IIT JAM 2018 Topper Interview: AIR 13, Subhrajyoti Behera shares prep tips

IIT JAM 2018 Topper Interview: AIR 13, Subhrajyoti Behera

With a score of 82, Subhrajyoti Behera secured AIR 13 in IIT JAM 2018 for Geology. Currently in final year of graduation at Ravenshaw University, Odisha, Subhrajyoti shared that he did not expect to be the topper in JAM 2018 and his main motive was to secure 80+ marks so that he could get admitted into a good IIT.

Talking about his hobbies, Subhrajyoti said, “I love to play Basketball and watch NBA seasons. I also love playing PC games as well as listening to songs and singing. I also love to watch Anime. I am a foodie and have a sweet tooth”.

Shiksha spoke to Subhrajyoti Behera to know how he prepared for JAM 2018 for Geology. He shared prep tips that aspirants should keep in mind to crack IIT JAM exam. Read the complete interview below for details.

Thank you! No, I didn’t expect to be a topper of JAM. My main motive was to secure 80+ marks so that I could get admitted into a good IIT.

I planned to study daily for 8-9 hours in a systematic way according to the time-table which I made. Every day I kept 4 subjects for study, out of which one was for revision. First, I went through the JAM syllabus thoroughly and fixed deadlines to complete each subject within a prescribed time. And my seniors helped a lot in showing the right way of preparation and helped me in each and every difficulty during preparation.

I started my preparation from May 2017. So, during the summer vacation my aim was to complete Mineralogy, Stratigraphy and Structural by the end of July. Then by September end my aim was to complete Petrology, Economic Geology and to revise Stratigraphy once again. Then during October and November my aim was to complete remaining portions like Geomorphology, Planet Earth, Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology. I kept the entire December month for solving JAM Previous Years’ Questions from 2005-2017 and GATE questions from 1996-2017.

Doing GATE questions proved to be a key factor in my success. Then January was only to revise the entire JAM syllabus for at least 3 time. Then first week of February was there to revise the syllabus once more.

In Geology aspirants will have to read many books. The books which I preferred studying from during my preparation time were-

For Structural Geology

• Earth Structure - An Introduction to Structural Geology and Tectonics by Stephen Marshak
• Structural Geology [Haakon Fossen]
• Structural Geology, Fundamentals and Modern Developments [SK Ghosh, 1993] -(GEO PEDIA)-
• Structural geology-Twiss & Moress
• Structural Geology (Park)
• Structural Geology By DK Mukopadhya
• Geological mapping by AK Roy

            For Petrology

• Principles of Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology (2nd ed.) [John D. Winter]
• Sam Boggs Jr.-Principles of Sedimentology and Stratigraphy (4th Edition)-Prentice Hall (2005)
• GW Tyrrell ARCSc, FGS, FRSE, DSc (auth.)-The Principles of Petrology: An Introduction to the Science of Rocks-Springer Netherlands (1978)
• Sedimentology by Gary Nicholas
• Metamorphic Geology by Yardley

           For Mineralogy

• Mineralogy By William D Nesse
• Mineralogy by Rutley
• Mineralogy by Dexter Perkins

    For Planet Earth and Geomorphology

• Google
• Geomorphology by K Siddartha
• Geomorphology by Savinder Singh

For Paleontology

• Paleontology by Amal Das Gupta
• Paleontology by Anantaram

For Stratigraphy

• Fundamentals of historical geology and stratigraphy of India by Ravindra Kumar
• The Making Of India Geodynamic evolution by KS Valdiya

For Economic Geology

• Economic Geology by Umeshwar prasad
• Economic Geology by Bateman

For Engineering and Hydrology

• Hydrogeology by Todd and Engineering Geology by Chenna Kesavulu

After clearing the written exam, the second phase is the final admission process. In this process one has to give the name of four institutes according to their order of preference. Then according to your rank and eligibility you will receive admission offer from the institute.

Constant practice, hard work and dedication!

Ego, carelessness and thinking that JAM is very easy to crack. There is no shortcut to achieve success. Being afraid to do work hard with dedication must be avoided at all cost.

Practice! Try to do all the previous years’ questions and try solving them within 2 hours. By doing this your time management problem will be saved. And about negative marking, only experience will help in this matter. Practicing more number of questions will help you in this matter.

Those 3 hours of the examination is the most difficult part of the IIT JAM exam. Those 3 hours impact a student’s life a lot. And nervousness of giving the exam may prove disastrous for many brilliant students. I have seen it. So those complete 3 hours of the examination matter a lot.

Wonderful! JAM was the first computer-based entrance exam given by me. The pre-exam nervousness, chilling sensation of waiting for questions till 8 am to 9 am and pressure while doing questions.

First, to keep yourself calm. Never lose your calmness under nervousness or under excitement. Secondly, be prepared to take pressure. It’s good to take little pressure. But overdoing it will be disastrous.  And always try to be happy! JAM is not the end of the life. So always be positive!

I have not decided till now. I am confused between selection between Research or Job. So, can’t say now. But I am sure I will make a career in Geology.