Meet IPS Officer Shahnaz Illyas, A Mother Who Secured AIR 217 In UPSC 2020

Motherhood requires round-the-clock attendance and a woman can't take any break from that. It is tougher for a 'new mom', however, Shahnaz Illyas took a tough step and jumped into one of the toughest exams of the country during her maternity leave when she was in the final months of her pregnancy.

Shahnaz's dream of getting into government services started taking shape when she was on maternity leave and willing to productively utilise her time. With this zeal, she started self preparing for Tamil Nadu Public Services Commission (TNPSC).

With a bulky baby bump, she attempted the examinations when she was 9 months pregnant, and with only two months of preparation, she cleared prelims in her very first attempt. Shahnaz realised that she has the potential to clear the Indian Civil Services too. But the deal-breaker cropped up on how she was going to handle the responsibilities of her baby during the preparation.

Civil Services preparation journey is something that requires 8-10 hours of compulsory disciplined study every day.

She was in the IT field for almost five years, joining the sector right after college. But the monotonous 9-5 job was something that she detested and wanted to do something that is more purposeful in life and could contribute to society.

Parents Come To The Rescue

Shahnaz was lucky because of her support system. Seeing her desire to crack the exam and achieve her goal, her parents took the responsibility of taking care of her little daughter and supported her wholeheartedly during her preparation.

Her Preparation Strategy

"You need to compromise somewhere when it comes to preparation for UPSC," Shahnaz told The Logical Indian.

"I used to plan for the whole month about how much I need to acquire and which subjects to cover in what duration and I stick to it. You need to be self-disciplined when it comes to preparing for any exam be it UPSC or any other exam. Setting your targets and sticking to them is a must thing.

Of course, you will feel low during the journey but self-motivation is a must. Whenever I feel low or score low marks in mocks I take night walks alone and become a friend of mine to motivate myself. I talk to myself and assure myself that yes I can do it an and yes I will. In this way, I self-motivated myself and live that 2-year long journey of preparation," she explained.

Shahnaz Illyas went on to crack the UPSC CSE 2020 in her first attempt. She secured AIR (All India Rank) 217.

The UPSC aspirants need to keep one thing in mind— they are the ones choosing this goal and any pressure would only prove to be a roadblock in achieving the goal.

Shahnaz's life is a perfect example. After working in the IT sector for years, she realised that she wanted to pursue something through which she could give back to society. So, she set her goal for UPSC while having confidence in her capabilities.

Every aspirant should think about it before getting into the journey and if started then should not think of any Plan B or look back.

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