civil service-career information

Great Careers Opportunities for Everyone
The Civil Service offers a huge range of job opportunities, employing over 35,000 people in over thirty different departments/Offices. There really is something for everyone.

What's it all about?
The Civil Services primary goal is to provide services to the public. How this is achieved is constantly evolving. It may include working with the government to create and implement new policies and services, dealing directly with the public or even providing market research.

What kind of people are we looking for?
Opportunities in the Civil Service are extremely diverse, ranging from accountancy to HR to customer services. Infact, no matter what your area of expertise, there is probably a Civil Service job of interest to you.

What's it like to work in the Civil Service?
Working for the Civil Service is both a challenging and fulfilling career. The great thing about a career here, is the range of opportunities provided. The Civil Service encourages people to pursue their career goals, whether this be to move up the career ladder or to change their career completely. New opportunities arise constantly and you have the flexibility to develop your own career path.

And what about the work place?
The Civil Service is an extremely friendly place to work and everyone works together as a team. Most departments have social clubs and sports teams, offering a great opportunity to meet new people and keep active. A unique 'Partnership' scheme is a forum where all staff are encouraged to contribute ideas to help improve their work environment.

What else is different?
One of the areas that sets the Civil Service apart from other organisations is its international approach. Its embassies and consulates throughout the world help to represent Ireland's viewpoints abroad. Many Civil Servants have the opportunity to travel to the European Parliament in Brussels to represent the Irish government on various subjects.

Source:http://www.publicjobs.ie/en/civilservice/

Civil services: Myths & Realities

Civil Services Aspirants are faced with many a dilemma. The tremendous prestige of the examination has created an aura about the examination and given rise to many half-baked truths, which heighten the sense of awe. In this article, an attempt is being made to dispel certain popular “myths” by confronting them with the corresponding “realities”.

Myth: The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the best service to which one can be selected through the Civil Service Examination (CSE). Hence, one should only aim for the IAS and no other service.
Reality: The IAS is undoubtedly among the best services. However, there are other services, which are equally important and satisfying. Hence, it is necessary to have some idea of career opportunities in other services.

Myth: There is too much political interference in the IAS and the IPS.
Reality: Both the IAS and the IPS are services in which one come in close contact with the people. Decisions taken directly or indirectly by IAS and IPS officers have considerable impact on the common man. Any position in which a lot of authority is vested is bound to have controls too. The more important the position the greater the control. This applies equally to private and public sectors. It is a fallacy to imagine that the private sector offers a great degree of independence. The top positions in the private sector are also subject to control or interference in some form or the other.

Myth: Only highly intelligent students with an excellent academic record are successful at the CSE.
Reality: How does one measure intelligence? Can we call someone highly intelligent just because he/she scores 100% in Mathematics or Physics at the 10th Class level? Or do we call a student who has consistently secured a first division intelligent? The fact is, the notion of intelligence is susceptible to varied definitions.
However that may be, a survey conducted a few years back indicated that most of the successful aspirants had secured only a second division in graduation. So while a high academic score is a definite asset, a second or a third division in no way hits your chances. You may yet prove yourself.

Myth: Certain optionals have better prospects at the Preliminary.
Reality: The UPSC offers 23 optionals at the Preliminary. All optionals offer equal chances of success. Usually the “proportionate method of representation” is followed. This method may be explained as follows:
Total no. candidates appearing at the examination with various optionals = 1,00,000
Total no. of candidates to be selected for the Main Examination = 10,000
Candidates taking History = 20,000
Minimum representation to be secured of candidates who have opted for History = 2,000.
Thus every optional is weighted proportionally.

Myth: A large number of candidates are opting for optional ‘X’. Hence it is better to take optional ‘Y’, which is chosen by very few candidates.
Reality: As explained, the number of candidates to be selected from a certain optional is directly proportional to the number of candidates who opt for it. If a large number of students opt for a particular discipline then the number of students taking it selected for the mains will be equally large. If a small number opt for a particular subject, the number selected will be correspondingly less.

Myth: Every optional has a ‘cut-off’ mark. Hence it is better to choose one with a low cut-off.
Reality: What do we mean by cut-off? Only 10,000 qualify at the preliminary. The marks scored by the last candidate mark the ‘cut-off’ Thus all candidates who score more than the cut-off will qualify and all those who don’t will not. You should remember that this is a competitive examination. There is no qualifying score. Whatever the marks, the first 10,000 candidates will qualify. Thus the cut-off point changes from year to year. If the questions are difficult the ‘cut-off’ mark automatically comes down.

Indian Civil Service

The Indian Civil Service serves as the backbone of India and carriesgreat respect and responsibilities. India's best brains vie for entry into the IndianCivil Services as officers. Even though corporate jobs may offer the best of salaries and perks, a majority of youngsters and their parents still crave entry to the prestigious Indian Civil Services held by the UPSC. The very fact that a big share of every year's top posts in the civil services exams are bagged by professionals from various streams, shows that the IAS is still the dream job for many. Here is the Civil List links you would like to follow.

In our effort to be of use to the various civil services aspirants here is a list of tools and resources to give an edge to your prepration for the Civil Service exams conducted by the UPSC India. The competition being very very tough for the IAS examination, one has to be prepared to put in hours (10 to 12 hours) of work and take repeated attempts at the UPSC civil services exam.

Civil Services

The Civil Services Examination is a challenge and thousands of candidates appear in it every year. As many students appear in the examination, we answer some commonly asked questions. To achieve success in the exam, it is important to study in a focused manner, both for the Preliminary as well as for the Main Exam. For an IAS aspirant, it is important to know the plan of the examination as well as what one might expect.

The examination consists of two parts: the Preliminary Examination (objective type), which is a qualifying examination, and a Main Examination consisting of written examination and interview. The marks obtained in the Preliminary Exam are not counted in the Main Exam and it is only a screening exam. The Preliminary Exam is an objective type test. One can appear in the Main Examination only after passing the Preliminary Exam. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) holds the Preliminary Examination in May/June and the Main Examination is held in October/November. The notification for the Preliminary Examination is published in December every year. The exam is held in many cities in India and one can opt for a centre near one's place so that unnecessary travel is avoided. The number of vacancies are 600-700 every year. Reservation is made for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.

Age: The candidate must be between 21 and 30 years of age as on August 1 every year for the exam. Relaxations to the age limit are available for 5 years for candidates belonging to the scheduled castes or those who were domiciled in J & K from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 1989. A relaxation of 3 years in the case of Defence Services Personnel disabled in operations; upto 8 years for Scheduled Caste candidate who is also a defence personnel, disabled in operations; upto 5 years in case of ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers who have rendered at least five years Military Service as on August 1 of that year; upto 10 years in the case of ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers who belong to the Scheduled Castes and who have rendered at least five years Military Service. The date of birth acceptable is the one entered in the Matriculation or School Leaving Certificate. No other documents with respect to age are acceptable.

Educational Qualifications: The candidate must hold a degree of any of the Universities incorporated by an act of legislature in India or educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament. A degree from deemed universities under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 is also eligible. Candidates having professionals and technical qualifications recognised by the government are also eligible. Candidates having an MBBS degree but have not completed their internship will be provisionally admitted to the Main Examination provided that they submit a certificate of their Institute that they have passed the final professional medical examination. Those who have appeared in the final year but do not have the result can also apply but they would have to produce proof of passing the exam with their application for the Main Exam.

Attempts: A candidate is permitted 4 attempts at the examination. There is no restriction on the number of attempts for scheduled caste candidates but Other Backward Classes have seven attempts. If a person appears in the Preliminary Exam or even appears in one paper, it is counted as an attempt. One should make up one's mind before applying and taking an

SOURCE:http://upscportal.com/civilservices/About_Indian_Civil_ServiceS