Google Engineer In California Cracks UPSC With AIR 402 After 5 Attempts; Studied Just 2–3 Hours Daily
· Free Press Journal
Lucknow: A 32-year-old from Lucknow, Piyush Kapoor, secured the 402nd rank in the Civil Services Examination results announced on Friday. This massive feat was accomplished while working thousands of miles away in the United States, as reported by the Times of India.
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For several years, the AIR Topper 402 balanced his work life at Google's Mountain View, California, headquarters with late-night study sessions for India's most challenging exam. He studied for the UPSC at night while working as a software engineer during the day. An IIT-BHU computer science graduate, Piyush worked at Google, where he contributed to improving Gmail’s spam and phishing protection systems
Preparing from another continent was challenging and isolating, especially after facing multiple setbacks. However, his family remained a strong source of motivation. In an interview with Times of India, his father, 66-year-old retired banker Arun Kapoor, expressed pride in his son's perseverance, pointing out that although this was Piyush's fifth attempt, he never let setbacks deter him.
Preparation Strategy
Instead of long and exhausting study schedules, he followed a disciplined routine, because managing a demanding tech career while also preparing for the UPSC required careful planning. Piyush believed that consistency was more important than intensity. He studied for two to three hours per day with complete concentration, rather than attempting unsustainable marathon sessions. In his spare time, he made sure to stay active by going to the gym.
Time Difference Helped In Preparation
The 13-hour time difference between India and the US actually helped Piyush while preparing for the exam. It was evening in California because newspapers and news articles came out in India in the morning. This gave him access to new updates that he could read before starting his workday. By the time he logged in for work in the U.S., he had already completed his study session and stayed updated with developments in India. For the UPSC examination, he chose mathematics as his optional subject.
Choosing Civil Services Over Tech Industry
Piyush said he wanted to help the country more directly, which is why he decided to work in civil services instead of continuing his successful career in tech. He thinks that the change isn't about leaving technology behind; it's about using his skills to make public services and administrative systems better.
He also treated preparing for the UPSC like a technical challenge, using a lot of digital note-taking tools and online resources so that being far away from India wouldn't hurt his studies. Piyush says he misses Lucknow's famous food the most and is looking forward to going home soon.