Preparing for a competitive exam alongside your job: the method that works
Jul 1, 2026
You have a 35-hour job, sometimes more. You come home exhausted. You have a life. And you want to prepare for a competitive exam in 6 to 12 months.
It's doable. Plenty of people have done it. But on 2 conditions: having the right method and stopping trying to do too much.
Here is the honest plan.
First, the truth: it's hard
Let's not lie to ourselves.
Preparing for an exam while working full-time means: - 8 to 12 months of life on slow motion - 10 to 15 hours of study per week on top of your job - A lot of fatigue - Fewer weekends - Fewer evenings - Often less time with family
If you're not ready for that, you might as well not start. You'll just exhaust yourself for nothing.
But if you jump in with the right strategy, it's one of the best investments of your life.
The basic rule: not every day, but often
First classic mistake: planning 2 hours a day, 7 days a week.
You'll last 2 weeks. Then you'll burn out.
The real method: 5 sessions of 2 hours per week. Keep 1 or 2 complete days OFF to avoid dying.
Total: 10 hours per week. Over 6 months, that's 240 hours of prep. More than enough for most administrative and civil service exams.
The format that works for employees
The morning (the best time, by far)
1 hour before work. 6:00 AM - 7:00 AM. Brutal at first, but it's the only time when your brain is available and no one will interrupt you.
You get up, coffee, and you tackle it for exactly 1 hour. Then you head to work.
Advantage: you've already worked before even starting your actual day. Huge psychological boost.
The lunch break (30 min, mobile)
Do a short active recall session on your phone. Flashcards, quizzes, study sheets.
This is not the time to dive into a dense course. This is the time to test yourself on what you've already learned.
The evening (1 hour max)
The evening is tricky. You're exhausted. But it's also the time when you can do longer sessions.
Rule: no more than 1 hour in the evening, and only if you still feel sharp. If you're dead tired, do nothing and go to bed early.
The weekend (2-3 hours more, intensive)
A clean 3-hour Saturday morning = better than a whole week of small bits. On weekends, you do practice exams, past papers, long files.
And you leave Sunday completely free. Vital for mental health.
The study method for competitive exams
Step 1: dissect the syllabus
Most candidates dive straight into the courses. Mistake.
First week: you map the exam. - What is the exact syllabus? - Coefficients of each subject? - Exam format (MCQ, essay, case study, oral)? - Past papers from the last 5 years?
Without this mapping, you will study aimlessly.
Step 2: prioritize subjects by ROI
ROI = (coefficient × your gap) ÷ estimated effort
You spend the most hours on the subject that brings in the most points per invested hour.
A subject with coefficient 1 where you are struggling doesn't deserve as many hours as a subject with coefficient 4 where you could easily go from 12 to 15.
Step 3: create study sheets and flashcards for each course
Not to make them look pretty. To be able to test yourself quickly.
One sheet per chapter, max 1 page. On each sheet: key concepts + 5 to 10 test questions on the back.
A set of flashcards per subject for factual memorization (dates, formulas, law articles, vocabulary).
Step 4: practice on past papers from the beginning
Classic mistake: "I'm waiting to have reviewed everything before doing past papers."
False. You do past papers as early as the 3rd week. Even if you fail. This is what: - Teaches you the format of the tests - Shows you what the jury expects - Reveals your real weak points (and not the ones you imagine)
Step 5: practice under real conditions
At least once a month, take an exam under real conditions: timed, with no interruptions, and managing stress.
It's the simulation that makes you progress, not passive studying.
Mental trap number 1: comparing yourself to full-time candidates
There are candidates who study full-time, 8 hours a day. They have 10 times more hours than you.
You will be tempted to: - Increase your volume (and burn out) - Panic, thinking "I'm going to lose" - Give up
The truth: it's not the hours that count, it's the efficiency per hour.
A full-time candidate often does 8 hours of moderately active work. You, you do 2 hours ultra-focused, with validated methods and active recall everywhere.
Statistics show that employed candidates who pass the written exam often get better results than full-time candidates. Because time pressure forces them to be brutally efficient.
Essential tools for a working candidate
A locked-in calendar
Block out your study slots in your calendar like professional meetings. If you don't do it, they will get swallowed up.
A study sheet generation app
You do not have the time to manually create 100 study sheets.
An AI that generates sheets + flashcards + quizzes from your courses in 30 seconds = 50+ hours saved over 6 months.
This is exactly what Koro AI does, and it's probably the biggest time-saving lever you can activate.
A spaced repetition system
Without spaced repetition, you forget everything you learn in 2-3 weeks. Useless.
Choose a system (Anki, Koro AI, dedicated app) that brings up the flashcards at the right time automatically. You don't have time to manage this by hand.
A mobile note-taking system
An idea comes to you at work? Put it in a note. You'll deal with it in the evening.
Keep your professional focus during work and your exam focus for dedicated slots.
A coach / a group
Studying alone is hard. Find 2-3 people preparing for the same exam. You test each other, correct each other, and motivate each other.
Discord, WhatsApp, whatever the channel.
Anti-burnout tips (not to be ignored)
Sleep at least 7 hours. Sacrificing sleep is the worst strategy. Without sleep = 40% less cognitive capacity. You lose more than you gain.
Keep 1 day OFF per week. Completely. No courses. No sheets. No podcasts in your field. Brain rest.
Do some exercise. Even 20 minutes, 3 times a week. Oxygen = focus.
Eat clean. You don't have time to deal with a heavy-carb diet that makes you sleep at 2:00 PM.
Plan 2 real breaks over the 6 months. A complete weekend off, a 3-4 day trip without studying. Otherwise, you'll crack before the end.
How Koro AI accelerates exam prep for employees
The number 1 problem for an employee preparing for an exam: time.
Koro AI compresses the most time-consuming steps: - Automatic study sheet generation (saves 30-50 hours over 6 months) - Ready-to-use flashcards - Test quizzes - Automatically managed spaced repetition - Everything on mobile for studying during commutes / lunch breaks
You save production time. You use this time to do past papers and self-testing: the only things that truly make you progress.
TL;DR
Preparing for an exam while working is possible with 10-15 hours/week well-managed over 6-12 months. The winning format: 1 hour in the morning (sacred), 30 minutes on lunch break on mobile, 1 hour in the evening if you're sharp, +2-3 hours on Saturday. You prioritize subjects by ROI, start past papers by the 3rd week, test yourself under real conditions once a month. You sleep. You keep 1 day OFF. You use tools that save you production time (sheets, flashcards) to focus it on real progress.