IBPS PO vs IBPS SO: In India, every year, Innumerable candidates fill application forms for different Bank exams and dream of becoming Bank POs. This is the reason why IBPS PO and IBPS SO have always been one of the major driving forces for lakhs of Bank aspirants as they offer security, high salary, and respect. IBPS conducts these national-level entrance tests to recruit banking officials at various entry-level and mid-level posts. IBPS recruits for 17 central and state banks of India in different positions like Clerk, PO and SO.
Many aspirants would be looking for figures and facts to compare IBPS Bank PO and IBPS Bank SO posts to know about the growth opportunities. There might be questions pooping in their minds like: How much growth can an IBPS Bank PO expect in the 5 years? And so on. Many aspirants often face confusion while making a choice as to whether they should go for IBPS PO or IBPS SO.
Hence, in this article, we will shed light on the major differences between both the posts and also give pointers that will help you in making a well-informed choice.
Though many things like the educational qualification requirement, age limit, and many other basic requirements are similar for both the posts, there are certain differences in the job roles and pay package.
Let’s take look at how similar and different and beneficial both posts can be!
| Basis of Comparison | IBPS PO | IBPS SO |
| Work Profile | The Bank PO Work Profile is quite different from that of the Bank SO Work Profile. A Bank PO is recruited on probation of 2 years during which they are evaluated across all aspects; the main duties of a Bank PO include administrative and direct customer interaction tasks such as connecting with new and potential customers, building healthy professional relationships with them, gathering and verifying their documents for the process of loan approvals, authorizing transactions, etc. | A Bank SO is however not an interaction-heavy role. A Bank Specialist Officer would only be working and communicating with the other employees of the bank for the most part. Specialist Officers are not given the main role of the bank (which is to bring in new customers), but they are required to ensure that the other departments of the bank work in harmony with each other. |
| Growth Opportunities | an IBPS PO can expect to see themselves at a Senior Management Grade Scale-III (SMGS-III) rank (designation offered is Senior Manager) or they can even become Senior Management Grade Scale-IV (SMGS-IV) if their performance is excellent. | An IBPS SO on the other hand may have the same rank or designation but in their respective departments. The growth opportunities for IBPS POs and IBPS SOs are largely the same with their only differences being in their responsibilities and duties. |
| Promotion and Growth | The scope for promotion and growth is high and faster. | The scope for promotion is limited unless you switch to general banking over the years. |
| Pay-scale, Perks, and Benefits | IBPS PO Salary and Perks: -The basic salary of an IBPS PO in the public sector banks is between INR 23,000 and INR 27,000. -There are various perks like HRA, Dearness Allowance, etc. which all together add up to an amount of INR 39,000 to 42,000. | -The basic pay of the specialist officer is approximately INR 23,700. -It has similar benefits like IBPS PO such as HRA and dearness allowance, travel allowance, etc. -The overall salary is drawn by an IBPS SO varies depending on the location of posting. In the metro cities, it is approximately INR 30,758. In-state capitals, it is around INR 30,448, and at the district level and rural branches it is approximately INR 29,927. |
The basic pay or the salary and the perks associated with IBPS PO and SO become the primary attraction for the majority of candidates who pursue these posts. And as you can see from the comparison presented above, the salary range of an IBPS SO is slightly lower than that of an IBPS PO. Hence, if you want to choose one of them as a career option you must keep these points in mind:
IBPS PO Opportunities to learn multiple categories of skills. Faster career growth opportunities and better learning opportunities. Whereas an IBPS SO is an easier job profile compared to IBPS PO but it has fewer chances of getting you posted to rural areas. In it, the selected candidates mostly get posted in urban areas. In addition, it offers good pay and perks and the responsibilities are lesser as compared to IBPS PO. Both the posts are good in their own right. You should decide which one suits you the best and make a perfect decision keeping all the points mentioned above.
But don’t forget that to clear any of the exams, you will have to cover a complete and updated syllabus. And that is where Mock Tests comes into the picture. Mock Test is the best practicing tool to achieve success in the IBPS PO exam 2021. Hurry up, & grab PM’s Tests Series for guaranteed success!
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