Practice tests hold the key

Akhand Swaroop Pandit

The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) of India annually conducts SSC JE Exam to recruit eligible candidates for the post of Junior Engineer in multiple Engineering Departments such as Mechanical, Civil, Electrical and Quantity Surveying and Contract. A computer-based government exam, SSC JE is conducted in two phases:

Paper 1 (Objective); and Paper 2 (Descriptive). 

While Paper 1 comprises 3 sections — General Intelligence & Reasoning, General Awareness, and General Engineering, Paper 2 consists of only one section, General Engineering. 

Even though the exam dates for this year are yet to be confirmed for both SSC JE Paper-1 and Paper-2, candidates must have an idea on the preparation strategy because cracking the exam requires a lot of patience, focus, practice and, of course, a smart plan that one needs to follow dedicatedly. Here are some tips that may help a candidate crack this prestigious exam and secure their career:

1 A candidate needs to focus on theory and formula-based questions in order to crack the technical part of the first phase. To excel in this area, one needs an in-depth understanding of all the technical concepts of their respective fields (mechanical, civil, electrical, quantity surveying). More importantly, practice solving the preceding years’ question papers, available on the internet or from any standard book; this is a must. 

2 To prepare for the non-technical part of this section, a candidate should mainly focus on current affairs, particularly of the past six months. This includes subjects like Indian Geography (map-based questions), modern history, and important articles based on politics. The reasoning part is comparatively easier than other sections; a candidate just needs basic understanding of the concepts to score well. 

3 Part 2 of SSC JE is subjective, where a candidate has to answer questions in a detailed manner yet be succinct in their approach. This will require a lot of conventional practice as compared to the previous sections. Analyzs the syllabus and point out the core topics of your domain. The test will not include questions from every topic, hence it is critical for candidates to go for the most important topics only. 

4 Remember, this test has high failure rate due to candidates’ poor writing skills. It’s, thus, important to work on it, too. Best is to solve the previous year’s question papers of IES and SSC JE and revise the core topics on a weekly basis. Make short notes and watch online lectures to retain most of the things learned in the due course.  

5 Finally, always choose your questions wisely because a tough question can take a lot of time. Hence it’s advisable to efficiently use your time by primarily selecting those questions that you are confident to solve. 

The best way to prepare is to take mock tests frequently. This will give you a clear idea about where you stand and how much you need to improve. 

— The writer is Founder & CEO, Catalyst Group

Eligibility

Interested candidates from 18 to 32 years, having a Diploma in the concerned field can apply online on the official website of Staff Selection Commission: https://ssc.nic.in/. The online application form has been released on August 13, 2019. The registration process has already started, so, good luck in advance!