UGC NET 2020 qualified for JRF & Assistant Professor, Ankit Vaishnav shares preparation tips for Mass Comm

Know what preparation strategy Ankit Vaishnav adopted to crack the UGC NET 2020 exam for JRF and Assistant Professor.

Ankit Vaishnav has cracked the UGC NET 2020 exam in Mass Communication & Journalism subject for both Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and Assistant Professor. He has scored total 186 out of 300 marks (72 in paper-I and 114 in paper-II).

An extremely dedicated and passionate student, Ankit completed his graduation in English Literature, Economics and Sociology from Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer. Currently, he is pursuing his Master’s in Journalism & Mass Communication from Central University of Haryana.

Belonging to a lower-middle class family in the small town of Kishangarh, Ramjas, Ankit’s father is an electrician and mother is an Anganbadi worker. As per Ankit, “My family have always supported me using every resource they have. They have bigger dreams for me and that scares me sometimes.”

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In his free time, Ankit likes to write poems, stories and sarcastic essays. He loves anchoring and that is what led him into the field of Journalism and Mass Communication. He also loves to read, cook and talk for hours on almost every thing if he gets good company.

In a candid interview with Shiksha, Ankit talks about his UGC NET preparation strategy, future plans and more. Go through the complete interview with Ankit Vaishnav below.     

Yes, I did expect that I would qualify UGC NET for both Assistant Professor and JRF.

I did target study, which is very helpful. This means I understood the UGC NET syllabus and divided it into daily targets. I studied the assigned topics for the day thoroughly and rested only after I completed my target. I also made notes while studying and revised them.

Time management was very important as my classes for MA were running, I had to attend them too and prepare for JRF simultaneously. I did my classes in the daytime and spared night for NET. I only slept four to five hours a day in order to manage the time.

In addition, UGC NET paper-II and paper-I both are very important. Paper-I is scoring. It helped me clear JRF despite a low score in paper-II. Thus, do not take paper-I lightly.

I did not enroll for any coaching classes. However, I followed a YouTube channel, which helped me a lot in understanding paper-I. For paper-II, I self-studied.

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I studied not by hours but by setting targets and achieving them daily. I set small targets daily, weekly and monthly.

Here is a list of books I strongly recommend to study for clearing UGC NET JRF in Mass Communication:

My strength is that I am a workaholic. I can live on coffee and do the job. That is what I did for preparation of UGC NET exam. I studied hard, long and smart. I am good at planning and achieving my targets.

I had to overcome my weaknesses such as anxiety, panic attacks and lack of motivation. I had to keep myself motivated in order to achieve the target. For that, I listened to music, talked to family and friends and read books (other than syllabus). It helped me a lot to calm down.

I think one biggest mistake people do is to overlook the UGC NET paper-I. Paper-I is very important, it enhances your score. Last time I got 176 marks (60 in paper-I and 116 in paper-II) and cleared NET for Assistant Professor only. This time my paper-II score reduced to 114 but my paper-1 score of 72 got me JRF. Therefore, studying paper-I is more important.

Do not make schedules, such that you will eat at 4:00 and sleep at 9:00. Such schedules do not work. Rather I would suggest take things on your ego, make daily targets, clear them, and then sleep. There is no easy option. You will feel bad, you will collapse but when your UGC NET result will come, it will result in gain.

The most difficult part this year was that UGC NET exam dates kept shifting due to the pandemic, which made me very anxious and depressed. When you prepare for an exam like that, the fight within you becomes very critical. Dealing with my inner self and keeping myself calm was the most challenging thing I experienced.

It is a very simple thing to do. Keep your books, notes or any other material aside one day before the exam. Do whatever you like to do, like watch a movie. On the exam day, keep yourself calm and composed because in the exam the questions play with you mind. You know the answer just sit back and relax. Keeping calm may increase your score in the exam because you use your brain efficiently.

I just took UGC NET exam as it is universal in India.

No, first I thought I would make a career in the field of electronic journalism. Then I got to know about the field of research and academics and it changed the way I see life. Researchers do the hardwork and make the world better day by day not even getting recognised. Researchers are the real heroes of the world and it would be my honour to be a part of such great community.

Just stay focused and read the books I have mentioned above. The only way to clear UGC NET is opening up your mind so knowledge comes from each direction.

First, I will complete my masters as I am in third semester of MA. Then I will pursue PhD in Mass Communication form a central university.