A public sector employee earning ₹23 lakh a year has shared his experience of working in a PSU, arguing that such jobs can offer greater financial security and savings than private-sector roles.
In a Reddit post titled “Why working in a government/PSU job is a better financial decision than working in a MNC. My personal experience”, the 27-year-old employee shared that he earns a CTC of around ₹23 LPA. According to him, while private-sector and MNC employees may have higher salaries in some cases, PSU employees can benefit from significantly lower living expenses.
“It’s a common notion among most of the people that PSU pays a meagre salary and MNC pays a lot better. Though this is somewhat true but on an average an average employee working in an average non IT company would take atleast 10 years to overtake the CTC of a guy working in IOCL, BPCL, ONGC. And I would even say these PSU guys are more richer than a typical product based company employee because he saves a lot almost 90% of the salary, all thanks to the random 3 tier postings,” the user wrote.
The Redditor revealed that he makes roughly ₹1.3 lakh per month and his expenses rarely cross ₹15,000 a month. He shared that his employer provides accommodation, fuel and electricity benefits, while food at the office is also heavily subsidised.
He said remote postings are one of the major reasons employees end up saving a large portion of their income. “The only bad thing is the 3 tier village postings where the nearest civilization is some 50 km away,” he wrote. However, he added that the lack of avenues to spend money also means that he saves considerably.
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The employee further said that his compensation is divided into different components, including around ₹28,000 per month as performance-related pay, ₹14,000 credited to his NPS account and approximately ₹1 lakh in salary. He claimed that his performance pay alone is enough to cover his monthly expenses, allowing him to save most of his salary.
He also highlighted the financial security associated with his job, saying employees can access loans of up to ₹10 lakh and home loans of up to ₹50 lakh at “negligible simple interest”. “Believe me the amount of confidence having such financial security this job gives is unparalleled and this will show up in your personality,” he said.
The employee shared that the financial stability has allowed him to spend freely on things he enjoys despite having relatively low monthly expenses. He said that he owns the latest gadgets, a sports bike, several sneakers and premium clothing, while also travelling to Delhi, dining at expensive restaurants and maintaining a large gaming library.
The employee compared his situation with that of his former classmates, saying many of them earn between ₹12 lakh and ₹15 lakh even years after graduation. He acknowledged that some of his IT friends earn ₹25-30 lakh, but argued that their higher salaries are often offset by rent, EMIs and other expenses.
However, he also acknowledged the significant downside of PSU employment: limited professional growth. “I left MNC job for this PSU job and frankly I always regretted that because of trash work culture and almost zero personal growth,” he wrote. He said that his MNC friends are more satisfied with their work and continue to upskill, while he feels he has become a “lazy typical disinterested sarkari officer”.
He is now planning to pursue an MBA from a top-20 business school and said that he has saved enough to fund it without taking a loan.
Reflecting on his experience, he said the PSU job helped him travel, party, pursue hobbies and enjoy his 20s, but he now wants to move towards more meaningful work and a better lifestyle in a tier-1 city.
Social media reactions
The post sparked a discussion on Reddit, with users sharing differing views on PSU and private-sector careers.
One user wrote, “In my view a lot of things depend on the economy. I worked in a blue chip PSU for 8 years and then quit it to do my MBA and then move into IT and since it was boom time , made a lot of dollars ,and then I quit Corporate at 38 years of age. If you look at job scenario now , Technology related jobs are simply vanishing , so PSU jobs look better . Its all supply demand related stuff.”
“Dude, truer words were never spoken, my best wishes to you for future. About tier 3 postings, people in metros drive to outskirts and beyond(read tier 3) because city life is so hectic, traffic is insane, you are breathing clean air. May be taken some holidays, and you are gold for life. Don’t trade it for any rationale,” commented another.
“You’re reasoning is good for a person coming from a middle class or lower middle class family but not for people coming from wealthier backgrounds and retire to be in the top 1% rather than being in 0.01%,” wrote a third user.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
