The Never-Ending Marathon

In India, preparing for government exams is not just a phase of life — it’s a full-time career in itself. Students spend their early 20s buried in books, living off Maggi and mock tests, while relatives play the role of “examination supervisors” every time you step out of the house. The underlying dream? A stable government job or the much-coveted title of Professor. Sounds glorious, doesn’t it? Except the path feels less like an academic journey and more like a marathon with no finish line.

The Problem Nobody Talks About

You clear one exam, and suddenly, another one is waiting — NET, JRF, SET, PhD entrance, interviews, post-doc. The system has designed academia like a video game: every time you think you’ve reached the final boss, a hidden level appears. And let’s not forget the bureaucracy — where appointments move slower than buffering on 2G internet. By the time many aspirants finally land a professor’s chair, their students are almost the same age as them.

Meanwhile, higher studies are glorified as the ultimate solution. But in reality? Degrees have turned into Pokémon cards — you keep collecting them, hoping one day society and recruiters will acknowledge your worth. The tragedy is, the focus on clearing exams often overshadows what truly matters: knowledge, innovation, and research that can actually impact society.

The Satirical Reality Check

Becoming a professor is starting to look like India’s most competitive sport — except here, stamina is measured not in physical strength, but in patience, family pressure, and the number of “attempts left.” Parents chant “Beta, bas ek government job lag jaaye” like a family prayer, while society conveniently forgets that teaching is supposed to be about passion and contribution, not about how many exams you’ve survived.

The Real Solution

Here’s the harsh truth: if we keep treating degrees and exams as the only currency of success, we’ll keep producing tired, overqualified, and underpaid academics. What we need is:

• Skill + Research Recognition: Professors should be evaluated on innovation, teaching quality, and contribution, not just on exam clearances.

• Parallel Career Streams: Build freelance teaching, ed-tech roles, or consultancy alongside prep. Why wait years for validation when knowledge can create value right now?

• Policy Reforms: Universities must speed up recruitment and reduce dependency on never-ending entrance exams. Efficiency should replace red tape.

Until then, the “exam-prep economy” will keep thriving — coaching centers will mushroom, YouTube tutorials will multiply, and students will continue to age like fine wine… just without the taste of success.

Final Thought

It’s high time we flip the script: from exam survivors to knowledge creators. A professor’s worth shouldn’t be defined by how many question papers they’ve solved, but by how many minds they’ve inspired.