Last year, when I was talking to a youngster after one of our bootcamp sessions, he asked me, “I have taken up a government job, which I really hate but my family is asking me to stick to it for job security. What should I do?”
I don’t give career advice but, intrigued, I asked him what job it was.
He said, “It is a clerical kind of job, like a postman.”
Then after some hesitation, he said, “It is actually a postman.”
When I asked about his education, he said, “I am an M.Tech from a government college in Maharashtra.”
I was stunned. An M.Tech joining as a postman! I am not judging a postman’s job — it is just that he didn’t want to do it and had much more specialized training.
Unhesitatingly, I told him, “Quit the job. It is not fair to expect your parents to guide you as they lack exposure. Don’t go by what they say.”
Here was an extremely well-mannered gem of a youngster, about to ruin his life, and people were encouraging him in the name of job security.
If you want to take up a government job because it is professionally a good fit, do it by all means, but not solely for job security.
We don’t have to be at anybody’s mercy to earn our living. Real job security comes from our skills and ability, not from government jobs.
– Rajan