A young man with an engineering degree shared his difficult story on the Reddit platform. After graduation, he spent many years preparing for the UPSC exams, dreaming of a career in the Indian civil service. However, he is now forced to fight for a place in the IT sector.
He completed the CDAC program and mastered technologies such as Java, Spring Boot, SQL, and React. Despite creating several projects and prolonged job searches, interviews are often rejected due to the career gap.
In his Reddit post, he described his difficult situation, needing help for survival, finding opportunities, and resuming employment, and also asked for advice. His story inspired people who spent years preparing for competitive exams but are now trying to start their careers from scratch.
As he explained in his Reddit message, he received a Bachelor of Engineering degree from a government college in 2020. Instead of starting work immediately, he began preparing for the UPSC exam. He made several attempts and passed some stages, but ultimately failed to clear the selection. After many years spent preparing for the exam, he decided to change direction and pursue a career in the technology field.
To rebuild his career, he enrolled in the six-month CDAC PG-DAC program. During his studies, he learned Java, Spring Boot, SQL, React, and other technologies, and worked on various projects, improving his communication skills and technical competence. Nevertheless, finding a job in the IT sector proved more difficult than he expected.
In the post, he also mentioned that more than a year has passed since completing the CDAC course, but he has not found either permanent employment or an internship. According to him, the main problem is the resume gap related to UPSC preparation. Many interviewers lose interest in the candidate upon seeing the years spent preparing for UPSC. Despite continuous job applications over the last six months, he has not received a single opportunity.
The situation has negatively affected his financial standing. His father has retired, and the lack of work increases the economic pressure on the family. He admitted that his financial condition is very poor, and maintaining a positive attitude is becoming increasingly difficult. He is willing to consider any job in India, even entry-level, to gradually move forward, emphasizing that he only needs one chance to prove his worth.
Users reacted differently to this post: some offered moral support, while others provided practical job search advice. One Reddit user recounted similar difficulties they faced before the age of 30. They advised focusing on networking and gaining work experience, even if it means an unpaid internship initially. This same user cited an example of a UPSC candidate who abandoned preparation, learned new skills, and started an internship at a major consulting firm, which subsequently helped him secure a job with an annual salary of about 1.2 million rupees.
The main advice was to get into the industry by any means necessary first, and then develop based on the acquired experience. Other users advised him to prepare for competitive exams, such as engineering or banking, believing that the previous efforts spent on UPSC might be useful. However, one user held a different view, questioning why he initially chose UPSC as a career.
Most Reddit users did not recommend him preparing for civil service or competitive exams. One suggested continuing to apply for jobs while also considering teaching as an option. Many noted that the knowledge gained during UPSC preparation could be useful. Furthermore, given his engineering and technical background, opportunities might arise for him to teach technical subjects, for example, in EdTech companies.
The general conclusion from user reactions was that the first job after a career break is not the final goal, but merely the beginning of re-entering professional life.
