HOW TO AVOID DISTRACTIONS WHILE STUDYING

Here are few tips to avoid distractions while studying

• Identify your distractions.

Distractions may be anything like missed call, FB notification, Whatsapp message . Identify it and understand what your temptations are. 

• Remove all distractions from your study room

• Switch off your mobile phone

If not possible, atleast keep it in silent mode.

• Study using books and not PDFs 

You can easily get distracted while reading from a computer screen as you are prone to check FB or Gmail or some other sites.

Standard books for ECE

• Have fixed time schedule and follow it religiously

• Meditate 15 minutes daily

Meditation helps you to stay focused for longer period. If you do not know to meditate, read Meditation and its Methods by Swami Vivekananda.

• Find a silent place to study and make it your permanent study area.

• If you cannot concentrate, try reading the material aloud for few minutes.

• Turn off the internet access( if  possible)

• Take a deep breathe when you are about to get distracted

• Talk to your family members about giving privacy 

• Change the subject/topic after each study session.

• Do take break after 1 hour of study.

WHAT IF I DO NOT QUALIFY GATE?

GATE is one of the toughest exams in India. Only 16-20% of students qualify the exam. Around 10 lakh students apply for GATE every year. Not all can get admission to good colleges and not all can get selection in PSUs. So what about the rest of the students? Is it the end of the world for them?

Of course NO!!

There are lot more opportunities for students other than through GATE. Lets examine some of them.

• Prepare for Civil service, Engineering Service

Lot of students who did not qualify for GATE have qualified for Civil Service exam and Engineering Service exam. Prepare well if you wish to become Group A officer in different departments of Govt. of India.

• PSUs not through GATE

There are lot of PSUs that are not recruiting through GATE. Some of them are ISRO, AAI, BSNL JE, CDAC, NHAI, NMRC etc. 

• Bank Tests

If you are interested in career in banking sector, prepare for bank test. There are lot of bank coaching centres to help you brush up your numerical and analytical skills.

• GRE

If you are interested to study and work abroad, prepare for GRE. Make contacts with professors of foreign universities through LinkedIn or university websites. Build your profile to qualify for scholarship. 
Improve your vocabulary to crack GRE.

• Prepare for MBA

Those who aspire for a career in management field should prepare for CAT, MAT  exams(GMAT if you are looking abroad) . 

• Attend Certification Courses

Learn JAVA, dotnet, web designing, according to your taste and build your value in job market.

• Work as Freelancer

Be your own boss. There are lot freelance websites available that pay handsomely so that you can work from your home. 

Freelancer.in

upwork.com/

• Register in Job sites

Prepare a good resume and register in job sites. Channelize your job hunt and get guidance and help from seniors.

monsterindia.com/

naukri.com/

• Work and prepare in parallel

If you are not satisfied with present job, try GATE again. Find time to prepare for GATE after your working hours. 

HOW TO STAY MOTIVATED DURING GATE PREPARATIONS

It is of course a tedious task to maintain same energy and enthusiasm for the whole preparation period. Here are some of tips to stay motivated during GATE preparation.

• Set a Goal

The goal you set must not be a vague one (like  good rank, clearing any PSU) but clear ones like rank less than 100 or admission to IISC /IIT etc. Write it down on a piece of paper and stick it on your wall so that you can see it daily.

• Increase your Desire to Succeed

Ask yourself how bad you want to succeed. Imagine your position after GATE results. See yourself going to IIT or IISc for M.Tech. This will motivate you subconsciously.

• Avoid Distractions

Remove all the stuffs that distracts your studies like tabs, mobile phones, gaming consoles etc from your study room. Try to read from books than PDFs. 
http://journeyofanengineer.blogspot.in/2017/03/how-to-avoid-distractions-while-studying.html

• Pre-day Planning

Plan your next day activities before bed. 

• Set Daily Goal

Write down your daily goal (like mathematics 2 chapters, 1 previous year question paper ). This will push you a bit more. Reward yourself if you have achieved the goal by giving 10 mins extra break, or listening to music or having your favorite food.

• Form like-minded Peer Group

Always stay connected with your friends who are serious with GATE preparation. Teach and help each other. 

• Read a Motivational Book

If your motivation level is too low, try to read a good self help book. Write down some striking quotes and stick it on your wall.

Few recommendations:

Forge your Future: APJ Abdul Kalam

Believe in Yourself: Dr. Joseph Murphy

• Wake up Early

Early mornings are most productive period of the day as you are devoid of all distractions. Try to learn difficult topics in early morning.

• Meditate/ Exercise daily. 

Meditation helps you to stay focused for longer period. If you do not know to meditate, read Meditation and its Methods by Swami Vivekananda.

HOW TO CHOOSE BEST COACHING INSTITUTE FOR GATE

The number of students truly aspiring to clear the GATE exam is increasing exponentially every year- Thanks to the better career prospects GATE exam qualification has to offer. Apart from admissions to elite institutes like IISC, IIT and NIT , it also open door towards highly paid PSU jobs. 

GATE aspirants are running after coaching institutes to give themselves competitive advantage over other aspirants. Number of coaching institutes also have increased manifolds. Selecting the right institute will clearly give an edge over others.   But how to select the right institute? 

Here are some of the tips for selecting the right coaching institute for GATE.

• Quality of the faculty

Before joining any coaching institute inquire about quality and experience about the teaching faculties of the institute. They are the strength of the institute. They can provide motivational guidance and channelize students efforts in most effective way.

• Class strength

Highly crowded classes does not support productive environment for learning. Batch strength must be optimal enough for better comprehension of subjects being taught.

• Quality of study material

• Class schedule and timings

Best institutes have convenient class timing so that students can prepare well for the exam

• Post class support

Good institutes promotes clearing of doubts after class. It helps better interaction between students and faculties.

• Fee structure

Fees must be par with the quality of institute. It must not trouble the students.

• Consistency of the institute

Good institutes are capable of providing good results consistently for many years.,

• Quality of Mock tests

• Location of the institute.

If the institute is far away from your home town, inquire about food, climate and accommodation of the town in which institute is located. Time required for travelling also must be taken into consideration. 

Here are some of the best GATE coaching institutes :

1. Made Easy

Contact No. : 040-24652324

Email : madeeasyhyderabad@gmail.com

Website : Best Institute for GATE Coaching IES-ESE & PSUs Coaching Classes

2. ACE Engineering Academy

Contact No. : 040-23234418/19/20

Email : hyderabad@aceenggacademy.com

Website : ACE Engineering Academy - Leading institute for ESE / GATE / PSUs - ACE Engineering Academy

3. GateForum

Contact No. : 040-44664244 / 44664242

Email : support@gateforum.in

Website : GATE2018 Classroom coaching|Online Gate Coaching|GATE e-learning

4. The Gate Academy

Contact No. : 080-61766222

Email : info@thegateacademy.com

Website : http://www.thegateacademy.com

5. Engineers Academy

Contact No. : 080-94441777

Email : info@engineersacademy.org

Website : Default Parallels Plesk Panel Page

IS IT NECESSARY TO GO FOR GATE COACHING?

One of the major dilemma a gate aspirant faces is whether to join a coaching institute or not to join. Answer to this question differs from person to person. Lets see the pros and cons of coaching institute so that you can make the decision.

Pros of coaching institute

• Streamline your studies and put you on fast track

•  You can  clarify your doubts with expert faculties

                       Usually faculties of good institutes promotes clarification of doubts. One to one interaction always help in understanding the topics clearly.

• Motivated by interacting with other students

                          Interacting with other students will help you assess your position on the track.

• Sharing knowledge in peer group improves your comprehension
• Access to quality material
• Regular mock test
• New techniques to improve speed.

Cons of coaching institute/ Pros of self study

• Total control over your time.

                 Time is a crucial factor while preparing for any of the competitive exams. You may be strong in some subjects and weak in other. Coaching institutes spend equal time on your strong and weak subjects. So you will be loosing your valuable time which you could have used on your weak subjects. 

                 Some institutes arrange classes on early morning, an ideal time which you could have used for your self study. Therefore you won't have total control over your time. You have to adjust with the timings of the institute.

                 

• Save travelling time

• Adjusting to climate, food, accommodation

                  If you are attending coaching away from your home town , you will have to adjust to the climate, food and other amenities of your new city. 

• Save money

                   Save a lot of money which you could use to buy some standard text books and videos.

If you can avoid distraction like TV, guest, kids or other family members , you can easily crack GATE without going for coaching. You will have to stay focused and disciplined. Collect necessary resources (like books, video lectures, previous question papers ) early and try to avoid all distractions. 

But if you think you cannot stay focused for a long period, it is better to join a good institute. It will help you keep motivated and focused. Also if you are weak on your fundamentals and lack confidence to study on your own, start searching for a good institute.

End of the day , your dedication, focus and consistency decides your performance in the exam.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR UPSC EXAM

Civil Service Exam conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is one most competitive and prestigious exam of the nation. 

Right strategy and hard work are essential to clear Civil Service Exam (CSE). Hard work alone will not bring success. If you don’t know the right books, right way of answering or right way of revision ,then you might not make it in first attempt. Proper guidance from experienced candidates is very much essential to make the path forward simpler and smoother. But make sure that you don't copy topper's strategy as such. Develop a customized strategy for yourself and improve on it.

Selection Procedure

Exam consist of three stages

Stage 1- Prelims

Consist of two papers

• General Studies

                     Duration:2 Hrs

                      MCQ - 100 Qs (2 marks each)

                      -0.66 for wrong answers

                     Marks counted for selection to mains but not for final selection

• Aptitude

                      Duration:2 Hrs

                      MCQ:80Qs (2.5 marks each)

                       -.83 for wrong answer

                       Minimum 66 marks required to qualify.

                       Marks not counted for selection to mains.

 Stage 2- Mains

                     5 Days Exam

                      7 Descriptive paper- (one optional paper)

Stage 3- Interview

Preparation Tips

Do not try to read every possible book . Time is limited and therefore must be very specific regarding the selection of books, newspaper and websites.

Topics in GS of Prelims 

Geography

Books to follow:

 NCERT textbooks 

NCERT book

Must have : Atlas

G C Leong

Economy

NCERT class 11 and 12

Indian Economy

History

A brief history of modern India -Spectrum

Polity and constitution

Indian Polity- Laxmikanth

Science and Technology

NCERT books 8-10

Hindu newspaper

GK -Lucent

Current Affairs

Newspaper: Hindu

Yojana Magazine

Websites

vikaspedia.in- one stop website for all policies and initiatives of the govt

prsindia.org- Bills and amendments

GATE AND PSU RECRUITMENT

Large number of PSUs have started to use GATE score as screening tool or even solely for recruiting  entry level post for Engineering graduates. Some PSUs have given 75% weightage for GATE score and 25% for interview. PSUs like BARC (Bharat Atomic Research Centre) use GATE score as mere screening tool for their interview process. Mass recruiter BSNL only use GATE score for their recruitment. There is no interview process for BSNL . 

 PSUs that recruit through GATE are:

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)

HAL Website

Bharat Heavy Electrical Linited (BHEL)

BHEL Website

Oil and Natural GAS Corporation Limited (ONGC)

ONGC website

National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC)

NTPC Website

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL)

BPCL Website

Coal India Limited 

CIL Website

Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL)

IOCL Website

Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL)

BBNL website

Maharatna companies like ONGC, NTPC, BPCL IOCL recruit engineering graduates to Management Trainee post in E3 scale (24,900-50,500). BHEL recruit in E2 scale (20,600-46,500) , whereas BSNL, BBNL recruits in E1 scale (16,400-40,500).