Bank PO Vs LIC AAO : A Detailed Description

This topic is still up for debate. Which one is a better career option? Insurance or Banking?

The Insurance and Banking Sector has grown ten-fold in the past decade. Candidates show keen interest in both sectors which has rapidly increased the comparison between LIC AAO and Bank PO.

Banks promote savings and lending among people whereas LIC promote Insurance, which provides social security to people during and after their lifetime.

Despite basic difference in these sectors, there are many similarities found in the exam pattern of both exams. But a candidate always wants to be part of a better career. For Bank job, a joint exam is conducted by IBPS while LIC separately recruits AAO.

Now let’s look at details of these two exams:

Job profiles:

In addition to administrative work, PO & LIC AAO also does following:

Bank PO	LIC AAO
Provide services to customers Enhance business of the bank Handle cash activities at the bank Clearance of Payments Manage accounts of customers Official communication	Formulating new schemes, inspecting policies Managing and filing claims, client interactions Coordinating with other departments, provide assistance Perform any work specified by department head or administrative Officer.

Working hours:

In LIC there is only 5 day working in a week, with Saturdays and Sundays as holidays. While in Banks recently 2^nd and 4^th Saturday are declared holidays.

Salary & Emoluments:

RRB: 36,000 – 37,000 per month
SBI & Associated Banks: 41,000 – 42,000 per month
Nationalized Banks: 36,000 – 38,000 per month

In banks there is leased accommodation facility which can be availed if you are posted in a city.It is highest in SBI

LIC AAO Salary: 45,000 – 47,000 per month

Transfer & Promotions:

Both are transferable jobs, you may get transferred every 3 or 5 year. But LIC has most branches in cities and towns while Banks are also located in rural areas.

And transfers are mostly made on seniority basis in banks and LIC. However, there could be some relaxations for women employees though which entirely depends on the sanctioning authority.

Work Pressure & Environment:

Bank PO	LIC AAO
Bank PO needs to perform his/ her daily administrative tasks like savings account opening, cheque clearance, account validation, creating reports and mails, and also meet potential customers and clients for bringing in new business to the Bank. The environment is quite energetic and full of life when compared with LIC AAO work environment.	To complete the daily quota of paper work, which includes filing and double-checking documents related policies, claims, settlements, accounts, etc. An AAO gets assigned to activities like client and sales acquisition. The work environment is pretty mild and calm unless there is audit session in motion or coming up in a few weeks.

Future Growth:

In Banks you are eligible for Promotion after 3-4 years but in LIC it takes at least 8 years to become eligible for promotion.

You first join the bank as PO then Assistant Branch Manager – Branch Manager – AGM – GM- and further in scale II, III IV cadre.

LIC AAO can become AO – ADM – DM – ZM but promotion policy in LIC is not proactive like in banks.

Thus both have their own pros and cons. If you look from salary and personal life and work angle, it is certainly LIC AAO which scores more but in terms of promotions, it is Bank PO which is much better than LIC AAO.

At the end, each job has certain qualities.