Career Options After SSC CGL Exam

Updated on: Nov 9, 2020

The SSC CGL Examination is a treasure trove of job opportunities – and not just any job opportunity, but one that promises security, stability, incentives and pension, amongst other benefits. The road to cracking it might be exacting, but what easily serves as motivation throughout is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. This article is about just that – the pot of gold, i.e. the many jobs that are included in the SSC CGL and their profiles. In this article, we have tried to list out the major career options after SSC CGL exam. Details are given for jobs expected to have most openings based on data from previous years.

Jobs with the CBDT and CBEC

The most number of vacancies every year are seen in the CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) and the CBEC (Central Board of Excise and Customs), which are a part of Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance. The details of popular jobs in these departments are as follows:

1.      Tax Assistant (CBDT)
Overview: TA in CBDT can either be posted in the assessment of tax or in non-assessment. The former requires her/him to assess, verify and modify income tax on an individual or company as well as clerical work, while the latter is purely clerical work.
Approximate monthly salary: With a Grade Pay of 2400 and Pay Scale 5200 to 20200, one can expect an initial salary of around 23,000 pm.
Usual Job locations: All-India posting
Uniform: No
Promotion Order: Promotion to Senior Tax Assistant is after a minimum service of 3 years and passing the department exam is criteria for eligibility.  This is followed by promotion to Excise Inspector, Superintendent/Appraiser, Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Joint Commissioner, and finally Additional Commissioner of Income Tax.

2.      Inspector (Central Excise) (CBEC)
Overview: If posted in headquarters, clerical or file work is required. If posted in field, executive work like detection of evasion of taxes, monitoring and sealing goods, etc is required.
Approximate monthly salary: With a Grade Pay of 4600, Pay Scale 9300 to 34800, and the 7^th Pay Commission in effect, one can expect a salary of Rs. 44,900 per month.
Usual Job locations: All India posting
Uniform: Occasionally/Optional
Promotion Order: This is a very slow promotion job with the first promotion, to Superintendent, coming only after at least eight years of service and differing from zone to zone. Clearing the department exam is necessary to be eligible. The other higher posts are Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner.

3.      Income Tax Inspector (CBDT)
Overview: The work is of two types – assessment of tax and non-assessment, which are transferable on a cyclic basis. The former requires one to assess income tax of an individual or company and refund in case extra has been deposited, while the latter is mostly clerical work but also involves conducting raids.
Approximate monthly salary: With a Grade Pay of 4600 and Pay Scale 9300 to 34800, around 42,000 is the expected salary if working in an X city, and around 36,000 if in a Z city.
Usual Job locations: All-India posting
Uniform: No
Promotion Order: After around five years comes the promotion to Income Tax Officer. Much later, at least around 11 years later, is the promotion to the post of Assistant Commissioner. This is followed by Deputy Commissioner, Joint Commissioner, Additional Commissioner and then Commissioner of Income Tax.

4.      Tax Assistant (CBEC)
Overview: A Tax Assistant in CBEC can either be posted in the Excise, Service Tax and Customs department and has to prepare and dispatch reports. This job offers limited power.
Approximate monthly salary: With a Grade Pay of 2400 and Pay Scale 5200 to 20200, one can expect an initial monthly salary of around 24,000.
Usual Job locations: All-India posting
Uniform: No
Promotion Order: The career path is same as that of Tax Assistant in CBDT.

5.      Inspector (Examiner) (CBEC)
Overview: Although this job has limited vacancies, it is a very respectable job and is highly preferred by male candidates.
The nature of work depends on area of posting. Administrative and clerical work is allotted if posted in CBEC Headquarters, and verifying taxations on goods passing through ports as well as filing and cataloguing is the responsibility if posted in field area.
Approximate monthly salary:  With a Grade Pay of 4600, Pay Scale 9300 to 34800 and around 107% DA, a salary of around 40,000 per month can be expected if posted in X cities and around 35,000 if posted in Z cities.
Usual Job locations: 11 Coastal cities
Uniform: Not mandatory
Promotion order: This job is very sought out because of the faster promotions – Promotion to Appraiser is after only three years of service as Examiner, soon followed by Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and later Commissioner.

Inspector (Preventive Officer) is another job under CBEC which also has a good number of openings.

Jobs with the CAG

The second largest recruiter through SSC CGL is the CAG. It includes three Group “C” jobs and one newly added Group “B” job.

1. Auditor

Overview: The posting can be made to C&AG, CGDA or CGA departments, and the responsibility of the Auditor would be to audit expense reports of the department allotted.
Approximate monthly salary: With a Grade Pay of 2800 and Pay Scale 5200 to 20200, a minimum of Rs. 23,000 can be expected initially.
Usual Job locations: Auditor post in C&AG has the most vacancies, and posting is usually in a state capital.
Promotion Order: Promotion to Senior Auditor after three years of service, and later AAO (Assistant Audit Officer) on clearing department exam. Promotion to these posts also means a change in pay.

2. Divisional Accountant(CAG)

Overview: As the accounting head of the many divisions of each department of state, the Divisional Accountant sees to expenses, makes estimates, and give budgets.
Approximate monthly salary: With a Grade Pay of 4200 and Pay Scale 9300 to 34800, the estimated salary is around Rs. 35,000
Usual Job locations: Cities with offices under CAG.
Promotion Order: The career path follows promotion to Divisional Account Officer II, then Divisional Account Officer I, and finally Senior Divisional Account Officer.

Assistant Audit Officer (CAG) is a new post added recently. It has a Grade Pay of 4800, and is expected to have limited vacancies. Two other clerical jobs are Accountant/Junior Accountant in CAG or CGA with good number of vacancies.

Another job worthy of mention because of the high number of vacancies it offers is the post of Assistant in the CSS (Central Secretariat Service). It is primarily a Delhi job, and has a Pay Band of 9300-34800 and Grade Pay of 4600. The SSC also includes Assistant posts in various other departments like Central Vigilance, Intelligence Bureau, Ministry of External Affairs, but CSS always has the most number of vacancies and is a very promising job.

Hope this article helps you get an overview of the major career options after SSC CGL. Writing the exam is only part of the struggle – making the right choice afterwards and choosing the correct career path for yourself is just as important! Check out our Online Course Material below.

SSC CGL Online Course