From Waiter to IAS officer K Jayaganesh:

Sometimes, the private sector doesn’t provide you the job you deserve. Such was the case of K Jayaganesh, an engineering student who emerged from a poor background and became an IAS officer after six attempts. He didn’t know when to give up. He just did not will to go back on his word. He hailed from a village where no one studied was willing to study. At Bangalore, he wondered if he could one day help all his friends get education and jobs.

He made errors through his preparation that did not allow him to get through UPSC. On the other hand, he dropped mechanical engineering and decided to appear for UPSC again. After failing his third attempt, he came across the All India Civil Service Coaching Centre in RA Puram, Chennai, which is a state-sponsored coaching centre.

He cleared his prelims at his fourth attempt. But the condition provided by the centre was that it would stop free accommodation or food if the student was to appear for Mains. That is when Jayaganesh had decided to work part time as a clerk for computer billing at a Cinema Hall canteen, and would often work as a waiter to serve food during intervals.

However, he failed his fourth attempt due to lack of spoken English skills during the interview. The fifth attempt was more harrowing for him as he couldn’t clear the prelims. By then he obtained a job at a coaching centre as a sociology teacher. In his sixth attempt, he fell short again in the interview. He was capable of getting a job at the Intelligence Bureau but he stuck to his goal. Finally, at his seventh attempt, he earned a high rank that led to his achievement of being an IAS officer.