Advantages and Disadvantages of Government Jobs

Many Indians prefer government jobs over private jobs, or running their own business. Though this attitude may differ from one family to another, and from one region to another.

This craze is more in Northern Indian states like UP, Bihar, MP, Rajasthan, etc. On the other hand, people of some states are more entrepreneurial in spirit, e.g. in Gujrat and Punjab. While in southern India, people are more into private jobs, management, etc.

Though now even Northern Indians have started joining private organizations in large numbers, and are even involved in start-ups. And we see more and more people from Southern India trying to get into government jobs.

For example, now you see a lot more students from the south preparing for UPSC Civil Services examination. It was not so a few decades ago. Delhi used to be the only hub for IAS preparation, but now you see many other cities boasting of quality coaching classes, e.g. Hyderabad, Bangalore, Lucknow, etc.

Note

As far as Delhi is concerned, there are four main hubs of coaching classes:

• Near IIT-Delhi – e.g. in Kalu Sarai, Katwaria Sarai, etc. Mainly for IIT preparation, and for IAS exam. (Mostly for English Medium students)
• Old Rajinder Nagar – Mainly for IAS preparation (English Medium students)
• Mukherjee Nagar – For IAS preparation (Hindi Medium students), and other one-day exams such as SSC, Bank, Defence Services, etc.
• Laxmi Nagar – For one-day exams such as SSC, Bank, Defence Services, etc.

But why is there so much craze for government jobs, and why is it now spreading to other parts of the country too?
Are there some drawbacks of government jobs too?
This is what we are going to discuss here in this article.

Table of Contents

• Advantages of Government Jobs
• Drawbacks of Government Jobs

Advantages of Government Jobs

Though some people join government jobs for the elite feeling, or the respect they get in the society. However, we don’t want to encourage the VVIP culture. Every job is important, every person should be respected. So, we will not list it down as one of the advantages of government jobs.

Nor will we list down unethical things like extra income (read corruption) that many people have the intention of indulging in, and often count as positives of holding government positions.

There are obviously a lot of positive benefits attached with government jobs. Let’s list down a few of them.

Government Jobs are Safe

This is probably the most attractive feature for many people. Getting a government job means you are almost assured of getting a pay check every month till you retire. This is true not only for Central and State government jobs, but also for public sector jobs, such as in PSUs and PSBs (Public Sector Banks).

Note

Earlier government employees also used to get pension benefits after their retirement. So, once you land up in a government job, it used to mean that you will get paid all your life.

However, now old pension scheme has been abolished for almost all jobs, except in armed forces (i.e. Army, Air Force, and Navy). Now, government employees have to contribute some amount in their pension fund (in a scheme called National Pension Scheme).

This financial security is priceless for some people, who do not want to take risks and bear the stress of financial uncertainty. You need long-term financial certainty to make long-term investment plans, such as getting a home loan.

Moreover, government jobs are safe when it comes to sudden external market risks. For example, I was working as a Software Engineer in Perot Systems Noida (an American MNC) in 2008, when sub-prime mortgage crisis hit the world economy and tons of people lost their jobs world-over. Though I managed to keep my job, but the project I was working in (for a bank in Ireland) was closed, and I was transferred to another project. If I had stayed in that project for a few more months, I would have got a chance to go to Ireland and that would have enhanced my resume a lot.

And you guys have seen recently in COVID times, how jobs have been impacted across the world. In comparison, government employees got away with just minor salary cuts.

Moreover, the salaries of government employees are getting better and better as compared to many private sector jobs. So, this is a win-win situation.

Work Stress is lower in Government Jobs

As compared to private jobs or running your own business, the work load is lower in government jobs and public sector jobs in general. Though there are many exceptions to this.

For example, there’s immense work pressure in many public sector units, many public sector banks, etc. However, one thing is for sure. For the same amount of work, the stress that you will go through in a private organisation will feel much higher than that in a government job. I can tell you that because I have worked in government jobs, public sector jobs, private jobs, as well as in start-ups.

In government jobs, the only headache is to complete your work. Even if you don’t, you would rarely get fired or severely punished. Yes, you may get scolded, transferred, or at the most your promotion may be delayed.

However, in private jobs missing a single deadline may mean instant firing. You may get laid off even if you are working good – maybe because of office politics, maybe because your company wants to reduce expenses, or close the project you are working on.

For example, Harley Davidson stopped manufacturing bikes in India recently, and laid off most of the workers they had in India. The reason was that they were not able to sell enough bikes in Indian market. So, in private jobs you feel the stress even when you are not working. It’s always at the back of your mind. In most public sector jobs you need not think about the work if you are not in office – you can live your life.

This stress is even more in case of new businesses. If you are trying to run a start-up, there will be no holidays for years. Even if you don’t work for some days, you won’t be able to free your mind completely from work stuff. There’s always a lot of uncertainty. I have been a part of educational start-ups, and I know how challenging things are – not only your investment, and your time, but your entire career and life is at stake, and that of people working with and for you.

Sabbatical Leave

Most of the government jobs allow you to take sabbatical leaves for 1-2 years for higher studies and other such personal tasks. This is a feature that you will probably not get in most private jobs.

For example, when I was selected in State Bank of India (SBI) as PO, I came to know that SBI employees can take sabbatical leaves for higher studies. I was selected in Indian Air Force as Flight lieutenant earlier, and a Wing Commander told me that even Air Force allows engineers to study further in institutes like IITs.

One of my friends working in NTPC (a PSU) went to New Zealand for more than a year for pursuing M. Tech equivalent degree in Civil Engineering.

So, getting into a government job is a good option, if you want to study further, or prepare for some other better competitive examination.

Government Facilities

One of the most attractive features of government jobs is the added facilities and perks you get. If you are a grade A officer, such as an IAS, IFS, Judge, Lieutenant, etc., then you will get to live in awesome houses and bungalows, excellent localities, will get servants and transportation vehicles, etc. Even if you go on vacations, you often get to live in government guest houses. Railway employees (and some other government employees too) get to travel free across the country once or twice every year with family.

Even if you are in group B, C government jobs, you may expect government housing at a very cheap rent (even in metro cities). The house allowance offered by SBI is excellent. One of my friends works as a Technical Officer in SBI in Rajasthan, and he has rented a big villa. That’s living life king size. In private jobs, you have to spend everything out of your pocket. And so, people generally avoid excessive expenditures, unless they are earning more than 2-3 lakhs per month.

Drawbacks of Government Jobs

Though there are numerous advantages of government jobs, there are a few drawbacks too. You must be aware of these.

Not as Safe as people think

Yes, Government jobs are comparatively safer than private jobs. But there are always exceptions, and this is true in this case too. Let’s see how.

• You can get fired from Government jobs too. This is especially true in the initial probation period. So, you should be extra cautious in the first few years of your job, at least till you are not made a permanent employee. Even later you may get fired or suspended because of bad performance, insubordinate behaviour, or even office politics.
• There are many government organizations and PSUs where there’s a very bad culture of office politics, sucking up to seniors, corruption, etc. If you are moral person, with some self-respect, then you will probably find it hard to work in many government organizations. For example, if your seniors expect you to be corrupt and “earn” money for them, then you will probably be side-lined if you do not do so. Many honest officers have faced frequent transfers and punishment posts, and even termination/dismissal.
• There maybe a lot of political interference in how you work, specially if you are working in tandem with local MLAs and MPs. For example, if you are working in Indian Oil and are responsible for executing the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) that provides for poor families to get gas cylinders, then you will have to work with local leaders.
• Reservation in entry and in promotion creates a bad ambience in cadre of most of the government offices. It leads to creation of rival groups and a lot of friction. Though this is not true in case of Armed forces, where there is no reservation whatsoever. All are treated equal.
• Some government jobs are not safe by their very nature, e,g. armed forces, para-military forces, police, intelligence bureau (IB), RAW, etc.

In private jobs, people expect that they can get fired, and so work on improving their skills and often switch jobs and companies themselves. However, if a government servant or public sector employee is fired, it’s often a bolt out of the blue. It’s not expected, and so much harder to recover from.

For example, there are many Bank employees that get fired because of financial issues and even get entangled in court cases. When I was in bank job, I used to hear many such horror stories wherein people get notices from bank and courts even after they retire.

Note

As a bank officer, you need to sign many vouchers, or loan documents, etc. It’s a risky job, at least financially. Riskier because sometimes you don’t even get time to read carefully the things you are signing (because of the intense work pressure).

I do believe that Indian bank employees do not get paid enough as compared to the work they do, and the risks they take. In 1960s the salary of a Bank PO and IAS used to be almost similar. Things have changed a lot since then – mainly because salary of bank employees do not come under revisions suggested by Central Pay Commissions.

Similarly, as an insurance officer, you need to do things like settle claims, verify policies, etc. These things create stress of a separate kind in your mind. One of the many reasons that I left my jobs in Bank of Baroda, SBI and in LIC.

Lack of Options

Many government employees do not have any option to switch their jobs. Imagine being stuck in a bad job or in an organization with a bad culture for the rest of your life. It can be an unending nightmare!

This is not the case with most of the private sector employees. You can always improve your skills and switch your job. In fact, it’s a trend. Everyone does so. That’s how people increase their salaries by 50%, 80% within a year or two.

One of my friends joined a software company in Delhi at a package of 6 lakhs per annum. Within a couple of years, and after 2-3 company switches, he was earning 24 lakhs per annum.

Though if you were working in a good government job, such as IAS, IPS, armed forces, etc., then you will easily get a good job in some private company. However, it’s not true for all government jobs.

Bad Infrastructure

The infrastructure in most of the government offices is not as good as you will get in private organizations. Just go to a public bank and then to a private sector bank, and you will see the difference.

Note

When I went to LIC office, all I saw was old files and table fans, coolers, etc. I was posted at a rural branch near Allahabad while I was a PO in Allahabad. I found it pretty hard to survive there, as I was used to working in MNCs in metro cities.

My father was a Judge, and I never even tried to get into law, as I just hated the environment of courthouses, and the area around it. Though this experience may vary from one person to another.

However, it may not be that big a factor for many people. Also, nowadays even many government organizations are focussing on creating a good infrastructure and healthy work culture for their employees, and customers alike. For example, have you seen how many railway stations have been renovated recently, how many State Bank of India (SBI) offices have been refurbished, etc.

Apart from the above, there are many more advantages of working in private organizations.

• In most private jobs you won’t get transferred, and maybe live in a big city. Though you may have to visit the client-side, or go on marketing trips. Some of these trips may even be outside of the country, and you may get very handsomely incentivised in that case. For example, foreign on-site assignments are probably the most attractive feature of working in software companies. If you are earning 1 lakh per month in India, you may even start getting 4-5 lakhs per month the next month as soon as you go on-site to a country like USA, UK, Ireland, Australia, etc. Just spend two years there, and come back with savings of lakhs, and even crores (which will probably take 15-20 years for you to earn in a government job, if you are honest).
• Many private organizations allow its employees to work from home (at least 1-2 days a week), and you can get flexible hours (i.e. no fixed office timings). It was true even before the Corona era, but even more so now. It also depends on the kind of work you do though. A software engineer, content developer, digital marketer, or a graphic designer may easily work from home, but not marketing guys, or people in security, etc.
• There’s more creative freedom in private organizations. You may explore your capacities more in such an environment. In government jobs, everything has to be done by some rules and set processes.
• In most private organizations weekend is off. However, it’s not the case with many government organizations where Saturday is a work day. You will have to find it out. For example, there’s a 6-day week in Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), but only 5-day work in most non-life insurance companies. In banks, they have recently changed four or five half-day Saturdays in a month, to alternate full-day working Saturdays.
• There are many private organizations that allow its employees to go for higher studies. At least you can always go for an executive MBA from colleges like IMT-Ghaziabad, or FMS-Delhi.
• Work load in many private organizations is pretty reasonable. When I was a software engineer in Noida, we used to play computer games for hours in the conference and training rooms. We only started getting serious work after 1 year. Though this many vary from one organization to another, and if you are in private sector sitting idle is a bad idea. Now, compare this with the work pressure in many government jobs, e.g. bank, police, etc. These guys don’t even get decent number of holidays.
• Hiring process in most private companies is much faster and transparent than that in government jobs.
• You will grow much faster in private sector than in government sector, if you are hard-working and skilful.

Winding Up

Remember, the final decision should be yours – not your friends’, not your parents’. Hopefully, you have been provided with enough information in this article to enable you to make an informed decision.

My advice would be to choose a private job or become an entrepreneur if you are very clear about what you want to do, and are very skilful in something, e.g. in some technical field, finance, arts, etc. In private companies, and corporate world, if you have knowledge and skills, you are the KING. Sky’s the limit!

Note

You will often hear the word “Growth” in private sector – I want to grow, growth is fast in this organization, etc. By growth people mean – more skills, more education, and more money. These things are often corelated. That’s how you grow in private sector.

In government jobs, we just have timely promotions, that you will get once every few years. Your salary will also not be increased every year.

In most private organizations, there’s always an annual appraisal, and salary increment (which is performance based, and to some extent on how your relation is with your manager).

Otherwise, if you just want to get a job and settle down in life, go for a government job.

It’s very important to understand what you want and what you can do. If you really understand yourself, you will make the right decision. Choose a career that pleases you, and provides you the lifestyle you want. DO NOT choose a career to please others or showcase to someone how brilliant or hardworking you are.

Life Lesson

Whether you get into a private job, or a government job, make sure that you are excellent in at least one thing. Something that can be your alternate career in case you lose your primary job. It can be teaching in some subject, some business, blogging, graphic designing, app development, etc. It will ensure that you will never be under stress and suffer from anxiety related to your finances ever in your life.

Other way is to make some assets (assets are things that make money for you). Add up some savings, build up a small company (which means that others will work for you), create some passive income sources, etc.

So, keep on enhancing your skills, and keep making assets. If you can do so, you will never have to worry about money ever in your life!