Prospects for architects in the Government Sector

Purpose: With the conception of one’s professional life, it is essential to understand all the possibilities and opportunities that lie before them. In the case of architecture, there exists a bias towards the private sector where newly graduate students aspire to work in private practices and possibly even envision a practice of their own at a certain point in life. While there is nothing wrong with envisioning a future in the private sector, it is also essential to be aware about the public sector and understand the opportunities it provides to be able to make an informed decision. There is a preconceived notion about the monotonous nature of government jobs and a lack of awareness about students about the opportunities in this sector. Hence, it becomes crucial to understand the numerous opportunities this sector has to offer and thus, explore the potential of architects in government organizations. Methodology: The research for this paper has been done by referring to existing literature and interviews with concerned people. With an understanding of how and why is the government sector an essential area of research for budding architects and planners. The research was done through interviews and possible case studies was done based on review of existing literature. Main Findings: The government is one sector with tremendous possibilities in the realm of architecture but is often plagued with stereotypes and preconceptions which have emerged over the years. It is imagined to be “lazy”, “uninnovative” and “non-productive” but this sector has evolved over the recent years and is now shaping to be one of the more lucrative sectors for practice. The number of perks, benefits and a clear comparative advantage of a higher salary, added with the direct contribution towards serving the nation, the government sector clearly has an unrealised potential for architectural professionals. Implications: With younger architetcs having preconceived notions about role of architetcs in a government sector limited to unexciting set of designs without creativity, this article may help bring a fresh thought process to choose professional sector wisely.


INTRODUCTION TO GOVERNMENT JOBS
After graduating from architecture school, one often finds themselves at the crossroad of making life-changing decisions. Everyone has to choose between starting one's own practice, working for someone else, or changing their profession altogether. These decisions are critical as they determine the starting point of one's career. While some are passionate about design and architecture, and being the owner of a practice, there is also a large number of students who become uninterested or disillusioned by this field because of its hectic lifestyle and relatively low compensation. Therefore, it is normal to see a minimal number of architects practicing, when compared to the number of students who graduate every year. Many change their profession or diversify into other fields.
In all of this, there is an important field that most of us students have left unexplored -government jobs in architecture. This field is a very lucrative direction to grow in, as it allows one to directly contribute to the growth of the nation by working firsthand on government projects, which are aimed at the development of the nation for example DDA projects on low-cost housing, has a direct impact on the economically weaker sections. What one designs today, might actually become the potential model for the future. Hence, one is able to directly contribute to the growth of the country, by working on government projects. These projects aim to serve the citizens of the nation and catalyse development of the nation, therefore one gets the fulfillment of serving the society. There is very little awareness about the architectural jobs in the government sector, firstly because on the face of it, these jobs are seen as an 'unexciting' and are very limited in number as compared to private jobs. Therefore, most students do not consider it as a potential career path. However, in reality, this field has excellent unrealised possibilities, which are much better in many aspects, when compared to jobs in the private sector.
Through this research paper, we attempt to uncover the realities of government jobs associated with architecture and map out the potential career development they can lead to. This paper will be a valuable resource to educate architecture students about the unrealised potential of this field, and the plethora of opportunities it offers.

Need for Study
There is a preconceived notion about the monotonous nature of government jobs and a lack of awareness about students about the opportunities in this sector. Hence, it becomes crucial to understand the numerous opportunities this sector has to offer and thus, explore the potential of this field.

Research Questions
1. What is the potential of government jobs in the architecture sector and in what ways can it act as a platform for growth?
2. In what manner is the government sector evolving and adapting to the changing world?

Aim
This research aims to understand the unrealised potential of working in the government sector for architects and related fields.

Objectives
1. To understand the existing scenario of work in the government organizations.
2. To understand the type of platform and exposure that comes with engaging with the government.
3. To analyze if new-age working methods have been incorporated in the government sector and look into its future prospects.
4. To look into how architectural institutions can link up with government bodies to get positive outcomes.
5. To map out future trends, predictions, and possibilities of growth in this sector.

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS
1. The research focuses upon understanding the involvement of architects and planners in the government sector.
2. The government bodies/officials might not share all information and experiences due to legal issues.

METHODOLOGY AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The research for this paper has been done by referring to existing literature and interviews with concerned people. A detailed flow chart of the method is discussed below: This section develops an understanding of how and why is the government sector is an essential area of research for budding architects and planners. This was done through interviews and possible case studies was done based on the review of existing literature.

Prospects and Opportunities
Most of the government organisations have an architecture/planning department, which acts as an in-house team to consult for their various projects. There are various government organisations which provide employment to graduates of architecture. Some of these include: Public Work Departments (Central PWD and State PWD) Based on the interviews conducted, it has been found that there is no constant intake of graduates for the government jobs. The intake is purely on a need basis of the departments, therefore, the job postings are not regular. As a result, there is a lack of awareness about government jobs, as they are significantly less in number and less consistent when compared to the private sector. Furthermore, in the field of architecture and planning, the number of jobs are even less, when compared to fields such as engineering. This is because there are a small number of government organisations which are directly related to architecture and planning, and the other organisations have small departments for the same, according to their requirements.
In addition to that, most of the organisations conduct their independent examination, and follow it up by an interview. The selection criteria for the job factors in the merit list which is established by the examination conducted, and the educational background of the applicant.

Job Description and Responsibilities in Various Government Bodies
Some examples of job descriptions have been identified in this section that are based on the interviews conducted. While there are multidimensional roles which one can apply for, the common feature of each role is that of management in the higher posts. There are also draftspersons' jobs which one can apply for which does not include this management criteria. Nevertheless, while management is one significant aspect, the work and responsibilities assigned are under constant supervision due to the democratic structure of the country. Coordination and supervision of work, role in policy making are other areas where one gets involved while working in the Government sector.

Existing Realities-An Analysis of the Current Scenario in the Government Sector
Based on the interview undertaken with Ar. Anjum Khan who is currently working with the DDA, a comfortable worklife balance picture is put forth for the architects in the government sector which is hardly observed in the architectural practice, especially the private sector. Despite largely maintaining a balance, there are longer hours in case of a deadline or a rushed/ prioritized project but this is not a commonly occurring phenomenon.
A differentiated case was observed during the interview with Mrs. Dewan where she mentioned that the office is boundaryless. She spends time working and coordinating throughout the day when needed. She further elaborated that the difference in work-life balance between her case and Anjum's and others is due to the difference in posts. The lower and introductory posts have lesser burden of work while a higher post, like herself, is one that requires longer working hours. The projects handled under this sector are majoritively in the realm of public use. The projects are either for the public in the form of creation of parks, restoration of historical areas, transportation-based projects et cetera or more focussed towards catering to the housing and working needs of various public groups and government officials.
While the scope of work is vast and also includes departments of defense and civil departments, the government sector is tough to get into. For example, in the interview with Ar. Anjum Khan, Planning Assistant, Development Authority, mentioned that the exams for DDA and a lot of other government departments occur on an irregular and need basis when lets say, someone is retiring. This makes the prospect of getting a government job difficult.
The perks of the job in the government field remain universal, independent of the field/ department employed under. The perks are divided mainly as per the various levels/ groups of posts which defines an inter-departmental approach to classifying the level of work handled by one. (E.g. Groups A to D with A being the higher post officers and CPC levels from 1 to 14 which further defines the pay, compensations et cetera).
Apart from these points there is job security which is one of the most sought-after features in any professional field. The potential reason for why there is a contrastingly higher level of job security in this sector is that the government sector does not sway primarily with the market demands, but rather depends on the public's demands. This sector is mostly immune to the market trends while in the private sector, the market drives the supply and demand of projects.
The Indian government distinguishes public employees into the following group rankings and further on, these groups are divided into such levels. Each of these levels have a particular pay level as regulated by the Central Pay Commission (CPC) (Manisha, 2020 While there are a number of grades, it is found that the jobs related to architecture and engineering lie under the Groups A and B.
The salaries in the government sector is variable based on the government body one earns a job in but despite this, there can be an observable disparity between the entry-level salary when compared to the private sector. The salary is dependent on the candidate's background, contract and the post. The starting salary for a permanent employee in the planning department is around 70-80k per month, whereas one on a contractual basis has relatively less. As another consideration, there is also a starting period where the base salary compensation might be lower as in the case of one of our interviewees a monthly base salary figure of about ₹14,000 with added perks and benefits for the first 3 years were being offered to her.
The literature studied and interviews conducted highlight specific trends in promotions and career growth.
The government employee is eligible for promotions based on the work done via regular assessment against their colleagues, conducted by higher ups as mentioned by Anjum Khan; The eligibility of a promotion is contingent on a default time in their respective position after which they are eligible for a promotion and will be given one based on availability as elaborated by Anjum Khan and Riya Gupta. Once in one specific field in the government sector, it is not possible to switch fields and one can climb the ladder in the organisation dealing in that particular field itself. As elaborated by Riya Gupta, one can ride the way to the top in the organization from Regional Planning Officer to District Planning Officer to Chief Planning Officer in her current position. The promotions occur over longer durations with time frames ranging from 3-5 years in one position to upto 5-10 years as well for higher posts which makes the government sector a choice which has the ability to define one's entire work life. A number of employees also work as consultants and on contract basis with the government as in the case of Akash Das where in case of a promotion, they are hired as an officer and finally can avail and enjoy all the benefits of a job in the government sector. The highest promotion for the architecture and planning departments would be to be established as a part of the Higher Administrative Grade group which includes the chiefs, heads and commissioners of various departments. (Manisha, 2020)

Architects working with the government in the past
After independence, the state had acted as an important patron in constructing the identity of India. There was a need for public administrative buildings in the new nation; therefore, there were numerous landmark government projects undertaken by independent architects. The projects went on to become iconic buildings and constituted the identities of the places they were built in. The following table lists some of such iconic government projects undertaken in the past by architects: The involvement of architects in the government sector is not a new phenomenon. Post-industrial architecture in India (post 1947) is characterized by a number of exceptional architectural achievements through the appointment of in-house architects in various government bodies and collaboration with foreign and other practicing architects of the country through architectural competitions. However, there has been a decline in the quality of projects led by the government in present times. In an article in The Wire by Ranjit Sabikhi, he mentions, one of the primary reasons for the decline in the quality of projects is the payment of inadequate fees by government agencies to architects of the country. To depict the decline in the quality of the project, he has cited the example of East Kidwai Nagar Housing Project, implemented by NBCC. NBCC is a blue-chip Government of India Navratna enterprise and a Central Public Sector undertaking project management, real estate management, and engineering procurement and construction. The East Kidwai Nagar Project, a residential redevelopment plan along the Ring Road undertaken by NBCC, fails to address the needs of the area and adds to the existing civic infrastructure and traffic problems. Sabikhi says that the project is an outdated example of quality of construction and management. The project does not use new and improvised constitution techniques, lacks quality control and was constructed without PERT (Programme Evaluation Review Technique) charts thereby failing to plan out the sequence of various items of work to be implemented and the time involved. Government builders like NBCC continue to make sizeable profits through such projects and therefore, the cost-cutting and usage of poor and outdated techniques leads to loss of design quality. In contrast, the modernist architects of post-independence time, mentioned above contributed significantly in the field of architecture through exemplary buildings carrying great design value (Sabhiki, 2020). The government sector of the past depicts the immense opportunities of growth the government sector has. The opportunities of growth which still remain valid today and in some cases, amplified are further discussed in the next section in detail.

GOVERNMENT AS A PLATFORM FOR GROWTH
There are as identified three broad ways through which this platform functions and provides opportunities of growth.

Working with Architectural institutions and Students
There are various Opportunities and Benefits for architecture students to engage with the government Workshops for knowledge enhancement, exchange, deputations et cetera with educational institutions are some crucial tools for student engagement. Depending on the department's requirements, there are various Memoranda of Understanding with different architectural colleges and institutions. For example, many consultancy projects are given to government colleges, where they function as in-house architects or may tender for project bids.
Furthermore, they also give research projects to colleges, or hire research assistants from these government colleges. These collaborations offer a rich source of information and design creativity to both representatives of government bodies, involved faculties and students while profoundly enhancing the research of faculty and students.
The colleges may enter into a MoU with the government based on mutually agreed upon terms and for a specified period. For instance, in 2013, CSIR-CRRI (Central Road Research Institute) entered into a MoU with School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi. The broad objectives were to exchange personnel through deputation as per rules of respective institute for required period of time. Several joint conferences and seminars were held along with practical training of students at CSIR-CRRI. Furthermore, joint guidance sessions were held for student projects/thesis at SPA by CSIR-CRRI. The college undertook joint sponsored research and consultancy assignments offered by government/public sector organizations and undertook capacity building programs for various clients of specialization of two institutes based on mutually agreed upon terms and conditions (CSIR, 2013). Research collaboration is deemed to accelerate the transfer of knowledge between experts and the translation of knowledge between experts and research into practical applications.
Furthermore, it can be seen that many programs are introduced in collaboration between architecture colleges and government bodies to develop and bring about a change in the architectural, planning and design field. Many consultancy projects are given to government colleges, where they function as in-house architects or may tender for project bids. Design Innovation Center (DIC) is a program launched by School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, collaborating with SPA, Bhopal, SPA Vijayawada and D.R. Ambedkar University of Delhi (AUD). Several DICs have been set up throughout the country to develop a number of products and processes. These help to mainstream designcentered innovation in fields of Architecture and Planning education, research and practice in India. The program also provides important design and implementation inputs for various Government programs (SPA Delhi, 2016) .
There are a plethora of internship opportunities in the government sector which provide an excellent exposure to the systems and working of the different departments. The government has been working in this aspect to enable exchange of knowledge. For people aiming to pursue research, the government has inaugurated a scheme known as The Prime Minister's Research Fellows, in which undergraduates can apply. The candidates can pursue PhD research under a reputed college and receive a monthly stipend equivalent to the salary of a starting level government officer. A grant of around 2 Lakhs is also given to the research fellow, which he/she can use towards their research. The criteria for selecting research fellows are based on their college performance and the GATE examination, along with the research proposal.

Private Architectural Studios as Consultants and Experts in Government Projects
Through various interviews it has been identified that many government projects are being outsourced through private consultants. In some cases, each of the Government bodies have a stipulated panel of private companies that are invited to design for the project and in that case, the role and scope of the government organisation gets limited to supervision and management, rather than focusing on the design aspect of the project. This can be validated through the interview conducted where Anjum Khan pointed out that it's either through a bidding process, or a set panel of consultants are involved in the same. Further Akash Das elucidated the same process by explaining that even in the railway sector, private consultants are appointed for collection of data, and mapping purposes and its only once they put forth a brief proposal, the Government organisation steps in.

Working with International Organizations
The government sector also collaborates with international organizations which open up a plethora of opportunities for both.

Benefit of all-Participation in Policy and Standard Regulations
One of the key benefits observed through brief interviews with various professionals in the government sector is that they are directly involved in making schemes and plans that have an impact at the city level. For example Anjum is currently working on developing standards and regulations for mass housing projects, many people within DDA are working on master plan 2041, hence whatever decisions are taken or policies formulated, have an impact which is at a larger scale. Similarly, Akash Das pointed out that they have been working to design a set of standards and regulations for railway projects.The current state of railway stations is where people have to walk a lot to reach the platforms. Hence, they are proposing a model where the idea of a railway station transforms entirely into a mixed use hub with retail, commercial and residential spaces nearby. This will further provide specific guidelines for designing future projects.

Methodology for Primary Data Collection and Analysis
Many interviews were undertaken to understand the different aspects of government jobs. The interviews of the following people were undertaken. The interviews are the primary source for data collection. The transcript and detailed understanding from the interviews have been given in Appendix 1.

Qualitative Aspects of Government Jobs
The first part of the analysis deals with examining the current scenario in government jobs based on various related aspects and parameters. Through the interviews conducted and the literature review, major aspects of government jobs have been analysed. While one clearly understands that the salary difference, job security, fixed career growth, and ability to impact larger policy level decisions surely catch one's attention towards this sector, there are some negative aspects. Through interviews we could identify that sometimes, this workplace becomes a zone of stagnation with similar nature of projects and scope of work. The laid-back attitude coupled with the dependency and hierarchy within the organization can get pressurizing at times, as one is answerable to many more people. (Refer to Appendix 4)

Changing Working Process in the Government Sector
Over the years, the sector of government jobs has changed in the working process due to the advent of new improved technologies and the changing lifestyle of people. Hence, it is essential to know what kind of changes have occurred in this field. (Refer to Appendix 4); Attraction for fresh graduates-Earlier job security was the primary aspect inviting students to enter this field but now the hike in Salary, Work-life balance, and the level of impact the projects seem to interest the students more; Design Exploration-Repetitive designs are being replaced with innovation and concept development as observed and analysed through various interviews; Skill Development management skills-Drafting work is getting outsourced, leading to possibilities and time for design exploration; Tie-up with International Organizations-Earlier projects were majorly handled by the international architects, but now rules have been brought in to include indian architects in the collaboration process.

Comparison between Public Sector Jobs, Private Sector Jobs and Private Practice
While there is no denying that there are great opportunities across jobs in the public and private sector, external influences like culture, practices and regulations differ between public and public sector and some of these will suit some people but not others. Furthermore, setting up a private architecture/planning firm involves contrasting aspects. This paper deals with understanding the various aspects of jobs in public and private sectors and when one has his/her own practice. The three sectors of work in architecture and planning have been analysed in the table below. The analysis is based on the parameters identified from the literature review and interview, as mentioned in Section 10.1.
For an architect, the government job not only offers a lucrative platform to design, but also promotes a platform with quite well-defined working hours, salaries and also a greater job security, irrespective of the market and the economy. The speed of execution of a project is comparatively slower than its private-sector counterpart as a lot of them revolve around diplomatic paperwork and approvals that take time. The scale of the projects available vary and very often deal with urban/ city level issues such as railway projects, housing projects et cetera, which being highly diverse in nature ensures excellent exposure in the field. In addition to the above-mentioned characteristics, there are also other perks such as personal compensations and relatively higher starting salaries, with upto two times the compensation than the salary in the private field. These perks and benefits further make the government sector a desirable platform for young architects henceforth vastly increasing the competition for landing any job in this sector. (Refer to Appendix 4).

Case examples of Government projects to establish global trends and standards of innovation in Government sectors
In any country, nation-building is a major area of focus and the respective architecture and planning departments are directly/ indirectly involved. The indirect involvement would be when these departments are tasked with coordination and/ or picking independent firms to develop various projects. The direct approach is to lead by actively proposing projects. In both scenarios, the majority of the projects are either public projects or public infrastructure projects.

Direct Involvement
This form of participation is exemplified by the Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC), Delhi Development Authority (DDA) et cetera. The projects undertaken are majorly public welfare centric -e.g. socio-cultural projects, redevelopment projects, housing projects, et cetera. The main goal of all such projects is to promote a better civic life.
Some of such projects currently proposed are the redevelopment schemes for Slum redevelopment in Mohammadpur, Delhi (Rewal et al., 2014) and creating a safe, viable, and thrivable interface between the urban village of Lado Sarai (Rewal et al., 2015) and Delhi via masterplanning, mixed-use development, school building expansion, museum and socio cultural facility development in the area. These projects illustrate the vast exposure that one gets as one single project comprises multiple functional components that need to address the civic needs of the people.
These cases give insight into the scope of working currently undertaken by the government-based architects in India, which includes a stride for urban well-being. Documentation, focus on urban wellbeing via architectural design and masterplanning are some of the tasks undertaken.

Indirect Involvement
The indirect involvement can be characterised as when the various architectural and planning departments are tasked with coordinating and/ or picking independent firms to develop various projects via tendering and/ competitions. This approach also features a similar intent for improving livability in an area.
In the international context, architects are doing more than designing and planning spaces. In the United States, architects have begun to play a role in creating the 'New Economy' through the United States Intermodal Surface Transportation Act 1992. The architects put forward a proposal to expand the requirements of this legislation, (originally known as 'Highway Bill') to include issues of sustainability and aspects of creation of livable communities through social design along with highway engineering and construction. The architects and planners were involved in the process to examine 'best case scenarios' before the creation of a new highway. (Swett, 2000) Furthermore, in various countries, architects are involved in every aspect of development and city making through a post-'The city Architect'. The local government bodies of New York City have commissioned international architects to design its city buildings and infrastructure. The Department of Design and Construction commissioned BIG Architects to design its 40th Precinct Police Station. Friends of High Line and the City of New York floated a 'Global Tender' to invite designs from international architects for the High Line as a potential public space. Following the great 'Hurricane Sandy' of 2012, which caused high levels of flooding and destruction in New York, the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development called for designs to resolve the structural and environmental vulnerabilities of the city's waterfront.
Bjarke Ingels Group and a team of international architects, urbanists, landscape architects and engineers, collectively called the Big Team developed their concept to shield local communities and at-risk individuals from the devastating effects of flood.
With the advent of 'Internet of Things', the smart city concept has come into play to provide efficient services. Arup, a multinational professional services firm of architects, planners, engineers and consultants has developed a software called 'ABACUS' to create schedules of innovative city services and the relationships with the hundreds of systems needed to deliver them. The application has a smart city reference architecture, a gallery of typical building blocks of the smart city to be used through modifications. For the smart city project in Doha, the firm provided a service-'Vision Augmented Reality Tour' for tourists to download an app that showed what the city looked like 150 years agooverlaid on new buildings constructed. (Rossi, 2016) There is scope for a collaborative front between the government architecture offices and private firms. This synergy will be crucial in forming the future trends not only in the government fields, but also in shaping the cities.

New-Age working-Mapping Trends
The new trends followed in different countries, with the advancement of technology and change in lifestyles, have been adapted by the Indian government. For example, the government is looking to redevelop railway stations and the area around it. A government organisation called the Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC) has been set for this purpose. The project aims to redevelop the railway station as a mixed use hub, which is an international trend and practise. Hence, the shift in the quality of government projects is evident.
A deeper understanding has also been established through detailed qualitative analysis to make recommendations and map out a graph of growth. For this few countries have been analysed to map out a career trajectory for the skills required. It has been found that Revit has become necessary in a lot of jobs in the sector abroad whereas the Indian Architecture sector has not entirely shifted towards this software even in the private sector. Project management is a field which is given a lot of importance and most firms whether in UK or USA evaluate the candidate based on three essential parameters that are: Architecture; Building and Construction; Project Management; Technical Competence Some jobs even require proper Project management certification to qualify for the post which shows the changing nature of Project management as an optional field to a necessary qualification for job applications. A multidisciplinary and multifunctional approach to a government role is observed within a singular job post abroad. The jobs are primarily management-based and require interpersonal, communication and leadership qualities.

CONCLUSION AND WAY FORWARD
It can be concluded that the government sector has tremendous possibilities in the realm of architecture but is plagued with stereotypes and preconceptions which have emerged over the years. It is imagined to be "lazy", "uninnovative" and "non-productive" but this sector has evolved over the recent years and is now shaping to be one of the more lucrative sectors for practice.
Benefits of the Government platform for growth comes with various departments focused on health, education, infrastructure, and social justice, working for the government can align work with one's interests and values and give back to the community. Because of the breadth and depth, the field of government jobs provides many access for career progression. Government jobs allow a healthy work-life balance that tends to get public holidays. Furthermore, one has access to things like maternity leave (sometimes, paternity leave) and bonus. It provides an excellent platform for growth, with the kinds of opportunities it provides, not only limited to the scale of the projects and their impact on society. The satisfaction of being able to directly contribute towards the growth of the nation is fulfilled.
The future of this government platform:  Opportunities to collaborate: with the increasing exchange of knowledge and people, and boom in development projects in the country, the possibilities of engaging with the government has increased significantly. The types of collaborations have also undergone diversification, since there are a multitude of projects in terms of scale, type, vision etc, and there needs to be a variety of people to work on them which in turn acts as a multi exposure portal for the professionals to explore, identify and align themselves with their design interests.
 Work: Developments such as advanced technology and softwares for design development is changing the way work is getting done. These emerging technologies are an attraction for the young architects and help add more value in the field by increasing efficiency. Furthermore, given the nature of the work being civic centric, there is a level of personal satisfaction attached to it which further increases the appeal of this sector which already offers increased job safety, work-life balance, job perks, and relatively higher pay.
 Workforce: Enabled by technology and newer ideas, the government increasingly makes use of more collaborative arrangements, thereby requiring access to diverse pools of skills and capabilities, both inside and outside the organization. The government sector links up with architectural institutions, private architectural firms, and allied professionals to produce quality work. In India, the job openings in this sector are less and subjected to senior progression and employee promotions. This makes this sector more exclusive and promotes hardworking individuals who are now being subjected to monthly reviews to ensure no slacking.
This paper provides comprehensive data with insight into architectural professionals aspiring for a job within the government sector and to the new graduates who are deciding upon the roadmap of their professional careers. This topic has been researched to create awareness of the valuable platform for growth the government sector can act as. This paper has also provided a background to any further research and publications in the relevant fields of further explorations while establishing that the government sector has an unrealised potential for growth of ones' architectural ambition.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to thank our guide, Ar. Kamal Raj, for introducing a new way to look at and explore the domain of government sector jobs for architects, as well as for constantly encouraging us and pushing us to work harder. We greatly appreciate the ample time he spent critiquing and giving feedback not only the content but also the process of our research.
We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to Ar. Anjum Khan, Ar. Akash Das, Ar. Ritu Kapila, Ar. Poonam Dewan and Riya Gupta for their insights about the government sector which helped us get a clearer understanding of the issues we were dealing with.
Last but not the least, we are very thankful to our families and classmates for supporting us this semester.
 Where do you stand in the organizational hierarchy of the organisation?
 How has your career growth been like?
 What are the requirements for being able to associate in this manner?
 Are there any tie-ups of the government with SPA or other architecture colleges?
 Do you outsource work to private architectural studios?
 Are there any collaborations between government offices with international organizations like UNDP, ADB, UN, etc.?
 Why do you think during college and as fresh graduates, people are not aware of the prospects in government jobs?
 What are the stakeholders you interact with?
 What are the fields of the professionals in your office?
 Are you engaged with other organisations/colleges in professional capacity outside?
 What are the positives of this job?
 What are the negatives of this job?
Appendix -2 Table 2: Perks and benefits of government jobs

PERKS DESCRIPTION 1. Basic Pay
Every year, basic pay gets incremented from 3 percent to 4 percent. Basic pay is also increased when you get a promotion. All the basic pay scales are revised in pay commission set-up by the government every 10 years where your basic pay scales are increased by almost up to 100 %.

Dearness Allowance
Sometimes, dearness allowance is also up to 100 percent of basic pay. Dearness allowance is added to basic salary.

House Rent Allowance (HRA)
It is upto 30 percent of basic pay. Many government organizations provide government accommodation at prime localities and if one opts for government accommodation HRA is not payable. 4. Pension Scheme Government organizations contribute up to 15 percent of the basic pay and dearness allowance towards pension funds monthly. 5. Provident Fund Many government enterprises contribute an equal percentage to one's pension fund i.e. one deposits 12 percent and the government enterprise will deposit 12 percent.

Gratuity
One will get gratuity up to Rs. 10 Lacs on retirement from your government job. 7. Medical Benefits The entire health issues are taken care of at free of cost or subsidised costs. 8. Other Allowances One is paid other allowance like Professional allowance, Education allowance for their children, Fitness and health allowance for themselves and family, and house maintenance allowance.

Conveyance Facility
One will be paid conveyance charges for your vehicle and its maintenance. It can vary from Rs. 2000 to Rs. 40000 per month depending upon the post.

Leave Travel Concession (LTC)
Some government organizations pay a lump sum amount towards LTC i.e. they pay money up to 300 percent of the monthly basic pay for the block of 2 years.

Subsidized Loan for Houses and Vehicles
One will be given subsidized loans for their house and vehicles which is much lower than the market rates.

Bonus
Bonus is paid up to 400 percent of the monthly basic salary.

Leave
One will be given different types of leaves. Typically, 12 Causal leaves, 10 Sick leaves and 32 paid leaves are given per year.

Education assistance scheme
Many Government organizations sponsor the higher education fees. Hence, one can upgrade their qualifications at the government cost.

Insurance Scheme
Many government organizations have insurance schemes to cover employees and their families in case of sudden death or disability. Insurance benefits are up to 100 times of the monthly basic pay.

Appendix 3
The Indian government distinguishes public employees into the following group rankings and further on, these groups are divided into such levels. Each level has a particular pay level as regulated by the Central Pay Commission (CPC) (Manisha, 2020). The pay band ranges between ₹15,600 -₹39,100 with grade pay ₹5,400 -₹7,600 and also in the pay band of ₹37,400 -₹67,000 grade pay ₹8,700 -₹10,000.

Appendix 4
After identifying significant aspects of government jobs, a qualitative analysis has been carried out for each aspect based on the five interviews.   Work-life balance 9-5 pm in most cases, but depends on department and post. Fixed hours of work, flexibility in work timings, however "slave" at higher posts, more responsibilities 10-6:30/7 pm in most cases, can stretch till late hours during deadlines. Might be required to work during the weekend to meet deadlines Need to be involved in the practice throughout as it is a 24 hour job. One is their own boss, so there is flexibility to choose their working hours, depending on the work pressure.

Career Growth
Promotions and Opportunities of deputation based on a fixed system and merit.
Interns, Junior Architects, Senior Architects, Associates, Associate Directors, Directors Depends on the success and visibility of the studio and the types of projects and contacts established.