Level 15
Answered 2 days ago
Chandigarh University does not announce branch-wise GATE Exam 2026 cut-offs for M.E. admissions. Since GATE is not mandatory for admission, there are no fixed cut-offs for different specialisations. However, for GATE fellowship allocation, competition may vary by branch depending on the number of ap
A
Guide-Level 11
Answered 6 days ago
Candidates need to graduate from BTech at IIT Dhanbad with a minimum GPA of 8.0 or above to qualify for M.Tech admissions without GATE. Only the candidates who clear BTech from IIT Dhanbad are allowed admissions without GATE into M.Tech at II Dhanbad with the aforementioned score.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
No, the GATE 2026 has already been concluded for IIT Dhanbad M.Tech admissions. The GATE 2026 registrations are closed in the month of October. Candidates who have appeared for GATE will need to wait for all merit-lists to be revealed.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
The PhD admissions to the Institute Assistantship courses at IIT Guwahati require candidates to appear for the GATE or CEED.
However, PhD admissions to the other categories of PhD courses at IIT Guwahati are not decided on the basis of the aforementioned entrance exams scores.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
No, GATE is not a mandatory entrance exam for Plaksha University MS in AI admissions. Candidates also have the option to appear for other entrance exams to qualify for MS in AI admissions such as GRE, CAT and GMAT.
However, candidates who have cleared their UG level course from top institutes such as
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
The GATE paper will be divided into sections like engineering mathematics, structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, water resources engineering, environmental engineering, etc.
Here's the GATE 2026 Syllabus for Civil Engineering
N
Contributor-Level 9
Answered a week ago
Bachelor's degree holder from IITs with a CGPA of 8.0 or above can get direct admission in M.Tech programme of IIT Dhanbad without GATE. The respective department reviews such applications and seats for such aspirants are supernumerary.
N
Guide-Level 15
Answered a week ago
Yes, you can get M.Tech admission without a GATE in Bangalore colleges through institute specific entrance exams. The seats are sponsored in IITs and NITS. Private and state universities also offer direct admissions via their own tests or merit.
Source: External site and may vary.
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Yes, Chandigarh University conducts an interview process for students who wish to avail the GATE Exam 2026 fellowship. Clearing the interview is a compulsory step, even for candidates with strong GATE scores. The interview is designed to assess the student's subject knowledge, communication skill,
s
Beginner-Level 4