SSC CGL and NABARD Officer: A descriptive distinction

SSC CGL and NABARD Officer both are much sought after jobs by aspirants because both provide posh postings along with a decent pay package. Aspirants will be appearing for the preliminary examination of NABARD next month, whereas SSC CGL is scheduled to be held in the month of August. Before taking the plunge, you need to get a first hand idea regarding both the jobs so that you can compare and choose wisely when you are spoilt for choices

SSC CGL and NABARD Officer: Comparison between the two

SSC CGL and NABARD Officer Notifications have recently been published by the respective authorities and lakhs of aspirants are going to appear for the posts. So, let us find out what is there in store for you once you are selected for the post and what choice you should go for

• Eligibility Wise: For NABARD Grade A officer, a graduation degree with a minimum of 50% marks is required as minimum qualification, whereas for Grade B officer, you have to have at least 60% marks in any stream in graduation or you must have a post-graduation degree with a minimum of 55% marks. For SSC CGL, the minimum qualification required is that of graduation from a recognized university
• Role and Importance: As an officer of NABARD Grade A and Grade B, you are responsible for development of district of your posting. You will be in charge of implementing the schemes launched by the Government for rural development because NABARD was established in order to give a push to the rural economy. As an employee recruited through SSC CGL, you are appointed as Group B or Group C Employee in the Central Government. Basically, you do all the clerical work and you do not have much responsibility or accountability whatsoever.
• Pay Scale Wise: As NABARD Grade A officer, your gross monthly emoluments will be around Rs 44000/- whereas as a Grade B officer, you will get around Rs 55000/- as monthly gross emoluments. All the pay scales are due for revision as the wage settlement is yet to be implemented. Again, as SSC CGL Group B Employee, you will get around Rs 32000/- (Grade Pay 4600/-) excluding House Rent allowance and Travelling allowance which depend on the place of your posting and for other grade pay such as Rs 4200, 2800 and 2400, the gross salary is less. Though the 7^th pay commission recommendations are yet to be implemented, pay package will always be more in case of NABARD Officer.
• Perks and Other benefits: In case of SSC CGL, there are not many perks to be mentioned as you may get a SIM Card for certain posts and petrol for some but apart from that, there is not much to mention. As an officer with NABARD, you are entitled for reimbursement of expenses for maintaining vehicles for official purposes, book grant, newspaper allowance, telephone charges, loans at concessional rates, etc.
• Exam Pattern and Assessment Techniques: For NABARD Officer, the exam is divided into three phases, first is preliminary exam, which will be of qualifying nature and the mains exam will be both descriptive and MCQ Pattern. If you qualify in that, you will be evaluated through the interview. For SSC CGL, there is a two tier examination, tier I consists of general intelligence, quantitative ability, general English and general awareness whereas tier II is only about English and Quantitative Ability. There is no interview for SSC CGL posts as per the new policy announced by the Union Government

SSC CGL and NABARD Officer both are good jobs considering the pay package and stress associated with it. But as per promotional avenues and as far as meaningful job profile is concerned, NABARD Officers will do something for the development of the society, whereas SSC CGL employees will do basically desk based cushy job sitting in a posh office in a posh metro city or New Delhi. It depends on the candidates what kind of life he or she is looking for as that determines the choice he or she makes.