Can a career as an IAS be compared with life of a Chartered Accountant (CA)? A CA Chirag Chauhan took social media to question the willingness of individuals as to why they choose to become IAS despite the comparatively lower salaries. He compared the salaries of IAS officers with those of Chartered Accountants.
“The average salary of an IAS is the starting salary of a Chartered Accountant ,” Chauhan pointed in his post on X. He also inserted a screenshot illustrating the gross monthly salary of IAS officers.
The netizens found this post debatable in the wake of recently announced results of UPSC Civil Services Examination where 1,105 aspirants qualified for the top all India Services.
Chirag Chouhan's post attracted huge criticism from many X users who said that individuals are drawn to the IAS profession for the prestige and respect it commands, rather than monetary considerations. Despite the disparity in salaries, the charm of serving in the civil services and contributing to society often outweighs financial incentives for many aspiring officers.
R C Jain, a former IAS officer said that Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cannot be compared with any other profession. IAS officers are the backbone of country's administration. Comparing this service with any job specially Chartered Accountant is making mockery of services.
“Every year more than 25,000 CAs pass out while the number of IAS offices are around 500. There would be lakhs of CAs working in the country while there are only 4,000 IAS officers controlling the administration of the country,” he said.
The post gathered lots of replies and traction from across the cross section of society. People told to refrain from making such statements which have no meaning and relevance.
”A career as an IAS is the prized moment in life. The amount of satisfaction one gets while wiping tears of poor people is worth million dollars. Those who believe materialistic pleasures can't weigh the happiness in service. Even any CAs, doctors and other qualified professionals opt for a career in IAS leaving behind plum overseas jobs,” said a IAS officer serving in Rajasthan.
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