Public Sector Vs Private Sector Jobs – Common Myths
Dear Friends,
Many of you must have thought if Public Sector jobs are better than Private Jobs, at some point of time. There might have also been times when you were attracted to private sector because of advantages of Private Jobs over public sector Jobs.
But since your final decision determines your career, you need an accurate and reliable comparison to decide Public sector jobs vs Private jobs to highlight major differences.
Vacancies
MYTH: With many industries being set up rapidly, there are more openings available in Private sector. Whereas Public sector Jobs offer limited vacancies and is hence more competitive.
Actually, while government readily discloses number of vacancies while inviting applications, private sector doesn’t always do so. With central govt bodies, state govt bodies, PSUs and PSBs recruiting all year round, you can certainly say that the level of opportunities is similar in both the sectors.
The only difference is that government recruitments involve exams to keep the selection fair.
Salary
MYTH – Government jobs don’t pay well and private jobs offer constant increments.
Well, with the introduction of 7th Pay Commission, salaries of Government Posts are at par with Private Jobs. In banks and government jobs, you usually get other perks (like residence, transportation cost, etc.) which private sector does not provide for equivalent level of posts.
Also, in government sector, there are fixed promotions and consequent appraisals. In private sector, you get performance based appraisals. But if you are performing well in Private institutions you are eligible for out of turn promotions and salary hikes, which is not the case with public sector institutions.
Job Security:
MYTH : Government jobs are obviously more stable.
It is true that private jobs downsize the workforce at times, if you don’t keep yourself updated and deliver best performance, you can get fired anytime. Government jobs, once secured, offer security till the time of retirement. Also, there’s lesser downsizing of the staff so you need not worry about getting fired once you are in the workforce.
But you need to know that if you don’t perform well, your superiors and officers will automatically suspend you and as a result you are less likely to be retained during a downsizing drive. This makes you ineligible to apply anywhere else in the government sector.
Work Stress
MYTH : Since you are surrounded by a lazy staff in government offices, your seniors expect you to do more work and give them your share of workload too!
In the government sector, all work load distribution is official. If you have finished your chunk of work, nobody can tell you to take on their share of responsibilities.
Along with challenges comes stress and that is true in the case of Private Jobs. You are under tremendous pressure of deadlines and hence the stress is high. Government jobs are comparatively chilled in this domain.
Holidays
MYTH: Private sector gives its employees the autonomy to celebrate and take leaves if they are performing satisfactorily. This helps the private sector retain their over-working employees.
The fact is that government offices have a large number of public and national holidays in India. So in Government sector, you are assured a long list of Holidays to enjoy. Private sector contains Multi National Companies which are based in Foreign countries. So they don’t offer holidays on Indian Public Holidays.
Work Schedule
MYTH : Government Jobs have a fixed timing and their shift is of 7 hours usually, which leaves no room for flexibility. Whereas, in private jobs, focus is on getting the work done so there are no rigid rules about work time and work schedule.
In reality, fixed work hours allow you to plan your schedule around them. Besides, your seniors in public sector are only concerned with completion of work on time. If you are doing your work on time, you can always leave early or plan your leisure time. Not to forget, this gives you the opportunity to take hobby classes, spend more time with your family, etc. Private companies have long work hours and expect you to go out of your way to accomplish more targets than you can!
There are some advantages and some disadvantages in both. So whichever field you choose, you are in for a ride full of ups and downs. But make sure you make a good and right decision for your career.
