The IAS/IFS dilemma

The time has finally come to make a decision.
The Civil Services mains application form has finally arrived.
Been thinking off and on about this for a long time now, and its time to indicate one’s preference for the various services on offer under the combined Civil Services.
The choice between Indian Foreign Service and the Indian Administrative service is what is giving me sleepless nights.

When it comes to the IFS, I certainly find the idea of seeing the world very exciting.
But I worry about my children growing up with un-Indian values.
The idea of a life long paid holiday sounds too good to be true. But then, power and responsibility go hand in hand. Don’t they? If it’s a life long holiday, I am more likely to be powerless and irrelevant, and I wouldn’t be able to make a difference.
The prospect of getting the least political interference on a day to day basis is exhilarating which is true for the IFS.
Is the lack of interference because one is not doing anything terribly significant?
A Foreign posting, to whichever part of the world it’s going to be, will be in the best cities of that nation.
Should I not be worried about losing my roots in the long run?!
Will I really enjoy all the cultural differences and climatic variations around the world?
Will I miss the power and prestige associated with the administrative services? Will I not be able to do for my folks if I’m in India?
Can I not always go on a holiday abroad opting for the IAS service instead?
Does the IAS not give opportunities for foreign travel?
All other things go right and I make it to the IAS …will I be assigned a lawless State?

India is going to change in unforeseen ways in the next two decades. Do I want to miss out all that action by being away? India in these times is not the India of a few decades ago …which is why one finds less and less top rankers opting for the Foreign Service. Two decades ago, the Foreign Service was the automatic choice of the top twenty rankers. Not anymore, the majority are making the administrative service their automatic choice lately.

It’s a complicated thought process and I need to make a decision and SOON.

Some relief finally :-)

Never intended to spend more than a week at home, but somehow it got stretched to a month. At the back of my mind I knew that it was a rare chance to spend an extended period of time at home.

I clear the prelims and I spend the next few months working my back side off concentrating on the mains and the interview , If I don’t pull it off I get back to the hectic and mechanical ways of corporate life with an annual holiday of a maximum of 2 weeks !

The most annoying thing about being at home is the curiosity of neighbours and relatives on the job front. In these parts, choosing not to work is not an option. If you are not working, you are just plain unemployable. That’s the way it is …no two ways about it

So if you are spending an extended time at home …you are jobless and worthless!!

There is no such thing as he is choosing not to work ….sigh. Oh and it sure does terrible things to your self esteem.

I used to time my evening walks. It’s a lot safer to venture out after sun down, ah and the non –existence of street lights is a boon indeed ;-)

Being in Bangalore is such a bliss …the neighbours don’t care what you do for a living. They don’t even care if you exist...ha ha

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As the dates for the declaration of results approach I worry incessantly…

Is all the effort that I put in reading that big fat book on the constitution going to be a huge waste of time?

Should I start posting my resumes again on Naukri and Monster? Hey, is the last date for the online application form for that PSU over?

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I’m back in Bangalore in time for the Olympics and yet not focused on my mains preparations :-(

As me is leisurely having a late lunch watching the swimmers at the Water Cube, VK2 rings up to know if I have cleared the prelims. Apparently the results were declared that afternoon. I get two more calls with similar queries before I can switch off the TV.

My hunger died instantly.

I fire up the PC and wait impatiently for the overloaded UPSC servers to respond. After what seemed like an eternity …I’m finally greeted with the following

Civil Services (Preliminary) Exam 2008
WRITTEN RESULT QUERY

Congratulations! Your Roll Number: XXXXXX figures in the list of successful candidates