The craze for IAS, IFS, IPS posts is something that evolves with time. Just think yourself, when you were in high school, there was a small group of people who wanted to pursue career of an IAS (IAS will be used collectively in this article for IAS, IFS, IPS and other government jobs) officer.
As you moved into college, that number grew by a good margin and as college came to an end and your mates realised that they needed to do something with their life, the number of aspirants around you, suddenly shot up multiple times.
The lure of a government job is ever existing. We have been ingrained to think in a certain manner about government jobs and the benefits they provide. There are few key terms that suddenly come to mind whenever a discussion centers around them. It’s not unusual for one to think of things like “job security”, “power”, “respect”, “good pay”, “perks” etc. when people talk about government jobs.
The journey from a dreamer to an IAS officer is an interesting one. The motivation is different for different people, ranging from money to an urge for doing something for the nation but the journey is same for almost all of them. You decide and you start looking for coaching institutes, you join one and get a little scared on seeing the competition. This is followed by hours of learning and practice in cramped classrooms.
As time passes and you become better (hopefully), you realise a lot of people you thought of as competition are only there for the sake of passing time. You attempt to clear the exams, start idolising different people who are already on the other side and your teachers in many cases. You sometimes think about whether you should have a “Plan B” or not, you keep on trying and if you are good enough, you finally clear the exam.
In many instances, clearing an exam is a reason for celebration but if you are an IAS aspirant, that’s not the case. As soon as you clear your exam, sure you cherish the moment for a while but you have to start thinking about the next levels that you need to clear and the hours of hard-work that will go behind clearing them.
If reading that was overwhelming for you, just imagine doing the whole thing. When you think of people aspiring to be IAS officers, you also think why people are crazy about IAS. There are a several reasons, but here the major ones that are marked as the main reasons behind the IAS craze.
(Before you read why people are crazy about IAS, you also need to realize the fact that real life is very different from what is written about it. The perks of becoming an IAS officer are huge but so are the challenges (which we might cover in a post soon). There is definitely a certain illusion people live in which is only broken when they actually become an IAS officer. For now, let’s find out the main reasons people are crazy about IAS).
Here is why people are crazy about IAS :
The prestige and power that comes with the position can’t be put into words.
Becoming a bureaucrat is not a piece of cake hence you should not be surprised about the power and prestige that comes with being an IAS officer. You have seen IAS officers with a certain envy all your life. And as soon as you become one, the way the world sees you changes as well for better.
Furthermore, as an IAS officer you are the key to many important decisions, the power you get as an IAS officer is definitely awe inspiring. You work with important people and a lot of times, those people completely depend on you for their work.
The salaries became excellent during the 6th pay commission and are bound to increase in upcoming 7th one. Expect an initial salary between 35,000 to 80,000. As with any other job, the pay is increased with regular promotions. Also, you get things that only senior executives in big companies usually receive. Free car, house, phone, Children education allowance, leaves and travel compensation. To top it all, a lot of these things are tax free. No doubt so many people are crazy about IAS. Oh, and did we mention pensions?
This is something that is not guaranteed and should not be the sole motivator for you. Although one thing is sure, the possibility of having a balanced life is much higher in this case as compared to when you are in a corporate job. Some things that guarantee work-life balance are as follows :
a) 5 years of unpaid leave for personal requirements. Also known as Extraordinary Leave.
b) 2 years of paid Child Care Leave
c) Gazetted holidays and a 5 day work week (many corporate guys go crazy about just 5 days work week)
d) 30 days of Earned Leave
e) 20 days of Half Pay Leave
f) Opportunity to select posting as per one’s need (definitely not guaranteed)
An opportunity to make a meaningful contribution towards your country’s growth
Added to all this is the fact that you get to serve your country in a meaningful way. From development of various schemes to execution, you get to work on things that touch lives of people in a country with a billion plus population, hopefully, for better. And since what you do is very close to social service, you are rewarded with even more perks like opportunities to travel abroad, job security that’s unmatched in any other industry and an opportunity to study further without getting a pay cut.
When such benefits are present, no surprise lakhs of students appear for government exams every year. Many dreams are made and broken everyday, but nonetheless people continue to be crazy about IAS, and there is no reason they should not be. #KhabarLive