Reasons Why Generation Z Avoids Civil Service Jobs: "Because of Low Salaries"

Catch 'Civil Service Exam Preparation Intentions' Survey
Reasons for Not Wanting to Become a Civil Servant... 'Low Salary'
Desired Salary is '50 Million Won'... Promotion Also Mentioned

A survey revealed that 78% of Generation Z job seekers (those born between 1996 and 2010) do not prefer government jobs. The main reason cited was 'low salary,' and 13% responded that they would not want to become civil servants regardless of how high the salary is.

Photo by Asia Economy DB

On the 19th, recruitment content platform Catch announced that this result came from a survey on 'intention to prepare for civil service exams' conducted among 1,547 Generation Z job seekers. The top reason why Generation Z does not want to become civil servants was 'low salary' at 47%, followed by ▲not the desired job role (15%) ▲dislike of hierarchical atmosphere (9.4%) ▲repetitive tasks (9%) ▲difficulty in growth (5%) ▲insufficient welfare benefits (3%) ▲difficulty in resignation or department transfer (2%).

When asked about the desired salary for civil servants, 25% of respondents answered 50 million KRW. This was followed by ▲40 million KRW (17%) ▲60 million KRW (16%) ▲would not want to be a civil servant regardless of salary (13%). Regarding welfare improvements needed for civil servants, respondents selected ▲increase in performance pay and bonuses (39%) ▲expansion of promotion opportunities (33%) ▲work-life balance guarantee (16%) ▲introduction of flexible working hours (13%).

The survey results also showed that 71% of Generation Z prefer employment at large corporations. Following large corporations, ▲mid-sized companies (29%) ▲professional certification exams (20%) ▲foreign companies (19%) ▲public enterprises and institutions (16%) ▲small and medium-sized enterprises (12%) were preferred. The preference for government jobs was 11%. Kim Jeong-hyun, head of Catch division, explained, "Unlike the past when stable jobs were preferred, Generation Z favors immediate rewards," adding, "This can be analyzed as a reflection of the tendency to prefer large or mid-sized companies offering relatively high salaries and professional certification exams."

Earlier, last year, meta career platforms JobKorea and Albamon conducted a survey on 'preferred companies for employment' targeting 1,278 male and female university students and new job seekers (Generation Z) preparing for employment in the second half of the year. According to the survey results, the large corporation that Generation Z job seekers most wanted to work for was Samsung Electronics (43.9%), followed by ▲Samsung Biologics (29.7%) ▲Naver (12.4%) ▲SK Hynix (12.3%) ▲Kakao (10.7%).