Staff Selection Commission or SSC is a conducting body responsible for recruiting staff for various departments and ministries of India. For this purpose, the Staff Selection Commission organizes SSC Exam every year, such as SSC CGL, SSC CHSL, SSD JHT, SSC GD, SSC MST, SSC JE, SSC Stenographer, etc. to recruit various staffs in various ministries, departments, and organizations of India. SSC exam is one of the highly competitive exams of the nation, which is attempted by lakhs of candidates every year in comparison to the thousands of vacancies. The level of competition for SSC exams is quite high, and you must prepare for the SSC Exam beforehand to crack the exam.
List of Exams Conducted by SSC
- Combined Graduate Level Exam, 2022
- Junior Engineer – JE (Civil, Electrical & Mechanical) Examination
- Rectt. of SI in CAPFs, ASI in CISF, and SI in Delhi Police Examination
- Combined Higher Secondary (10+2) – CHSL Exam, 2022
- Junior Hindi Translator in Subordinate office exam
- Multi-tasking (Non-Technical) staff – MTS exam 2022
- Stenographer Grade ‘C’ & ‘D’ Examination – 2022
- Constable GD (CAPFs) Examination
- Recruitment for Constables (Exe.) in Delhi Police Exam
SSC Syllabus
The SSC examination has several Tiers conducted over different days, with results posted after each Tier. Previous exams also included an interview tier, but following a government order, interviews have been dispensed off for all non-gazetted posts in the central government. A computer proficiency test is also included as a Tier for some posts. There are four major tiers for the SSC exam.
Tier I: Preliminary
The Tier I exam is a multiple-choice exam with four sections, covering the subjects of:
- General Intelligence and Reasoning
- General Awareness
- Quantitative Aptitude
- English Comprehension
The exam has a maximum of 50 Marks per section for a total of 200 Marks. The exam is conducted online.
Based on the results from Tier I, qualified candidates can then take the Tier II and Tier III exams.
Tier II: Mains Exam
Also known as the Mains Exam, the Tier II exam is a multiple-choice paper, in four sections, covering the subjects of:
- Quantitative Aptitude
- English Language and Comprehension
- Statistics
- General Studies, which is subdivided into:
- Finance & Accounting
- Economics & Governance.
The maximum marks are 200 Marks per section. Most positions require the candidate to take only the first two sections (Paper-I: Quantitative Aptitude, Paper-II: English Language and Comprehension). Yet, certain positions require the third or fourth section as well. The exam is conducted through online mode.
Tier III exam: Descriptive Paper
It is a subject paper exam to test the written skills of the candidates in the form of essay writing, letter writing, and sometimes précis and application writing. One can take the exam in English/Hindi as per the candidate’s choice.
Tier IV exam: Data Entry Skill Test/Computer Proficiency Test
There are two possible exams depending on the positions applied:
- Data Entry Speed Test (DEST): candidates are required to enter data at the rate of 2000 key presses in 15 minutes. This is mainly for positions such as Tax Assistant. (Central Excise & Income Tax)
- Computer Proficiency Test (CPT): covering the topics of spreadsheets, word processing, and making slides.
Other exams
Other exams are required for certain positions. The types included:
- Personality Test / Interview (discontinued starting 2016)
- Physical Endurance Test / Medical Examination for Central Police Organization (CPO)
Preparation Tips for SSC Exam
The candidates appearing for the SSC Exam must go through the latest exam pattern and syllabus carefully before beginning the preparation. Follow the preparation tips by experts to excel in the exam.
- To start with, the candidates must have a proper schedule and plan to study every day.
- The students must keep themselves updated with current affairs and daily happenings worldwide.
- Reading the newspaper religiously will help a lot in the GK section.
- The candidates should work on improving their Vocabulary and English Grammar by learning new words and using them in their day-to-day lives.
- Moreover, practice the Maths section from some good quality books.
- Even more, the students must solve different kinds of Puzzles daily to improve the Reasoning section.
- Besides that, the aspirants should revise and practice Maths questions on different formulas to remember them.
- The candidates must practice at least one mock test per day. It will help them improve and work on their weaknesses.
The Final Word
The candidates preparing for any SSC exams, be it SSC CGL, SSC CHSL, SSC CPO, SSC GD, or SSC JE, must prepare well for the general awareness section to score well in the exams. Candidates can check various Static GK topics relevant to their exams.
A thorough SSC preparation is needed as there is coverage of a vast syllabus and topics for each of these exams.
Also read – Tips to Crack UPSC SSC Interview
