In this article let’s take a look at which graduation or degree and education is best if you want to become IAS and Crack UPSC exams after 12th.
So if you are confused regarding which degree you should choose then you do not have to worry about it and I recommend you to read this article till the end and also bookmark the article.
So without further ado let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Which graduation or degree is best for IAS, IPS (UPSC) preparation after 12th
Bachelor of arts & humanities
Bachelor of arts and humanities degree is one of the best degrees you can take after your 12th if you want to prepare and clear UPSC exams and become IAS and IPS officer, etc
As a matter of fact there are popular IAS toppers like Tina dabi who have taken The bachelors of Arts degree and secured AIR 1 in 2015.
Although I have written a detailed guide on why I believe that bachelor of arts is a best degree for UPSC preparation but to summarise it,
- Majority of the subjects in both prelims and mains exam of the UPSC have humanities subjects like history, geography, economics, political Science and public administration, etc and you can start learning them from your under graduation itself
- During your bachelor of arts degree you can get a lot of free time which you can spend in preparation for UPSC and IAS
- Even the college fees are relatively less compared to other degrees so you can spend that money on UPSC preparation and coaching service
For example if you have your bachelor of arts degree from subjects like history, geography, political science and public administration or any other subject then you can take any one subject in your optionals UPSC mains preparation and
the best thing about this is that apart from optional paper these subjects are also included in general studies paper for example
if you have taken history as optional subject then apart from optional paper it will also help you in general studies paper 1 and prelims paper and if you have chosen geography as optional paper then it will help you in general studies paper 1 and 3 as well.
This can not only save you a lot of time during the preparation but it can also help you to score more marks because you have more knowledge and better foundation of the subjects from your under graduation itself.
The only disadvantage of choosing bachelor of arts degree is that you cannot have good backup options.
Well I mean that, for example if you don’t clear the UPSC exams then you don’t have any other options,
all you can do is to write other government exams like SSC CGL and other state level exams, or you can become a teacher, etc.
By the way if you are interested you can read my guide on best alternative career options for civil service aspirants clicking here. And some best high paying jobs you can get after Bachelors of Arts Degree clicking here.
But if you are highly confident and highly determined to clear UPSC and you do not have any other goal and ambition apart from IAS and IPS then you should definitely consider bachelor of arts degree.
Engineering
The second best degree and graduation program you can choose is engineering if you want to clear UPSC and become IAS and IPS officer.
As a matter of fact majority of the UPSC aspirants who clear the exam are from engineering background.
First of all you can choose any engineering branch you want whether it is mechanical, civil, electrical, computer science, etc.
You can definitely attend the UPSC exams.
There are many optional subjects you can choose after your engineering like, maths, physics, chemistry, statistics, civil engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering.
As a matter of fact because all of the subjects are science related and conceptual subjects so these are scoring subjects which can help you score more marks in optional paper of UPSC mains exam and balance the marks in other papers like general studies.
Apart from the optional paper in the mains exam, there is also something called civil service Aptitude Test which is the second paper of the preliminary stage of UPSC.
Even though this is a qualifying paper and you only need to score 33% of marks which is 66 in order to qualify for the mains exam but this exam will test some skills which you can learn in your engineering undergraduation like,
- Comprehension
- Interpersonal skills including communication skills
- Logical reasoning and analytical ability
- Decision-making and problem-solving
- General mental ability
- Numerical and math skills till the class 10th level
All of these skills and subject are the ones which you learn in your engineering under graduation.
This exam contains 80 questions and each question contains 2.5 marks and there are a total of 200 marks and you need to score 66 to qualify for the mains exam. You should keep in mind that this paper also contains negative marking because of this it is also one of the most difficult papers even though it is a qualifying one.
And above all you should complete the exam in 2 hours of duration.
But if you are from engineering background of whatever branch it may be, from your 4 years of Engineering graduation you can develop important skills like logical reasoning, analytical thinking and ability and
those mentioned earlier during your engineering period which can help you clear the Prelims exam paper 2 which is CSAT more compared to students with other background like Humanities and Commerce.
Because of this even though Humanities is one of the best subject you can choose even today if you want to prepare for UPSC but there are very few students who have Humanities background and have secured AIR 1 in CSE.
And there are various other reasons why majority of the UPSC aspirants who clear the exam are from engineering background like engineering students are more hardworking and they can handle multiple subjects revision and
the complete large subject portion in a short period of time compared to other students because they have already done it in their Engineering degree and they have experience of it.
Because of this, there are many popular UPSC toppers who have got all India rank 1 in CSE and are from engineering backgrounds like Anudeep durishetty and Kanishk Kataria, to name a few.
Apart from that if you don’t clear the UPSC exam due to competition and reservation then you can still have a chance to get a job and a backup option from your engineering degree which you can choose rather than being unemployed.
By the way, make sure to read my article on why majority of the engineers in India are unemployed clicking here.
It’s enough bragging about how great engineering students are towards competitive exams like UPSC and this article is about best degrees and graduation you can take after 12th if you want to become IAS.
Bachelor of Science
The third best degree you can choose in the list is Bachelor of science.
After you complete your under graduation from bsc then you can obviously choose any optionals subject which you have already studied in your under graduation like,
Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, agriculture, Mathematics, physics, chemistry, statistics, anthropology and psychology, etc.
Apart from that during your studies in a Bachelor of Science, it can help you develop skills like logical reasoning and
analytical thinking which can help you clear the CSAT paper of prelims which we have learnt earlier because you can develop these skills as you are getting a science degree.
And the fact is that all the optional subjects mentioned earlier are scoring subjects which means that you can score good marks in the optional paper and balance and get better marks in the mains exam.
Apart from that, you can have fewer College fees compared to engineering and you can save that money and spend it on your coaching services and UPSC preparation and
you can have more leisure time compared to engineering students so that you can utilize that time for UPSC preparation while you study for BSC.
Along with that you can also get a decent job and get a chance to work in a company if you don’t clear and pass the UPSC exam which means you can have a backup option and you can secure your future.
Bachelor of commerce
You can also choose Bachelor of Commerce degree if you want for similar reasons like you can have more free and leisure time during your under graduation so that
you can prepare for CSE & you can have optional subject like commerce and accountancy, economics and statistics, the subjects which you have studied in your under graduation and it can help you in other papers of UPSC like prelims paper 1 and also CSAT, and
economics is a huge subject in general studies and can help you in general studies paper 4 and still, you can have a backup option like you can prepare for bank exams if you don’t clear the UPSC as backup option and
you should probably choose a chartered accountant as a career option and you can read my guide on is CA a good career option or not in detail clicking here.
Before I conclude the article make you to read my article on how to prepare for UPSC exams after 12th in your under graduation clicking here.
With that said let’s end the article.
Conclusion
These are all the best degrees and another education subjects you can take after 12th if you want to crack UPSC exam.
Do comment down which under graduation subjects you will select in the comments section below.
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