Students’ Speak: How to manage Job and Gate Prep (if already employed after bachelor’s completion)

By: Swapnaneel Bhuiya

You'll have to work hard as you've to handle both things in limited time. So concentrate on the most asked topics only.

If you are doing a job and still want to crack GATE, then maybe you fall under one of these cases:

Case 1: You're doing a job and still you want to take GATE, maybe because you're not satisfied with the job and salary and you want masters degree from a better college.

Case 2: If you're not satisfied with job and salary, then probably you didn't work hard in your college life or I would say you were an average student.

Case 3: Looking at both cases, I suggest you to either concentrate on your job or quit the job and study for GATE. If you choose to continue your job, you can do better and better, you can improve yourself and you can solve your current issues related to the job.
If you choose GATE, you can work hard for it. No matter you're an average student, you can use your potential to score better in the exam and can get a better college and hence a better job.

Case 4: You're satisfied with your job but still you want to crack GATE for higher education in your current field or a different field.

In this case, you know better than me about your abilities. Just study 2-3 hours daily and some extra time on weekends. You'll have to work hard as you've to handle both things in limited time. So concentrate on the most asked topics only. There are many tips for studying for GATE, just search them on Google.

Time Management

Let's try to plan as to how can we manage time. I assume you are working for 6 days a week. A day has 24 hours and out of that your office time constitutes 9 hours, i.e., you are left with 15 hours. We need 6–7 hours of sleep and say for travelling and other necessary things, it takes 3–4 hours, which means you can spend nearly 4 hours of time everyday for preparation ( I know this is very difficult, but there's no gain without pain). Then you've Sunday, you can prepare for 9 hours i.e., your office timings. That means you can spend 33 hours every week for preparation which I guess is more than enough for preparation because there are still 10 months for Gate'19. I suggest not to prepare notes separately and neither go through textbooks, you can buy gate notes of MADEEASY and ACE or you can take notes from the people you know who are going for coaching classes. This would save your time and also help you get the notes that exactly covers the entire syllabus.

Work and study balance

There is no substitute for hard work but success is not only about working hard. It is about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success and there is no alternative to this. Being a working professional is a one tough thing in itself, but preparing for GATE while working demands a lot of consistent hard work.

Now I am assuming that you are in the site job (For Civil Engineers - since that is the case most of the times). After a long day, you neither have that much energy left nor the will to study, so it will be easier to find reasons to stop preparation for GATE. What you can do is Do practice & reading in the morning and watch video lectures in the evening. Make the best out of weekends. Weekends are all the time you have by your side.

Moreover, utilizing one good hour out of your daily routine is not a big deal if you are focused towards your aim. Try to devote at least 2–3 hours everyday very diligently. Set weakly targets and try to accomplish them for GATE revision and practice is really needed. Revise in the weekend and solve mock test as much as possible. Good luck and ask the best. Be regular all week and evaluate yourself well on weekends. Take tests on what you have studied all week long and solve higher-level questions on the same topics. Plan your schedule and the amount of time you will be devoted to each subject and make sure you do not exceed it.

About the Author:

Swapnaneel Bhuiya is a fourth-year student in Mining Engineering at Indian Institute of Engineering Science And Technology (IIEST), Shibpur. He appeared for JEE in 2016 and scored 140 in his first attempt.