One pertinent question that haunts most UPSC aspirants is – which optional subject should I choose for my UPSC Mains? Well, various candidates come up with different answers. However, the subject you pick for your UPSC Mains optional paper is crucial as it carries 500 marks. So, if you go wrong in selecting the subject, you cannot make it to the UPSC interview round.

Most candidates prefer choosing sociology as their UPSC optional paper for obvious reasons. However, this does not mean sociology is the easiest of all the optional subjects offered by the Indian civil service. The ease of the subject depends on how you can handle the subject. Since online sociology classes UPSC are readily available, candidates choose sociology.

However, if you are in a dilemma about which subject to choose for the optional paper, we have come up with a guide. Therefore, before you enroll in the sociology optional online coaching, check out the process to choose the UPSC optional subject that is suitable for you. Below are some factors that you need to note while choosing an optional subject.

Overlapping syllabus

The Indian civil service has provided its IAS aspirants 48 subjects. Of all the subjects, there are a few of them whose syllabus overlaps with the syllabus of the general studies paper. So, when an IAS aspirant study for the general studies paper, some parts of his optional paper already gets prepared. Some of the subjects with an overlapping syllabus are sociology, history, political science, international relations, geography, economics, public administration, etc.

Lengthy syllabus

One of the fundamental problems many UPSC aspirants fail to make it to the final round is failure to complete the syllabus. Indeed, the UPSC syllabus is vast. As a result, many aspirants fail to finish it within the respective time. Hence, UPSC candidates can’t achieve success without completing the syllabus and proper revision. So, when choosing the optional subject, you have to pick something that does not add more pressure to your academic life.

Level of competition

The percentage of IAS candidates who succeed in becoming an IAS officer is significantly less. Therefore, it is wise to select an optional subject with a less competitive level. This will give you a chance to prepare well, write better answers and gain more marks. However, not many candidates heed this competition factor as they believe their hard work will pay off.

Resource availability

Even though the Indian civil service offers 48 optional subjects, the resources for all the subjects are not available at an equal pace. Therefore, it is better to choose an optional subject with abundant resources available both online and offline than to struggle with a subject with fewer resources.

Subject familiarity

This is one of the most essential aspects that every IAS candidate needs to focus on. If you are not familiar with the subject, it will pose a threat to you. Choose such a subject that you have studied in your graduation and post-graduation. However, one subject that does not require any background knowledge is sociology.

Questions to ask
Before candidates select an optional subject, these are the questions that he needs to ask:
How much time is left to prepare the optional subject?
How vast is the syllabus of the optional subject?
How readily are the resources and the coaching classes available on the subject?
How much can previous knowledge help in studying the optional subject?
How much does the syllabus of the optional subject overlap with the general studies syllabus?

Conclusion
Once you have answered all these questions, you can easily determine the optional subject. Keep the points as mentioned above in mind and work hard to achieve the best in life.