Government Jobs – Everything you need to know
India in the current scenario is a growing economic powerhouse and with growth comes a large number of employment opportunities all over the country. There is an economic boom in almost all the sectors of the economy.
These jobs can be classified as being related to the Government jobs or Public Sector, Private Sector or being self-employed.
But most of the new jobs are seen in the Government and the Private Sector, which creates a confusion among new job seekers of which one to go for?
Benefits of a Government job over jobs in the Private sector
If we see traditionally, many people say that they don’t want to use Public services like Government transportation, they don’t want to go to Government hospitals and schools. But everybody wants to get a Government job.
This means that there are many sure shot benefits of being employed in this sector, which may be economical and psychological. Let us have a look at them:
First of all, you get Job Security; once you are in the system no economic slowdown, change in the Government can affect you if you are moderately consistent and efficient in your work. We regularly see in the media that some Private Multinational company has laid-off (fired) certain number of employees to reduce costs, or to replace them with new technologies available in the market.
Moreover, you are almost assured of receiving your salaries on time unlike in private jobs, where payment depends on many external and internal factors.
Second, you have a specific and average Work Hours; meaning, you would not have to work till late nights to complete a project or come early for urgent meetings, because the working hours are rigid.
Generally work starts from 9 or 10 in the morning and you would leave office by 5 or 6 in the evening.
Even if you have to work overtime under special occasions, like what Bank Employees are doing in the current Demonetisation drive (which, by the way is a great effort), you would get attractive Overtime benefits in certain job positions. This translates to less stress to complete the given tasks.
One more cause for reduced stress is the fact that most of the time, you only have to work for a maximum of 5 to 6 days and the sheer number of holidays you receive for every small celebration.
And last but not the least, the Many supplementary benefits in the form of allowances, promotions, and what not! Before the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission, there were over 196 allowances that took care of everything from food to travel to general inflation by providing Dearness Allowance, Travel Allowance among others.
You are also going to get fixed promotions after completion of certain number of years of work in some departments! You don’t have to acquire any extra skills.
All of this does not include the psychological benefits of being in a Government Job. Think about all the respect you have given to people working as Government Employees, you will also get it. Add to that, you will have a little patriotism within yourself that you are serving the Country.
The 7th Central Pay Commission- More pay for your work
In June, the Cabinet approved the implementation of some recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission; more than 1 Crore Central Government employees are going to get increased benefits from such a move.
If we look at the merits, they are:-
1. Increased Minimum Pay: The minimum pay for new Government Employees has been increased to Rs. 18,000 from the previous minimum of Rs. 7,000.
2. Steep hike in Present salaries: The salaries of all the Present Central Government employees will be hiked by a minimum of 23.55% . The most benefited are in the Military.
3. House Building Advance: The employees of Central Government receive this fund when they are constructing/buying their own house. There has to be a minimum of 10 years of service and one will be eligible for Rs. 25 Lakhs of support.
This has been increased from the previous figure of Rs. 7.5 Lakhs, due to the 7th Pay Commission’s introduction.
4. Changes in Allowances: There may be changes to the number of allowances in a short period of time. There is a recommendation of abolishing 51 allowances, while including 37 new allowances.
The prospects look good, but how do I get a Government job?
Well, good question… If you were to apply for a private job, you have to see the opportunity, prepare a resume, give a good interview and you have a good chance of being selected.
But, same cannot be said for Government jobs. And if you don’t know anyone in the Government, the process can be quite long. First, you have to scout for any new available jobs very attentively; then apply for the relevant examination and clear it with the minimum required marks; Give physical and Mental tests and finally an interview.
We can safely say that the process of selection of a Government job is nothing but the ‘The process of elimination of available candidates’. Though, the crucial parts for getting this job are undoubtedly scouting for opportunities and preparing for respective exams.
A great place to get all the updates on Government job opportunities is to subscribe to Government’s Employment News. It gives details about the vacancies, training programmes, admission notices and results of recruitment examinations.
It was started in the year 1976 and is now available for subscription in E-Book format. And also available in English, Hindi, as well as Urdu. Give a visit to http://employmentnews.gov.in/ to know more and to start subscribing.
As far as preparation for exams are concerned, there are many offline and online private classes on many exams; but if you were above average in your academics, a little extra effort can get you cleared.
An important point to note while applying for Government jobs is to see the Job requirements and to check your eligibility. Most of these require a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree. The requirements goes on adding up when you go for more specialised job positions.
If we look at the largest employers in the Government Sector, the following can be assessed:
Indian Railways- A great place to start with
A good place to start looking for government jobs is in Indian Railways. It is one of the largest employers in the world, which recruits thousands of people every year. They are currently employing over 1.33 Million or 13.3 lakh employees. Many jobs are available that even a 10th pass can apply for.
For example, currently there are 8 posts available for Scoutes and Guides in North-Central Railways with a minimum qualification of 10th pass. These are Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ openings with a maximum pay scale of Rs. 20,200 per month with a grade pay upwards of Rs. 1,800.
The whole process is done through the Railway Recruitment Boards of different Zones. There are currently 21 Railway zones, each having their own Recruitment boards.
These include the ones in Ahmadabad, Ajmer, Bengaluru, Patna, Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati to name a few. These zones are further divided into many divisions, so there are many opportunities lying in your region.
All these Zones maintain their own websites to push notifications publically. For example the Railway Recruitment Board of Patna can be visited by logging onto www.rrbpatna.gov.in.
Banking- The next hub of employment
Banks are an integral part of any economy and seeing India becoming towards a cashless economy, the whole banking system will get a surge in the number of transactions taking place.
As Banks have only penetrated about half of the Country, there is tremendous scope for expansion. And with all this expansion what will we get? Yes, jobs. Manipal Academy of Banking estimates that the Banking Sector will generate over 20 lakh jobs in the next few years.
Annually, 70,000 to 80,000 are hired by Public Banks and around 40,000 to 50,000 by Private Banks. This is only expected to increase.
The process of getting a Bank job is quite different. Generally, you have to take an IBPS (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection) exam for most of the banks in the Country, but State Bank of India conducts an independent examination for it’s recruitment.
To get more on the latest recruitment information, visit IBPS’s official website: https://www.ibpsexam.org/.
Basically, a candidate can apply for three type of jobs in banks: Clerical, Probationary Officers or Specialist Officers.
In Clerical level, you will be given a position of either a clerk, data entry operator, cashier, call operators. These generally have an annual salary upwards of Rs. 1,50,000. And in Probationary Officers Post (PO), a candidate will go through a training period of two years (varies with banks). Where, they will be transferred anywhere in the country assuming different posts.
Probationary trainees get exposed to various aspects of Banking activities and after completion of this, along with a Police Verification, they are assigned as Assistant Managers in the Bank.
However, in SBI, confirmation exams are conducted in addition to training. And, if a candidate performs exceptionally well, he can be assigned as Deputy Managers. Salaries start upwards of Rs. 2,20,000.
Persons having special qualifications like Lawyers, Accountants, Engineers, etc., can apply for Specialist IBPS exams. This gives them the scope to work for a higher Managerial position in the Institution. The next Banking exams, available for applying will be in early 2017.
Indian Armed Forces- A career of adventures
Another area where you can look for employment, if you are patriotic about the country and feel like serving the Nation in the best way possible.
Though nobody thinks of the Army when looking for a job, but it is the second largest employer in India after the Railways with 13 lakh employees. It has many institutions set-up all over the country for practical training of recruited candidates.
You can join the Indian Army as a Junior Commissioned Officer or any other Rank based on the qualifications. The basic starts from being a Soldier for General duty with a minimum qualification of 10+2, a Soldier Technical with computer knowledge, Soldier Clerk for paper work among other posts.
To check the eligibility and see what posts you can apply for, visit http://joinindianarmy.nic.in/ .
The process for recruitment is straightforward, apply online on the above website for registering yourself for the Physical Fitness Test or ‘Soldier Bharti Rally’ (Soldier Recruitment Rally).
Then on the day of the test, you have to clear 1.6 KM Race within 6 minutes. Then you have to do at least 6 Pull-ups not push-ups or you will be disqualified. And finally The Balance Test and the 9 feet ditch. However, the standards can be raised if there are a lot of applicants.
Non-Conventional Technical Government Jobs
All the above are the usual places a person will look for when they are thinking about working in the Government. But, it is not limited to just the Government, but working for agencies or organisations run by the Authorities are also known as Government jobs.
Persons falling under this category are usually called as employees of a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU’s). This would include (but not limited to):
- Research Scientists at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO),
- Engineers at Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL),
- Journalists and photographers at the the Press Trust of India (PTI), or
- Film-makers at the Tourism Department or as
- A Diplomat of the Country, representing it in Foreign Embassies.
The opportunities are just endless…
Conclusion
So these were only few of the hundreds of thousands of Governmental organisations you can work for in India. If you are good enough, you could reach top level positions of the Government as Advisors and even higher.
If that seems too far fetched, simple data entry jobs are always available as every organisation is trying to streamline it’s activities online. But, whatever are your interests, there are some things very important to keep in mind:
- Always stay up-to date,
- Read lots of newspapers;
- Try to specialise in a certain field of knowledge. This will reduce competitions and give you better paying jobs.
Always remember that ‘Where there is a will, there is a way’. And thanks for reading!