How to Become IAS Officer After 10th - Step by Step Roadmap!

To join the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) after 10, one must know that to appear in the UPSC Civil Services Exam, one must have a graduation degree and be at least 21 years old. Whereas direct entry after 10th is not available, one is free to begin early and get his 12th and Graduation done and prepare in subjects such as history, political science, and economics that are valuable to UPSC. Initial planning, awareness of the exam pattern, and intelligent selection of optional subjects following the 10th phase set a solid stepping stone towards achieving the highest career options.

If you have passed your 10th exam and are looking for a better career opportunity and have questions like "How to become an IAS officer after 10th and "How to prepare for UPSC after 10th," then you are in the right place. Stay tuned; this article covers everything from preparing for IAS to becoming an IAS officer. The IAS Exam, the Civil Services Examination, is conducted by UPSC annually and is such an exam that you can give only after graduation with any degree. However, you can begin your UPSC Preparation journey in any class, even on the 10th. Even though it will be difficult, you can manage everything with the proper knowledge and support.

Last 10 Years UPSC Question Papers 

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How To Become An IAS Officer After 10th?

IAS stands for Indian Administrative Services, and the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the Civil Services Examination (CSE) every year to select and recruit qualified candidates for the role of IAS officer. The most essential condition for applying for the IAS exam is that you have a degree from a recognized University/College/Institute, and your minimum age should be 21 years. This exam requires proper direction and guidance in addition to hard work. Even if you just completed your 10th class, you can fulfil your dream of becoming an IAS after the 10th class by doing the following steps:

• After the 10th, you must take any stream or subjects in your class 11th.
• Before selecting eleventh-grade subjects, analyze the IAS Exam syllabus and its criteria.
• After Intermediate (class 12th), you must complete your graduation (Any stream) from any recognized University/College/Institute in India.
• In your schooling/graduation, you can take some IAS foundational courses that will benefit your concerned subjects and IAS preparation.
• After 3-4 years of the degree, you can enroll in full-time IAS coaching for a year if necessary or begin self-study.
• After coaching, you must write the UPSC CSE exam (i.e., prelims, mains).
• If you have qualified in the CSE mains, you will be invited to an interview in Delhi.
• UPSC's final merit list will include the main exam and interview scores.
• To become an IAS, you must rank between 1 and 95 on the All-India Merit list. (This depends on the number of vacancies every year)

Also, Check out the duty of an IAS Officer here.

Can One Become an IAS Officer After Class 10th?

Admission to the Indian Administrative Service is not allowed directly after Class 10. The lower threshold to appear in the Civil Services Examination, which forms the last selection chain of the Union Public Service Commission, is that the candidate must have a recognized university degree, and the age is at least 21 years. Still, during the post-Class 10 time, the potential candidates can choose a strategic approach to their studies using the selection of appropriate disciplines (the most popular in this case are Arts and Humanities) and developing a strong knowledge background, which will increase their chances in the future study stages.

• As per the Eligibility Criteria of UPSC CSE Notification 2025, the Minimum Age Limit to appear for the exam is 21 years (as on 01/08/2025) in the exam year. 
• The candidate also must be a graduate of a recognised university. There are no particular requirements for the subject of graduation. 
• The candidates can strategically utilise this 5-year timeline to strengthen their basics and mould their personality to qualify for the exam on the first attempt.

Strategy to Becoming an IAS Officer After Class 10th

To become an IAS Officer, one must be hardworking, disciplined, dedicated and committed to serving the people. The exam cycle is annual, and thus, plenty of preparation is necessary to be on the frontline ahead of the other contenders.

Read to find out how you can get started in getting prepared to become an IAS Officer after Class 10th

Step 1- Choosing the Stream to Become an IAS Officer After Class 10th 

As mentioned above, though the UPSC CSE Notification 2025 requires mainstream studies, one is yet to stick with a standard stream, but is advised to pursue the Arts/Humanities stream that includes History, Political Science, Economics, Geography, etc. These are some subjects that the UPSC Civil Services Exam comprises, and good study can give an upper hand in joining as an IAS Officer After Class 10th.

Roadmap to Becoming an IAS Officer After Class 10th: Overview

Step 2- Develop Foundation Course Knowledge

Then do not compromise academics of class 11th and 12th and make a strong academic base of NCERTs of subjects- history, political science, geography and economics. They become the best way to form your fundamentals to be an IAS Officer after Class 10th.

Step 3- Understand UPSC Civil Services Exam

To become an IAS Officer after Class 10th, you must begin by reading and learning how to approach the UPSC Syllabus 2025 and get an idea of the Exam Cycle and Pattern. Read on topics in the UPSC Prelims Exam and UPSC Mains Exam, and correlate your reading on NCERTs with the questions from the test in the previous year on the upsc.gov.in. You can also read about the different Optional Subjects available by UPSC to select the one you like.

Step 4- Pursue your Graduation

To be selected as an IAS after passing class 10th, one must pursue their graduation in a recognized university. Graduation can be done by candidates in any stream or subject in normal or distance mode.

Step 5- Simultaneous Preparation for the UPSC Civil Services Exam

In addition to the graduation studies, it is also recommended that the candidates raise their preparation for the exam, so that the Standard Books must be studied to appear in the UPSC Civil Services Exam. According to the recent exam requirements, these books are advanced and written in a sharp format. It is also necessary that the candidates inculcate the habit of reading the newspaper and SMART Current Affairs preparation, as they have been found to help the students sail through the sticky questions in the examination, which center on current Affairs.

Step 6- Apply and Appear for the Exam

The UPSC Civil Services candidates can apply for the UPSC Civil Services Exam in the year of graduation. Notification 2025 was appeared in the previous week of January, and the Prelims 2025 was conducted on 25/05/2025.

UPSC Interview is the most dicey stage of IAS Journey, Get to Know How to Prepare for UPSC IAS Interview Stage in this detailed article!

How To Prepare For UPSC After the 10th? - Important Tips

After class 10, you have decided on your career at this age, where you have enough time, around 6-7 years, i.e., your age will now be between 14-16 years, as the minimum age to apply for the IAS exam is 21. Unlike others, you have enough time for preparation. Here are some tips to assist you in starting to prepare for UPSC after the 10th:

Prepare Yourself First

• Before trying to understand how to prepare for UPSC after the 10th, you should prepare yourself for the UPSC IAS preparation journey.
• To succeed on the IAS exam, you must be prepared mentally and physically. Set your goals and allocate your time effectively.
• If you think becoming an IAS is a good career choice, first get ready and do some research on the following topics:
• Due to the positive image of IAS officers in our society, many students start preparing unquestioningly, regardless of whether they are mentally prepared for this job, and then stop preparing after some time. First, identify your strengths and weaknesses, remembering you must work hard to crack this exam.
• Before looking at IAS as a career field, you should identify the advantages and disadvantages of this job and why you want to be an IAS. Do you want to get more attention from society? Or are you keen to work in the public interest? IAS is known to be more of a service than a job in which you are always ready for society and its development. At the same time, a job is a position of employment, a full-time or part-time position/ a piece of work, particularly a specific task performed as part of one's occupation's routine for an agreed price.

Understand the IAS Officer's Recruitment Process

Preparing for the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) is a time-consuming process as it has multiple phases and dimensions, unlike many other competitive exams in India. Still, it is not impossible for a candidate after 10th class to clear this exam with the right approach and mindset. Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the Civil Services Examination (CSE) every year in three phases.

• Preliminary Examination (2 papers – Based on the objective type or multiple-choice questions).
• Civil Services (Main) Examination (9 papers- Based on the written & descriptive format).
• Personality Test or Interview (with the UPSC Board Members).

Also, Checkout UPSC Toppers List 2024

Know the UPSC Syllabus

• The UPSC syllabus will be your true mentor in your UPSC exam journey; thoroughly read the UPSC syllabus before preparing for the IAS exam.
• UPSC has thoroughly covered the IAS exam syllabus in two stages, which are as follows:
  • UPSC Prelims Syllabus
  • UPSC Mains Syllabus
• Going through the UPSC exam syllabus will help you understand the subjects and topics you must focus on for each paper.

Select the Correct Subject After 10th

• After the 10th class, select only those subjects you are interested in and examine the role of those subjects in the IAS exam by reading the UPSC exam syllabus.

Start preparing for both Prelims and Mains simultaneously

• You now have a lot of time. Therefore, start simultaneously studying for both the prelims and main exams. Both the IAS Prelims and Mains exams require equal sustained focus; each plays a unique role in the IAS exam. You will appear for the IAS Mains exam after passing the Preliminary exam, and once you pass the Mains exam, you will be qualified to take the interview.
• Concentrate on all subjects because we don't know how many questions can be asked from each one. It changes from year to year.

Read NCERT Books

• Reading NCERT textbooks from 6th to 12th is crucial in IAS exam preparation.
• NCERT textbooks are a good resource for students to learn fundamental concepts and theories.
• UPSC asks the majority of questions directly from NCERT textbooks.

Read the Standard Books

IAS toppers and experts advise aspirants to begin their UPSC preparation with NCERT books before moving to standard reference books. However, selecting the right books for the IAS exam is critical; here are some standard UPSC books that will help you ace your IAS Exam preparation:

• For History Section: India's Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra/ Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania, etc.
• For the Geography Section, you will need a Certificate in Physical Geography – G C Leong/World Atlas (Orient Black Swan), etc.
• For Indian Polity Section: Indian Polity – M. Laxmikanth.
• For the Indian Economics Section: Indian Economy by Nitin Singhania.
• For International Relations: Current affairs/ magazines (eg, Yojana, Kurukshetra, etc).
• CSAT: Tata McGraw-Hill CSAT Manual, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning: R. S. Aggarwal, etc.

Making Notes

• Make your notes on essential topics & keep revising them continuously.
• Read UPSC books (NCERTs/Standard textbooks) daily, do not underestimate them because they are the concept builders and serve as the foundation, and make short notes on them for quick revision.

Read News Paper

• Newspaper reading should be a part of your daily routine if you want to crack the IAS Exam.
• Make & maintain notes from a newspaper; for more details, read this article- How To Read Newspaper for UPSC Effectively?

Refer to the Old Question Paper & Attempt the Mock Test Series

• Once you understand the UPSC Exam syllabus, you can look at the previous year's question papers to analyze the type of questions asked by UPSC. After you've finished reading, try to solve the old question paper. And keep repeating this process from time to time.
• You can also take UPSC Civil Services Mock Tests to improve your IAS preparation, which will benefit the IAS Prelims Exam.

Develop the Habit of revising every week.

One of the most common mistakes aspirants make is purchasing many books on a single subject and reading every book. That is not needed.

• Instead of keeping multiple books on the same subject, studying a single book numerous times is better.
• Continue revising, even if it is difficult to do so daily, at least 1-2 times per week.

Which Stream is Best for UPSC After 10th?

The question that always remains in the minds of students promoted to class 11 is which stream is best for UPSC after 10th? Although the answer to this question depends on your personal preferences and areas of interest, you can choose any stream in the eleventh grade, including humanities, medical, and non-medical.

• In the 11th class, you have the FRCAN stream; UPSC does not restrict you to any stream; you are not required to choose only humanities streams, but you may also select non-humanities streams.
• If you opt for non-humanities streams, medical, non-medical, etc., you will also get UPSC optional subjects like Medical Science, Agriculture, Botany, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Engineering, etc. You can prepare by adopting any one subject as an optional subject.
• Suppose you opt for the humanities stream with subjects like history, geography, political science, etc. It may be a better option because subjects related to the humanities stream will help you in IAS prelims, mains, and optional subjects.

Download the Daily Current Affairs for UPSC here!

Which Subject is Best for UPSC After 10th?

As we stated above that humanities students have an edge over others in some way because humanities subjects help you from the IAS prelims to the main examination and questions from them carry a lot of weightage in the UPSC exam, thus you After your 10th, you can choose from humanities subjects like history, political science, public administration, sociology, economics, psychology, etc.

• Nevertheless, we advise you again that before choosing a subject, identify your interest, read the UPSC syllabus thoroughly, and then select your subjects.

UPSC After 10th - Pros & Cons

UPSC Civil Services Exam preparation has its dimensions where you need constant hard work with concentration, patience, and proper direction. Do you understand why the UPSC exam is so difficult? It wants you to deal with pressure. It desires to become a part of your lifestyle. UPSC will select you after considering your perception. It is crucial to understand the perception of UPSC, and you must discover that perception, then consider the question: Am I truly prepared for this exam? Only then should you think about preparing for the UPSC CSE exam. Let's examine some pros and cons of preparing for UPSC after the 10th class.

Pros of Preparing For UPSC After 10th

• If you begin preparing at this age, you will have more time than others to prepare for your IAS exam.
• If you begin IAS exam preparation now, there won't be many difficulties in your future preparation, since you'll have learned a lot by the time you have to take the exam.
• If you start preparing for your IAS exam at this age, later on, the chances of going out of your home/city for coaching for the IAS exam are less.
• You can save money and time if you begin studying for your IAS exam at this age.
• By preparing for the IAS exam at home, you will also get your family's support.

Cons of Preparing For UPSC After 10th

• It may be a hasty decision to consider seriously preparing for the IAS exam at this young age without sufficient knowledge.
• Starting to prepare for the IAS exam without knowing whether they are mentally and physically ready is often a problem at this age.
• Students frequently struggle with finding time to prepare for the IAS exam on top of their academic obligations.
• It is often seen that there is a lack of concentration at this age. Students start the IAS exam preparation, but after some time, they leave their preparation in the middle.
• Students struggle to find the best and most appropriate guidance & resources for IAS exam preparation.

Coaching Assistance For UPSC Preparation

In the UPSC IAS exam, the appropriate guidance is essential in addition to hard work; therefore, coaching assistance is critical when preparing for the IAS exam, where you constantly receive guidance from mentors or experts. In India, there are numerous coaching assistant platforms for UPSC preparation. If you want the most cost-effective and best option, go with Testbook's "Online Supercoaching program," which includes one-on-one mentoring, subject-specific mentors, and free live classes for the UPSC Exam. Check out some of the other amazing features provided by Testbook.

• Testbook offers you India's best IAS Course for your preparation. Our faculty members are highly reputed professors, dynamic individuals, scholars, and subject matter experts well-known throughout India for their simple, student-friendly, and effective teaching methods.
• On our "Testbook Super Coaching Platform," our dedicated UPSC mentors constantly interact with aspirants to sort out all the factors they are struggling with during UPSC preparation, how to work best for them, and how a Strategy can be developed.

Conclusion

If you're considering how to start UPSC Preparation from Zero Level, keep your priorities in mind and begin your journey slowly and steadily. After thoroughly studying all aspects of the IAS Exam, you should approach the Civil Services Exam with all your heart and soul. To crack the IAS exam, you must always be sincere with yourself. However, it is essential to remember that every journey has ups and downs, and the IAS exam will have both. Those who persevere with determination and devotion can only win the race.

Check out the Test Series for UPSC Exam here.

We hope all your doubts regarding how to become an IAS officer after the 10th are addressed after going through this article. Testbook provides comprehensive notes for different competitive examinations. It has always assured the quality of its product, like content pages, live tests, GK, current affairs, mocks, and so on. Ace your preparation with the Testbook App!