I write this as an MBA graduate who left a career in the education industry to prepare for the Civil Services exam and am halfway there. My article is particularly targeted at starry-eyed freshers going for an MBA. Let me play the devil’s advocate.

Firstly, to address some traditional beliefs about the government. It is not true that “Everyone working in the government is corrupt” or “Honest people are punished”. The first view is only true in a much smaller measure than the media would like us to believe. The second view is again only partially true. I can give you dozens of examples of honest officers who were rewarded. But of course, our media does not report that.

Secondly, the government does not necessarily mean the Indian Administrative Services. The Foreign Service and Audit account service are two shining examples where officers have expressed significant job satisfaction.

Since most readers already know the pros of studying an MBA, I shall dwell on the pros of a civil services career.

1. Immense Prestige

2. Much better work-life balance than in the private sector

3. The opportunity to do genuine good for society

4. Quite a comfortable lifestyle

And here are some negatives of an MBA.

1. Close to zero work-life balance. (Unless you are in IT or some other field with lower pay). Many of us believe that they can stretch it, but believe me, I have seen a lot of young 30 to 35 year olds come down with lifestyle disorders. Almost all my friends in the corporate world are greying prematurely.

2. Poor Job Content. Yes, I said that! When you are selling soap, well at the end of the day you are selling soap, there is nothing more to it. Even profiles considered to require erudition like consulting can at times be quite non-rigorous and pfaff filled.

3. This is something I call the “resource extraction law”. For every additional 20-25 thousand you earn at lower and mid-levels, your work doubles. What you earn in bonus would be paid out as medical bills.

4. Less Growth. At the end of the day there are only about 100 or so large companies for the roughly 4,000 premier b-school graduates per year. At the mid-level, there would be stagnation in the long run.

5. Deters entrepreneurship. I have seen an MBA degree kill more entrepreneurs than make them. An MBA tends to make many people risk averse and structure and process oriented. As most techies crib, MBAs tend to fail in startups.

In Conclusion: An MBA can definitely help you. But be sure why you are doing it. Have a clear career path in mind. Merely doing it because it is a “trend” or there is “scope” is asinine. And by the way once I too was one of you freshers who made this mistake!