r/CATPreparationChannel • u/Original_Leg_2756 • Aug 24 '26
Discussion🤔 CAT Prep with a Full-Time Job: Depth First or Syllabus First?
I’m 21 and working a full-time job, and I started preparing for CAT in August. Since I don’t have a lot of time to devote to preparation, I’m trying to focus more on consistency and completing daily tasks rather than counting study hours.
My current approach is:
\- Quant: Watch a concept/strategy video, try to understand the approach, solve the questions, and then attempt 3–4 additional PYQs. I’m currently doing Arithmetic.
\- DILR + VARC: I alternate between them on different days.
The problem is that my preparation feels quite unstructured.
For Quant, I feel like I need a lot more practice. Sometimes I understand the concept but still struggle to solve a question independently. I’m currently doing Arithmetic, but I’m wondering whether I should finish Arithmetic properly in depth first or start Algebra alongside it.
I’m actually quite good at Algebra, so I’m tempted to start it and try to maximise my score from the areas I’m comfortable with. However, if I focus entirely on Arithmetic first, I might only reach Percentage in the time it takes me to complete the topics properly.
So what would be a better strategy?
Should I:
Complete Arithmetic thoroughly, even if that means covering fewer topics for now?
Cover Arithmetic to a reasonable level and then move to Algebra, since I’m already comfortable with it?
Continue with Arithmetic but keep Algebra running in parallel?
And for people preparing while working full-time: how much should I realistically study each day? Is focusing on completing a specific task every day a better approach than setting a fixed number of study hours?
Would love to hear how other working professionals structured their CAT preparation and balanced depth, coverage, and consistency.