Can I prepare for GATE and UPSC simultaneously?

GATE and UPSC exams have a lot of similarities. Both these exams are high up on the difficulty level and are attempted by graduates. Questions in GATE are based on problem-solving and questions in UPSC are meant to test the discipline of a candidate.

However, if you are smart in choosing your optional subjects for UPSC & GATE, then studying the same subjects can help you in both of these exams. This is especially true if you are preparing for the Engineering Services Exam (ESE) in UPSC.

Similarities in Syllabus:

• For technical subjects, the ESE and GATE syllabus are almost similar (80-90%). Even in the non-technical part the Engineering Aptitude and Engineering Mathematics parts are the same for ESE and GATE.

• You only need to prepare for general study subjects like Current Affairs, Ethics, Project Management, Basic Energy and Environment, Information and Communication Technologies, Standard and Quality, Material Science, and Design-drawing for ESE.

• It may seem like a lot of subjects, but these are quite interesting and take less time to cover. The study material of these subjects has hardly 150-200 pages including practice papers.

Preparing for GATE & UPSC simultaneously is difficult, but not impossible. Through a clever selection of optional subjects and hard work, you can prepare efficiently to tackle both these exams.