With most companies having finished their appraisal cycles by March, employees would have received their fresh pay packages from May of 2017. However that may not be the case for many in the IT sector. Due to Visa curbs laid down by the Trump regime, stocks of IT companies in India have come crashing in recent months. In line with this many employees have been handed out pink slips instead of appraisal packages in the last month.

The Indian IT sector as we all know has been heavily dependent on the West for its fortunes. The Indian IT sector primarily focusing on services has grown over the years by exporting software. While this was bringing in a steady flow of dollars for a long while, it also made us vulnerable to depend on decisions made by the recipient countries for the sector to succeed. Adding to this, AI and robotic technologies have also made its presence felt in pruning the number of jobs available.

Set against this backdrop is an emerging segment that has suddenly become exciting. There is spiking euphoria in the Government Sector ever since the 7th pay commission has been announced. The commission has recommended a steep revision in pay packages and perks bringing them on par with most private sector jobs. In fact the revision in many cases is as high as three times the existing package.

Our current database with more than a million subscribers, records maximum Government job aspirants from up North with a share of 42 percent, followed by South which records 25 percent of the aspirants, East with 21 percent and West with 12 percent. Uttar Pradesh and Delhi record the highest number of aspirants up North, at 25 percent and 17 percent respectively, while West Bengal and Bihar occupy the maximum share of aspirants in East, at 37 percent and 21 percent. Tamil Nadu, followed by Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh + Telangana State account for 29 percent, 23 percent, and 36 percent aspirants in South respectively. Maharashtra accounts for the highest subscribers from West at 79 percent. The government job as a profession which was for long frowned upon by job aspirants from metros has a different story to tell in recent times. There are scores of examples of PHD’s and MBA grads applying for government jobs these days as their first choice of profession.

Two of the most priced professions within the government sector have been those under the UPSC or the Union Public Service Commission and jobs in the banking sector. One can attempt examinations such as the UPSC CSE, RBI Grade B, IBPS PO and SBI PO to apply for such jobs. There are many reasons for the rising popularity of government jobs. In fact they have a lot of qualities in common that make them so lucrative.

Flexibility is a fundamental quality of government jobs.It allows families to plan their lives conveniently by allowing them to factor in children’s school, their holidays and other personal demands

Young Job Aspirants Today Are Mavericks
Most job aspirants today are not like their counterparts from a few decades ago. They want to challenge tradition and embrace what is available. Being extremely aware of the pros and cons, they are more than willing to take the plunge. They have moved from the conventional thinking of the past in simply being attracted to remuneration or foreign travel as perks for instance. Youngsters today want to discover the country and hence don’t mind postings in far flung areas wanting to embrace the country’s inherent culture.

Perks
Government jobs offer various perks ranging from holidays, leave, PF, Bonuses, Gratuity, medical, Travel Allowance, etc. Depending on the level or grade one can even avail of accommodation, education for children, Leave travel, and many more such benefits. Most such perks are unheard of in the private sector and can be really gratifying for a working professional.

Prestige
One of the biggest advantages of being in this profession is the power one yields. A government job is considered to be very prestigious and commands a lot of respect. It is accompanied by increased status appeal and societal respect.

Flexibility
Flexibility is a fundamental quality of government jobs. It allows families to plan their lives conveniently by allowing them to factor in children’s school, their holidays and other personal demands. This in turn results in overall job satisfaction.

Job Guarantee
While the press generally covers a lot of news about how officers are being transferred about by politicians & the looming job uncertainty reality is that a government job is highly secure unless someone does something to jeopardize their position and responsibilities.

Overall, the Government Job has grown in stature today to assume epic proportions. What was normally considered a small town phenomena has breached all bastions to populate even Metros as a job opportunity of choice. This trend is only bound to grow as existing myths and barriers disintegrate such as low pay parity, vibrancy of the profession, or challenges that they provide. I have personally been witness to this trend in the UPSC cadre and banking jobs in recent times. Three years ago, 16 percent of MBA aspirants also prepared for Banking & other Government exams, while in 2016, the number of MBA students preparing for Banking & Government exams showed a steep increase to 43 percent. We have also observed an increase in requests by colleges to provide their final year engineering students, preparation modules for Bank & Government exams in addition to the Campus Placement modules (for Infosys, TCS, and Accenture).