Hello, I'm a development sector professional with a three-years of work experience. Recently, I've switched my job and joined an NGO working in Delhi. Last week, I have received a government job offer. I'm serving a two month probation period as of now which will get over on 31st August 2015. I'm unable to decide which one should I choose? Both are contractual jobs and the contract will be renewed after one year based on my performance.

Though I'm enjoying my present job there is always a great degree of uncertainty associated with it. I have heard quite many stories about employees fired at once without notice. My family members and friends are insisting me take the government job offer, but I fear that the nature of the job and work environment will not be exciting and challenging as is the case with the private sector. Since I'm a young professional, I need your advice. Which path should I take?

From India, New Delhi
I waited for quite some time to receive a response for my query. Unfortunately, I didn't receive any response. So I thought that I should reply now as my experience may help someone else who is facing the similar dilemma. I decided to take up the contractual government job. I'm about to complete a year at my present job. The advantage of working in a government job is that it brings a great value of credibility and it offers one a great platform to carry out his work. This is especially true in relation to the development sector where one needs to work with multiple stakeholders to bring about a desired impact in the lives of the underprivileged. There is little work pressure and one enjoys a stress-free life and can maintain a healthy work-life balance. On the other hand, the decision making process is extremely slow and even approvals of small nature may take a lot of time. The process is manual and one has to submit the request in file and it moves through at least three-four levels before any decision is taken. It results in frequent delays which hampers efficiency to a great extent. And there are huge set of government protocols (most of which I found completely uselss) that creats complexity in even small matters. One area of caution who is going to take up a government contractual job is that one may to wait a minimum of three-four months to receive his/her first salary. So please keep this factor in mind before taking up a government contractual job.
From India, New Delhi
Anonymous
found working at private sector (NGOs/Development Organisations) to be exciting and challenging which has provided me useful learning and experience. On the other hand, having too much on my plate most of the time resulted in frequent stress, burn outs, distorted work-life balance etc. On the other hand, working in a government setup gives you ample of time to focus on your personal well-being but it doesn't offer exciting workplace. So the choice is a difficult one. Weigh both pros and cons and decide carefully before opting for private/government sector. There is no perfect work-place. It's a myth. If one gets more than 5 out of 10 things one desire at your workplace, the person should consider himself/herself very fortunate.
From India, New Delhi
I found working at private sector (NGOs/Development Organisations) to be exciting and challenging which has provided me useful learning and experience. On the other hand, having too much on my plate most of the time resulted in frequent stress, burn outs, distorted work-life balance etc. On the other hand, working in a government setup gives you ample of time to focus on your personal well-being but it doesn't offer exciting workplace. So the choice is a difficult one. Weigh both pros and cons and decide carefully before opting for private/government sector. There is no perfect work-place. It's a myth. If one gets more than 5 out of 10 things one desire at your workplace, the person should consider himself/herself very fortunate.
From India, New Delhi
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