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Akshat Agarwal
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Akshat is an Alumnus of Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi. He has around a decade of experience working at the intersection of data analytics and Public Policy. Akshat has previously worked with organizations like Accenture, PwC, HSBC and Pratham Education Foundation. Akshat considers himself an ‘empiricist’ and is passionate about evidence-based decision making in the Public Policy and Development Sector space.
Akshat’s story
I come from a very small town from the western parts of Uttar Pradesh bordering Uttarakhand. Due to the lack of quality education in my hometown, my parents sent me to Delhi when I was in Class 9. The dream of clearing the UPSC civil services examination was seeded by the parents and it became a mission for me since class 9. Henceforth, all the decisions I took in my life (for next 10 years) were broadly motivated by the single minded pursuit to clear this examination. Despite being a science student at +2 (and a good one at that!) I chose to get enrolled for a Bachelor’s degree in Economics – less for the love of the subject and more out of the hope that the degree would allow me to cover one optional subject for UPSC! It’s a different matter that I totally aced the bachelor’s program being the college topper for 2 out of 3 years and amongst the top 10 students of the university (out of more than 1000 students I guess!). Post that, I was lucky to get into Delhi School of Economics (DSE), one of the premier institutions for a master’s program in Economics in India. And surprisingly, I aced that as well – being amongst the top 5 students of the batch and a placement on Day 0 (with Accenture) from campus with one of the highest pay packages ! DSE ensured that my plan B was in place, just in case the UPSC thing does not work out.
I worked for a year (you need money to sustain yourself in ORN!) and then resigned from the job. Now was the time for real action. Now was the time I had been waiting and planning for the last 10 years. With a full grip on the optional subject, a plan B in place and determination in the eyes, I jumped into UPSC preparation full time. Life was going as per plan. For me, it was not a question of IF I get into UPSC, it was more a question of WHEN. I went to Old Rajinder Nagar, enrolled in a coaching program and did the rest of the things which UPSC aspirants typically do.
Attempt one happened and I did not clear the prelims examination by one mark!
Attempt two happened and I could not clear the mains by 25 marks!
They say life is what happens when you are busy making plans. It took a while to realize what had happened. 3.5 years had gone by in a jiffy and I had achieved nothing.
UPSC teaches you many things and one of those is to persevere and be resilient. It was time to take this setback on the chin and move-on. This is when I decided to get out of full time UPSC preparation and transition back to the corporate career.
I reached out to friends, college mates and former colleagues. None of them were of much help. I started the job search grind, prepared the CV, and appeared for interviews. The thing is, after being so passionate about a career and not being able to get into that, it becomes very difficult to even decide on a career which is meant for you.
My love for Quant and a passion for the development sector (born out of the years spent preparing for UPSC) took me to the M&E team at Pratham. I consider myself lucky that Pratham happened to me. After UPSC, your confidence takes a beating and it takes a while to recover. Yes the pay was low (as low as 50% of what I was making 4 years back!), but the experience of working with such a world class organization compensated for that.
I got the start – one thing led to another (two more job changes!) and here I am working with The Economist Group, leading their data and products team and more importantly, doing reasonably well in my career.
Jigyasu Agarwal
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I trace my roots back to a small village in the western part of Uttar Pradesh. To provide me with better educational facilities, my parents relocated to the district headquarters when I was in fifth grade. Reflecting on this decision today, I recognize the immense love and dedication Indian parents have for their children and their futures.
Being a student passionate about Science and Technology, my obvious choice was Engineering. So, just like many other Indians, I began preparing for the IITJEE exam in my eleventh grade. Coming from a small town with a relatively underprivileged family, I struggled to tackle one of India’s most challenging exams without proper guidance or support. However, my persistence and grit paid off when I secured admission to NIT Patna in Electrical Engineering. I consider this achievement a success not solely based on where I ended up, but against the odds I faced.
Driven by my passion for technology, I thoroughly enjoyed my engineering studies, excelled in my coursework, and eventually got placed in ABB, a leading Swiss MNC specializing in robotics. I was the only student from my college to be selected by this esteemed company.
Although I found my work at ABB interesting, I felt a sense of purposelessness. This prompted me to explore other avenues that could fulfill this void. After much deliberation and introspection, I zeroed down to Civil services or a social venture. Upon reviewing the Civil Services examination syllabus, I found it intriguing. My interest in the subjects, coupled with a newfound desire to make a scalable impact, encouraged me to go for CIvil Services. This is when I decided to leave behind my comfortable corporate career which was providing some very promising opportunities and prepare for civil services on a full time basis—certainly, a decision not for the faint hearted.
In the summer of 2019, I landed in ORN, enrolled in a coaching institute to prepare for Civil Services, an examination which at that time seemed like a gateway of happiness to me. Here I cleared the Prelims stage twice only to get succumbed in the Mains stage. As someone who had always excelled academically, this setback was undoubtedly difficult to accept. Nevertheless, accepting it as my fate, with the heart filled with wisdom, mind with knowledge and head held high, I decided to move on.
Now, I decided to utilize my business acumen to scale a books and stationery business and achieved a moderate success there. But my persistent urge to create scalable impact, coupled with my burgeoning interest in Politics (a trait ingrained in the blood of Uttar Pradesh) and Governance (nurtured during my Civil Services Preparation), steered me towards Political Consulting.
And so, here I am, working as a Political Consultant and Strategic Advisor, closely collaborating with some of the country’s most eminent politicians.
The genesis of REBOUNCE
Rebounce is born out of our story – a story of dreams, aspiration and determination to qualify UPSC civil services examination and being unsuccessful at that. Rebounce is an outcome of our learnings in the process of making a transition to the corporate career post setback at the UPSC examination and our desire to share those learnings with other aspirants who are riding in a similar boat.
The idea for Rebounce occurred to us on a winter night early last year when both of us were sitting at home and reminiscing our UPSC journey and the challenges we faced while transitioning into a corporate career. It is then that it occurred to us that making a transition in general is not easy. We struggled in this process and we are sure other UPSC aspirants would be struggling in making this transition. Preparing full time for the UPSC exam and spending years without getting a positive outcome is in itself a big setback. We understand and appreciate this. We understand that each one of us prepares for this exam with so much passion and determination that it is not always easy to make this transition. The setback at this examination might leave you underconfident, unsure of what lies next and how you should go about making this transition. This is where we as Rebounce want to come into picture and help aspirants make this journey as smooth as possible.
Our mission is to support all ex-UPSC aspirants to pivot into a successful career of their choice post setbacks at UPSC civil services examination. We have been there and done that. We know what it takes to make a transition into a corporate career. Being the ex-UPSC aspirants ourselves, we understand the mindset, issues, questions, concerns and dilemmas which all UPSC aspirants face when they arrive at that juncture where they have to make a decision to transition out of UPSC examination preparation. We are here to open a world of opportunity for all ex-UPSC aspirants!
Join us and together we will achieve success !!