IB FT vs shitty Public Service Scholarship?
Interested in hearing people’s perspectives.
I’m from Southeast Asia and went to a target school in the West on a full ride scholarship from my government. They required me to come back and work in the public service for 6 years, but I now have a FT offer to join a top IB coverage group. However, lacing the government would mean I’d have to pay back around $400K (remaining value of my scholarship contract).
Currently in my first year of government service and it’s been just awful. Terrible work, people, culture, pay. It’s a stable job with easy work and hours, but I feel like I’m dying inside with how bureaucratic and slow it is especially having gone through finance recruiting/internships from a top school. I’m most concerned that if I stay all 6 years, I’m going to literally have zero good exit ops beyond shit bureaucratic government work.
My family and I could afford to break the contract right now and it would essentially be just paying for college after it’s over, just that I’d be passing up on a very stable and ‘comfortable’ job . But I feel like taking the IB role would completely reset my career and give me a shot at potentially much greater career and life upside.
Thoughts? Taking the IB offer is a no brainer right i
Is the offer in Asia? If it was in the US could you leave and not pay the government back? What would the consequences be?
Offer in in US/UK. Not paying the govt means my parents lose their house as collateral. Anyways the money isn’t an issue atp. Moreso it’s a question of long term career/life optionality and upside.
I'm a serf, so I personally wouldn't have my family bankroll a 400k bill just to grind for 100kusd or less in the uk. however if you do go through with it, then your parents better get a fat check down the road
You only live once
Fucking amen
Don't think anyone on the forum can objectively give you useful perspectives in so far as I believe you're hoping for someone to point you to "what you should do" in this circumstance.
From how you have phrased taking the BB FT role, I think you're implying the life-time earnings potential will far exceed that of taking the civil service track, which makes sense from the lens of total comp. However, I'd also point out that I think that's cautiously optimistic because you're relying on the assumption that you can have longevity in that career, which might not be totally dependent on your agency (visa sponsorship, getting a good team, being able to "outlast the grind", or even finding "good exit opps", etc.).
Opportunity cost of putting that 400k to work via ETFs vs working to payback 400k to your parents, and then trying to make up potential returns seem like a tough slog, noting lifestyle expenses of working in your home country will likely be cheaper (net of taxes) too..
I think many may say go for the IB route, but I figure that it's also worth pointing out that it's just a job at the end of the day and you could also easily end up with terrible work (mindlessly numbing), people and culture (with unreasonable bosses). And if you're solving for these things, one might assume that it's possible to change teams, or find other interesting projects along that 6-year track with the government.
Out of curiosity, what made you take up the scholarship if from the sounds of your background the monetary aid was actually not needed?
If I stay in my current government organisation, I’d have literally no exit options outside of the government. Moreover, I hate everything about the got vculture, the people, and the meaningless work. It’s like working in the third world especially after university abroad. All for a teeny tiny pay increment every year that won’t beat inflation
I took the university scholarship up many years ago because family finances were in rough shape post covid. Things have improved materially and I’ve also built up savings from stocks and crypto.
Pay them the 400k
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