Cracking GATE with a top rank while managing Engineering Services Examination (ESE) preparation and a full-time job is never easy. Yet Aditya Narayan Subudhi, an IIT Kharagpur Electrical Engineering graduate, proved that focused revision and smart preparation can deliver excellent results.
After securing AIR 194 in GATE 2025, Aditya improved to AIR 73 in GATE 2026 Electrical Engineering. Since his primary goal was ESE, he devoted most of his time to that exam while using GATE as a strong practice platform. With the help of Physics Wallah's YouTube revision lectures and All India Mock Tests, he strengthened his concepts and improved his performance.
Aditya graduated in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kharagpur in 2025. He had always been academically strong, beginning his JEE preparation after Class 10 and eventually securing admission to IIT Kharagpur.
Although his AIR 194 in GATE 2025 was already enough for admission into premier institutes, his career goal was different.
"My main focus has always been the Engineering Services Examination (ESE)."
Alongside ESE preparation, he continued working at Accenture while revising for GATE during the final months before the examination.
Unlike many aspirants aiming for M.Tech admissions, Aditya's objective was to strengthen his preparation for PSU recruitment and ESE.
His previous GATE score had already opened M.Tech opportunities, but he wanted to improve his technical accuracy and keep multiple career options available.
Despite balancing office work and competitive exam preparation, he managed to improve his rank significantly.
Preparing while working full-time was one of the biggest challenges in Aditya's journey.
He admitted that finding enough time wasn't easy.
"I started focused GATE preparation only in the last one or two months because my primary attention was on ESE and I was working alongside."
Instead of studying everything again, he relied on revision, previous-year questions, and mock tests to maximise his limited preparation time.
Having already appeared for GATE once, Aditya understood the importance of revision over unnecessary learning.
Instead of starting new topics close to the exam, he focused on:
Revising previously studied concepts
Solving previous-year questions
Identifying weak areas
Improving conceptual clarity
This approach helped him improve from AIR 194 to AIR 73.
Despite securing an excellent rank, Aditya believes there was room for improvement.
He admitted that balancing work and ESE preparation reduced the time available for GATE.
He also recalled making a few avoidable mistakes during the examination.
"I expected 70+ marks, but a couple of silly mistakes and limited preparation time affected my final score."
His honest reflection shows that even top performers continue learning from every attempt.
Instead of repeatedly reading textbooks, Aditya concentrated on high-impact revision.
His preparation mainly included:
Revising important concepts through concise lectures
Solving previous-year questions multiple times
Practising mock tests
Improving speed and accuracy
Because his fundamentals were already strong, this focused revision strategy helped him perform well despite limited preparation time.
Although Aditya did not enroll in a complete paid course, Physics Wallah's free learning resources played an important role in his revision.
In the final months before GATE, he used the following resources:
Maharevision YouTube lectures to revise important Electrical Engineering concepts quickly.
Mahavyas revision sessions for strengthening difficult topics before the exam.
Subject-specific lectures by Sujal Patel Sir, especially for Signal and Systems.
Physics Wallah All India Mock Tests to evaluate preparation and improve exam readiness.
Previous-year question practice alongside PW revision content for effective retention.
According to Aditya, these resources helped him revise efficiently without spending time rebuilding concepts from scratch.
Aditya believes consistency matters more than studying endlessly.
He encourages aspirants to:
Build strong concepts early.
Revise regularly instead of starting new topics at the last moment.
Solve previous-year questions thoroughly.
Attempt quality mock tests before the examination.
Learn from mistakes instead of worrying about them.
His journey also highlights that even candidates preparing for other competitive exams can perform exceptionally well in GATE through disciplined revision.
Aditya Narayan Subudhi's journey from GATE 2025 AIR 194 to GATE 2026 EE AIR 73 proves that smart revision often matters more than lengthy study hours.
By balancing a full-time job, ESE preparation, and targeted GATE revision through Physics Wallah's YouTube lectures and mock tests, he achieved remarkable improvement. His story reminds aspirants that consistent practice, previous-year questions, and learning from mistakes are the real keys to success.