While most IIT graduates step into corporate roles straight out of campus, Bhoopendra Dhakad was one who chose a very different journey for himself. In his final year at IIT Kanpur, when placements were happening, he decided to leave them and prepare for the UPSC Civil Services Examination instead.
It wasn’t a safe decision, even though he knew it. There was no job offer in hand, no fallback option, and no certainty about what was going to be the next step. What he did have was clarity about what he wanted and the willingness to take the risk that came with it.
Coming from a farming family in Sukrauli village in Uttar Pradesh, Bhoopendra wasn’t choosing between two comfortable paths. For him, this meant stepping into complete uncertainty, knowing the stakes were high.
A Journey That Didn’t Go As Planned
Dhakad’s preparation had its own ups and downs. There were moments when things seemed to be moving forward. He cleared the Mains in one attempt and even reached the Personality Test in another.
But not every attempt worked out.
In one of the following years, he couldn’t clear the Preliminary examination. For many aspirants, that’s often the point where things fall apart, but instead of stopping, he chose to reassess.
He went back and worked on the basics again, focused on strengthening his optional subject, improved his General Studies answer writing, and refined his interview preparation. This time, the approach was more structured and more aware of where he had gone wrong earlier.
The Part No One Talks About
Beyond the exam itself, the tougher part was staying mentally steady. Watching batchmates from IIT move ahead with stable careers while he continued preparing required patience and self-belief.
Through all this time, his family remained a constant source of support. That backing, along with his own consistency, helped him keep going even when results didn’t come immediately.
The Result That Made It Count
After years of effort and multiple attempts, Bhoopendra Dhakad secured All India Rank 494 in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2025. It wasn’t a sudden breakthrough, but it was the result of staying in the process, even when things didn’t go his way.
His journey is a reminder that not every path works out in a straight line, but sometimes progress looks like setbacks, pauses, and starting over.