District Collector is a perfect career to look for. If you are looking for civil services and are looking forward to serve the people of your area, planning to become a District Collector Officer would be the right choice for you. District Collector Officer is considered as one of the most reputed Indian public services and if you can crack it, this is going to be a great career for you.
A district Collector Officer is a person responsible for the development projects and in the district and is a powerful job profile that will represent the whole district. This is an important job profile and at the same time, you are going to draw a handsome salary. In all, District Collector Officer is a great career option and if you are willing to crack it, you can get into India’s one of the most brilliant job profiles.
In order to work as a District collector Officer, you need to clear the PSC exam of the state. After doing this, you will be designated as an IAS officer. Once you are an IAS, you can be promoted as District Collector Officer by going through the departmental promotions and examinations.
In the article, we will be talking about every single thing that you need to know in order to become a reputed District Collector Officer. With the right preparation and dedication, you can easily crack one of the most prestigious jobs in India in the government sector. So, be with us until the end of the article and know more about how to crack and prepare for the exam and the other things that are important to know about becoming a District collector Officer.
Eligibility Criteria for becoming District Collector Officer
Before digging deeper, it is extremely important to know about the eligibility criteria of the District Collector Officer’s examination. So, here are the point-to-point details about the eligibility that you must fulfill in order to appear in the civil services exams in India. Have a look at these points and then decide whether you are eligible for the post or not.
The very first criterion that you must have for the exam is Indian Citizenship. You can only apply for the exam if you a permanent Indian citizen and above 21 years of age. Talking about the educational qualifications, the candidate must have a graduate degree from a recognized university to appear for the exam of District Collector Officer.
Another important thing that you should keep in mind is that you can appear in exams for a maximum of three times (in case of the general category). For OBC this limit is 7 times and for the ST/SC candidates, there is no such limit for appearing in the exam.
So, these were the eligibility criteria for public services examination in different states. So, if you fulfill all of them and are willing to serve the nation, you can easily apply for the examination.
Qualifying examination: Syllabus and exam pattern
Now, let’s talk a bit about the exam pattern and syllabus that are covered for the public services examinations. This section will help you prepare for the exam and decide which topic is more important than others.
PSC exam is a three-tier examination. Once you have cleared the preliminary examination. The prelim exam of PSC has two papers namely General Studies I and General Studies Paper-II. The next exam you will appear after clearing the prelims is called the Mains. After you have cleared this, you will have to undergo an interview to become eligible for the job profile.
Talking about the written exams, the General Studies Paper I is of 200 marks that will decide the cutoff for the examination. On the other hand, the second paper (General Studies Paper-II) is just a qualifying exam that won’t affect your overall markings in the Prelims phase.
The mains phase of the PSC examination has nine papers out of which seven are compulsory and the other two are optional(qualifying papers). The last and the most important phase of the PSC exam is the interview. The interview contains 275 marks and will add up to your final score.
So, this was the complete examination overview that you need to undergo. So, be prepared and study well to clear the examination on the first attempt.
Preparation tips to crack the entrance test and interview
For a public commission examination, the only thing that matters the most is the preparation. Some candidates make it look easier by cracking through the interview in their first attempt, while most candidates can’t reach the mains even after trying for years. So, we will suggest you to do your studies well and be aware of the social and political events took place in recent years. This won’t only help you get the best preparation for the exam naturally, but will also make you more confident about the studies and knowledge of the surroundings.
For the preparation, we will suggest you to keep practicing with the social science books for the NCERT curriculum (for the history and other facts). And for the GK, the newspapers, yearbooks would be more than enough for the exam preparation.
Another thing that can be extremely helpful to crack the examination is to join a preparation coaching class. You can easily find both offline and online classes according to your convenience. Comparatively, online classes are much cheaper than offline classes.
Additionally, there are numerous other benefits of online classes that can’t be provided by offline classes. Some institutes offer one-on-one doubt clearing sessions that can be extremely beneficial to clear the concepts and other issues with any of the subjects. There are free as well as paid mock test papers available online that can help you practice well for the examination and know your performance and speed of solving the problems.
One more thing that can be of great help is the numerous popular preparation books.There are numerous books available in the Indian market that target the specific PSSC examination. You can easily opt for the latest edition of the preparation book to know more about the previous examination pattern along with the mock papers according to the latest examination syllabus. Additionally, a few book publishers also offer students to have a link to exclusive mock interview sessions to prepare for the interview.
Step-By-Step Guide to Become a District Collector Officer
Here’s a brief step-by-step guide to become a district collector officer. Go through this guide and prepare yourself accordingly.
Step 1: Check your eligibility for the examination
Step 2: Prepare and clear the prelims of PSC
Step 3: After clearing the Prelims, you will require to self-attest and submit the documents
Step 4: Next, choose the optional subjects/papers for the mains examination
Step 5: Clear the mains and prepare for the interview
Step 6: Once you have cleared the exam, you can work as an IAS and promote gradually to become a district collector.
Step 7: That’s it. These were all the major steps you need to follow for becoming a district Collector Officer.
Responsibilities of a District Collector Officer
As said, District Collector Officer represents the whole district and is one of the most important job profiles in a government sector.Here, we will discuss the major responsibilities that you need to fulfill as a District Collector Officer. Have a look at them and then decide whether you are capable to serve as a collector officer or not.
The major responsibility of the collector is to maintain the law and order in the district and take legal decisions for the wellbeing of the district.
Another major role that the collector needs to fulfill is to take care of the tax collection and allocating the funds to the right places.
The collector is also responsible for conducting the elections and maintaining peace during the elections in the district.
Also, the district collector is the in-charge of the district in case of any emergency.
Along with these, there are numerous other responsibilities that a collector needs to fulfill. In all, the collector is a responsible job and it is essential to serve the district with patience and utmost intelligence.
You can find more details on the responsibilities of the District collector at the official PSC website of the state you are in. So, go through it once before you decide to work as a collector and spending time in preparation.
Conclusion
This was the complete information to know about becoming a District Collector Officer in India. The examination procedure is almost similar in every state and so are the eligibility criteria. So, keep the things listed here and start preparing for the exam right after your 12th. The PSC examination is considered as tough but if you have a clear strategy in mind and are preparing for it for long, this can be an easy exam to crack. So,be sure to prepare well and have confidence in your studies.
Rahul Kumar is a passionate educator, writer, and subject matter expert in the field of education and professional development. As an author on CoursesXpert, Rahul Kumar’s articles cover a wide range of topics, from various courses, educational and career guidance.
