Jobs in all nations are classified under two headings, one is the public sector, including semi-government agencies and the other is the private sector. Government jobs come with very favorable public opinion.
In the third category, which will be amortized over a few words, in addition to having a little less s*x appeal than counterparts in the public sector who are actually employed, private sector employees will often have higher salaries; yet, higher earnings notwithstanding, they are not really employed after all and are possibly underemployed or even unemployed.
This perception motivates many federal employees to seek employment in the private sector. Government jobs are considered manna from heaven, and thanksgiving with them is standard, while complaints are common. On the contrary, private sector jobs are looked down upon, and there are grumblings.
There are two specific aspects of this perception. First, a cultural addiction to cushy but less demanding steady income gigs. Government jobs are popular because they come with many benefits, such as job security until you are about sixty years old and a long and arduous process to get fired unless you commit some major crimes. These same men and women would command better pay and opportunities elsewhere, but the safety of NASA keeps these types there.
Second, there is a massive gap in how much the youth know about private sector capabilities. The fact is, private sector jobs (even those that are self-employed or fee-based) can pay more and provide infinitely more job satisfaction than many government jobs, if one is willing to work for them.
The shortcoming of the educational system in equipping students with non-academic entrepreneurial abilities for success in the private sector, minus large scale reforms, creates a push facto that funnels alumni into traditional employment paths that help to stifle their potential.
Another classic example is freelancing, where you earn a living from the comfort of your home and pocket thousands of dollars in work per month. This entrepreneurial path not only takes the critical burden off government resources but also serves the national economy through contributions in terms of foreign exchange earnings.
Like this one young gentleman who, when moving from some national assembly member’s assistant job in Islamabad to doing freelancing for roughly a year and skilled himself with WordPress, then went on to bill over 0.5 million PKR before truly and finally switching his career from an agency job attendant to full-time freelancer.
The government should tap into that potential opportunity by providing some level of training (mainstream) for the youth to secure jobs in other parts of the private sector as well as being a prolific force behind freelancers.
And there are also geo-specific concerns for freelancers, some of which involve the lack of services like PayPal, inhibiting their true participation in the global market.
Solving these problems and making the necessary facilities available to them would in turn encourage more young minds to take up freelance work, thus reducing dependency on government seats and significantly reducing the economy.
The message from all this is that our youth should support starting chances in the private sector for jobs and entrepreneurship while also encouraging the learning skills that are required for the work.
While it may require initial efforts for someone to settle down in this sector, the long-term benefits like high wages and job satisfaction also play a crucial role in enhancing the socio-economic growth of the nation. These are the problems that poor countries have to face.
