The Road to Forest Ranger (Range Officer)

It took me almost an entire year to come back with the promise I made long back. The following are some of the important points I think you’d like to go through if you’re an aspirant for any upcoming examination. (This can be a comprehensive extract from the post I made in Mizo language previously).

(If you’d like to know what questions they asked me in the interview or what topics/books I concentrated on, or how I planned out my study routine, or if you have any other queries, feel free)

Books studied -

I always wanted to be a writer. Not a conventional writer, but a unique one…one that ladles out all deeply ingrained truths that have been vested upon by some other interests.

I thought my first book would be – the road to success of the toppers of School Board exams, State Service and Central Service, etc. Their days of glory are usually short-spanned among the crowd. The mountains they climb are normally unheard of. I really wanted to bring the struggles (and strategies) of these aspiring people to the public, so that the rest could benefit from the paths they paved.

Since my B.Sc. days, I have been dipping my feet heavily on these points. They were as follows: -

1) to never rely (financially) on the Government

2) to be a contributor/supplement to the Government than a liability

3) to stand on one’s feet

4) to be the sole champion of agriculture

But I was preoccupied with ‘Entrepreneurship’ and its branches with more studies and self-research. So, by the time of our graduation, I figured I had only two options in line for me: -

1) Business 2) To study masters overseas.

I then decided to opt for business (Agripreneurship) after my graduation. But I did my Masters admission at the same college I passed out of after taking a year gap because of various personal reasons.

Prior to joining the M.Sc. (Ag.), I got allotments (which I secretly applied for) for MBA (in Latvia) and M.Sc. Tourism (in Germany). I had to deny these seats as I knew I wasn't going to get my parents’ consent (especially my mother).

Online Materials:

I was heavily reliant on online materials. I studied online more than I read books. One of my favorites was SlideShare (PowerPoint presentations of almost any topic). I have studied (or at least referred to) all of the topics from YouTube. The following are some of the YouTube Channels I've studied from…

We applied for the Forest Ranger post during our first semester (M.Sc.). We were called for a body measurement and Physical Efficiency Test (PET) after 2 years.

    Unfortunately, my paternal grandmother passed away the morning of the body measurement. I had to turn down all the calls I received from my friends for body measurement, thinking that that would be the only way to give my grandmother a tribute. But who were we to question how God would turn the die for us? PET was set for the following day of that body measurement. Every applicant got an admit card for it. All admit cards must have an official seal imprinted on them. They accidentally handed the admit card to my cousin without the office seal. They informed her to return to the office to get the office seal. It was late in the afternoon (this cousin of mine waited for the funeral to get over first). Without any hope of getting measured (body measurement), I casually accompanied her to the office. But they luckily allowed me to do so.

    After getting through PET (25 km marathon on a hot summer day), we were still pursuing the other job we had applied for. But we started the REAL study a month before the day of the examination. The ‘We’ here implies to my colleague, who is my little brother, a comrade, and a partner.

    One day I got a text from a senior of the college I used to study at – “You have to go to English Coaching Class. Nearly all the people who got through the AEO written exam went to English Coaching Class, at least for a while. Go attend the class from tomorrow onward”. So, we went to a class my friend (the aforementioned friend) found out from advertisement sections. But I stopped attending the class shortly after I came to realize that our teacher was not actually fit enough for us, and soon after he mentioned extra money. However, I didn’t mention the real reasons for my leaving.

#My family exempted me from all chores and household works. So, up until the exam date, I usually studied for around 15 hours a day.

Declaration of the Written Result: I was selected to be one of the 10 delegates representing Mizoram for the Asia Pacific Youth Exchange (APYE) in Thailand. The written results of the Forest Ranger were announced literally 2 minutes prior to booking our Thailand trip tickets. So, I had to cancel this opportunity quickly, as it would clash with the date of the personal interview.

Interview: For the whole of December, I just couldn’t prepare for the interview. I can say I studied well from January 2nd till January 15th.

My sister (next to my immediate elder sister) bought some GK books and Magazines. I read (both hard and soft copies) of the Vanglaini Newspaper every day.

I prepared questions that I thought they would pose on the day of the actual interview. I wrote down the best answers I could come up with on the computer (MS Word; about 150 pages).

Points that I would like to share with the readers gratefully:

1) Prayers: I believe that of all the candidates, I received the largest number of prayers. I requested almost all the persons I spoke with to remember me in their prayers. One of my aunties used to attend morning prayer service in the church every day. One morning she woke up a little later than usual. She went alone to the church, only to hold me up in prayer. Some days she prayed for me three times.

My friend knelt down and prayed for me nearly on a daily basis.

I got a screenshot message from my college friend on the morning of the interview day – “Reminder: Zara interview today”. By telling me that she had prayed for me, she concluded. My cousin-sister (Uncle’s) sent me two long messages the night before, and on the morning of the interview as well. Before telling me that she had just prayed for me, she quoted some motivational messages.

2) I firmly believe that all toils and hardships bear fruits. If we don’t see the desired outcome

anytime soon, then maybe God has a better plan for us.

3) Study partner – plus point: My friend (that I mentioned before) and I shared many details about this exam. We exchanged information about the syllabus we covered and asked each other many questions as well. Even though we competed against each other secretly, we motivated each other. He obtained some good strategies from the previous successful MPSC aspirants. Mind you, he shared these with me only after the exam was over. Had I not succeeded too; he was about to get A NICE ONE from me.

4) Have a habit of asking questions: From the very first day of my preparation, I asked around for books to refer to. I also consulted others for the best strategies, how to prepare for interviews, important points to cover, etc. Maybe I was a bug to them a lot of times. But I live by a quote – ‘If you haven’t asked for help yet, you’re not trying hard enough’.

 5) Job Recruitment under the MPSC is highly revered by society.

6) I was told by my maternal grandfather that he would never leave until he saw me getting a job. He didn’t keep his word. Some of the people who came to congratulate me mentioned how they wished for Grandpa to be here with us. It only brought tears.

7) English subject: I think I have memorized close to 1000 Idioms and Phrases. But still, there were 3 questions I had never read before.

8) Interview result: The final result was declared before I reached home. My family members greeted me at the door and took me by surprise.

 

Refreshment I got during interview preparation from my sis (Msi)

                    In addition to online materials, these are the books I studied for the interview.