AOA,
Hello Eveyone,

This is Hani Iqbal, I have done my MBA in Marketing with a CGPA of 3.80, Currently i am working at the State Bank of Pakistan as a grade-17 officer and i am also a CSS aspirant as it has been a long time ambition to become a CSP and join the Foreign Services Group.
However, it is pertinent to mention that I belong to Karachi, where you rarely find people going for Government jobs, hence, i am finding it very difficult to get proper guidance on how to prepare, from where to prepare and how to attempt the paper.
I have been going through different threads on this forum but there are quite contrasting opinions which in turn become quite confusing.

I want to use this forum as a medium of proper guidance, and since i haven't got much time left as i am already 26 and have a couple of attempts left, its time to get serious.

There are some queries to which i need answers from people who have actually been able to clear the test(CSPs):

1) Is it possible to prepare for CSS being on job as i have already mentioned?

2) Also, i am not planning to join any academy. is that ok?

3) I think I have good command over english language, also, i have been an editor for my college magazine but i have a really pathetic handwriting although i can write pretty fast, so how do you guys evaluate this?

4) Kindly suggest atleast 2 books each for compulsory subjects which would be good enough for preparation, for some subjects where there are no prescribed books kindly suggest reading material

5) I have shortlisted these as my optional subjects:
-Muslim Law & Jurisprudence
-Business Administration
-Indo-Pak History
-Sociology
-Journalism
-International Relations
Are these subjects scoring, also, I have never studied sociology or journalism.

6) Kindly suggest atleast 2 books each for the aforementioned optional subjects.

7) I have a total commerce background and have never studied Physics, Chemistry, etc. So what should be the strategy with Everyday Science and i have also heard that its a very high scoring subject.

I guess that is enough for now, looking forward to a positive response.

Regards
HANI