How to prepare for competitive exams (GATE/IES/PSUs)

How to prepare for competitive exams (GATE/IES/PSUs)

The basic syllabus for these exams is almost same i.e, Electrical & Electronics engineering subjects. The difficulty levels may be different. The secret of success in any competitive exam is confidence in the subject. Confidence will come with strong fundamentals. I would like to say that fundamentals in any subject are just like a foundation to any building. We all know that if foundation is not strong for any building it will not stand. If we do not catch this point simple questions will also scare us.

Few thoughts on how to gain strong fundamentals:

When you are ready to prepare for any of these competitive exams, do not restrict yourself to anyone specific exam in the initial stage of your preparation. Start like as you are preparing one exam in your core engineering branch (EEE in this case).

Anyone can learn basics of the subject when their mind is peaceful and more important is you should have interest in the subject. Your mind will have peace and can enjoy the learning when you do not have exam tension. So, I can say good time to start preparing for an average student is 7 to 8 months before the exam i.e, when you are in 4-1 semester. Of course, you can start any time after B.Tech also but consider that you need 7-8 months from the time when you started at the cost of 1-2 years break in your career. It is up to the individual.

My sincere suggestion is to start the preparation with a subject which is fundamental for all subjects. Example is electrical networks and mathematics for EEE student. Most important thing is never by heart any formulae just to solve an objective question as same question will not repeat in the exam. Try to learn the definitions of basic laws and their applications in the real time scenarios, derivations, problem solving methods rather than specific numeric problem even though it is objective exam. Now a days, I found that in several interviews questions are based on these things only.

There are two basic ways to learn the fundamental

1.       Refer standard text books (at least 2-3 for each subject)

2.       Take help from subject experts and then refer text books based on their recommendation

I felt second way is best method for beginner. In this aspect, coaching will play a crucial role in better preparation. Please try to understand one point here, I am not saying that coaching is mandatory but it will definitely help you in time saving and structured way of preparing. More important thing, if you attend classes you will get the competitive spirit by seeing the crowd of people. If you prepare alone in your room, you will not know what is going on outside. Once you get the competitive mood and fire, automatically you will prepare effectively and you can learn so many things from your teachers, friends and sky will is the limit

In the initial stages of preparation (either self or coaching) I will strongly recommend to maintain notes on basic concepts. These notes will be very helpful before and after the exam. Believe me, even in my professional life also if I get any doubt or need to refer any concept I will refer my UG/PG notes first rather than any text book. In future if you refer your own notes, you can quickly connect to the concept. Notes are my major wealth in my life and I am encouraging you too have nice notes. If you attend any interviews, notes are very useful and will provide quick summary. You need not to carry big & heavy text books

Finally I would like to conclude with two rules:

Rule 1: Never loose time

Rule 2: Do not forget rule 1

I wish you all the best.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ELECTRICAL GRADUATES

Opportunities for EEE Graduates

Opportunities for Electrical and Electronics Engineering Graduates

B.Tech in Electrical and Electronics Engineering have plenty of opportunities in both government and private organizations. Government organizations and PSUs usually release notification about vacancies in national dailies.

Details about application procedure, eligibility criteria, recruitment process and important dates are mentioned in the notification. The recruitment process typically involves written test and interview. Given below are some of the options you can explore:

Indian Engineering Service: The UPSC Board for recruitment conducts the Indian Engineering Service (IES) examination for recruiting engineers into various government departments.

The recruitment process involves two step- written examination and personality test. The written examination carries 1000 marks and comprises five papers. Paper -I is the general ability test, which assesses the candidate’s competence in English and General Studies.

It carries 200 marks. Paper II and III carry questions from the relevant engineering subject and carry 200 marks each. Papers I, II and III are objective type. Papers- IV and V are conventional type and carry 200 marks each. They deal with the relevant discipline of engineering.

Personality Test carries 200 marks. It aims at assessing qualities like leadership qualities, social skills, zeal to learn and mental fitness. For further details, log on to www.upsc.gov.in

Research Organizations: Research organizations like the Indian Space Research Organization, Defence Research and Development Organization and Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre hire engineering graduates for various job roles. The minimum eligibility criterion for most of them is at least 65 per cent marks in BE/ B.Tech. Candidates are short-listed for written test and interview, based on their academic record and GATE score.

Electricity Boards: Electricity boards of various States hire engineers for posts like Assistant Engineer. Selection is based on performance at entrance test.

Along with these, organizations like Indian Oil Corporation Ltd and Bharat Electronics Ltd hire engineers.

Coming to jobs in private organizations, you can explore opportunities in industries like electrical, electronics, communications, telecommunications, information technology and instrumentation.

An electrical engineering graduate can begin his/her job search by contacting placement department in their respective colleges. Seek their advice on building a resume and handling job interviews. Post you resume on job portals. Consult a few recruitment firms and ask them if they can help you find a job. Use social networking sites like this blog to build your contacts and spread word that you are looking for a job. Request them to refer you whenever there is a suitable opportunity in their organization.

Work towards improving your technical and communication skills. Keep yourself updated with the latest developments in your field. For this, you can read relevant material in industry specific magazines and on the Internet.

To improve your career prospects, you can pursue short-term courses in PLC, SCADA, VLSI or embedded systems. Given below are details of some institutes that offer these courses:

Prolific Systems and Technologies, Hyderabad offers Certified Programmable Logic Controllers Training. This training program covers PLC and SCADA.

It provides practical experience of working on leading brands of PLCs such as Allen Bradley, Siemens, Modicon and GE Fanuc. It covers popular SCADA software such as Wonderware InTouch. The institute offers placement assistance also.

Advanced Training Institute for Electronics and Process Instrumentation (http://atiepihyderabad.gov.in) at Ramanthapur, Hyderabad offers training in PLC and SCADA.

I wish you all the best.