Career Scope in Civil Services for Law Graduates

Not sure if you should go for Civil Services? Let us find out why Civil Services is not just a good career option but also a dream job for more than 8 lakh Indians every year.

The Civil Services Exam is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission to recruit people to the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and Indian Foreign Service and a few other services. The greatest thing about Civil Service is the job security that comes with it. Apart from possessing executive powers, a civil servant in India enjoys a great deal of satisfaction and privilege to be able to be an active participant in the development of the country.

Under the Civil Services, there are three broad categories with the most sought after job profiles, namely, All India Civil Services, Group A Services or Central Services and Group B Services or State Services. We have collated the list of jobs under the three categories below.

Benefits of Pursuing Civil Services for Law Graduates

Students who have a degree in law can pursue Civil Services according to their area of interest. There are lots of advantages that a law graduate will get if he/ she plans on going into the field of Civil Services. Given below are some of the benefits that law graduates who pursue Civil Services get:

• Candidates often wonder how important is educational qualifications when they are applying for the Civil Services Examination. Law graduates have an upper hand in Civil Services because both law and Civil Services domains involve formulating regulations or decisions for the common good of the public. Apart from that, the law is definitely the most important part of public policy.
• The efficiency that a law graduate will have to frame and implement public policy, cannot be seen in students who are from different fields or have graduated in a field other than law. 
• The essence of administration is the law and a person well aware of the legal technicalities of the state shall be able to operate smoothly to execute a policy keeping in mind its legal boundaries.
• Candidates having graduated in law have time and again proved that they excel in civil services. Law graduates who have a fair knowledge of legal matters and have the right approach can come out with flying colours.
• Graduates who have a degree in Integrated Law courses such as Bachelor of Arts plus Bachelor of Law, have a knowledge of both disciplines. They know subjects such as Political Science, Sociology, Economics, and History along with law subjects like Labour Law, Tax Law, Civil Law, Criminal Law, Administrative Law, Patent Law etc. This will give them an advantage over other aspirants.

Also Read: How to Prepare for UPSC Civil Services Interview/Personality Test? 

Pay Scale and Job profiles under All India Civil Services

Below mentioned are the job profiles under All India Civil Services. The pay scale of the respective services/job profiles have also been provided in the table:

Pay Scale and Job profiles under UPSC Group A

Candidates aspiring for jobs under UPSC Group A may go through the job profiles given in the table below along with their pay scale:

Pay Scale and Job profiles under UPSC Group B

Job profiles under the Group B of UPSC have been given below along with their respective pay scale:

Also Read: UG Courses to Prepare for UPSC Civil Services Exam

Career Scope in Civil Services for Law Graduates

Three of the most popular job profiles under the UPSC are IAS, IFS and IPS. Scroll through to find more about each of them.

Indian Administrative Service

Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers hold key positions in the Central Government, State Governments, Public-sector companies and other statutory regulatory institutions. They carry high stature in Indian society with the task of administering public offices.
It is the premier service in the Indian state that also involve glamour and fame to some extent along with the exercise of power at all levels. At the central and state level, IAS officers frame the policies and help in the implementation of the same. IAS Officers, at the divisional level, act as the guardians of general administration, law and order and other developmental tasks. At the district level, IAS officers look after the district affairs and the developmental duties.

Indian Foreign Service

The Indian Foreign Service (IFS), one of the Central Civil Services falls under Group A, deals with trade, diplomacy and cultural relations with other countries. The members of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) represent the country at the international level. The major duties of IFS officers include framing of foreign policies and manage Indian plans abroad.

The functions of an Indian diplomat have been summarised as below:

• To represent India in its High Commissions, Consulates, Embassies and Permanent Missions to multilateral organisations like the United Nations;
• To promote friendly relations with the receiving state as also its people, including NRI/PIOs;
• To protect the national interests of India in the country of her/his posting;
• To report accurately on the developments in India in the country of posting which influence the formulation of India’s policies;
• To negotiate agreements on various issues with the authorities of the receiving state; and
• To extend consular facilities to Indian nationals abroad and foreigners.

Indian Police Service (IPS)

The Indian Police Service (IPS) is one of the three All India Civil Services that involves IPS officers who provide senior-level leadership to Police Forces at the Centre and the States. The Police Division in the Ministry of Home Affairs makes decisions regarding the Cadre management of Policy Decisions and IPS such as recruitment, cadre allocation, empanelment, pay, allowances, confirmation, disciplinary matters of IPS officers, training and cadre structure.

• IPS is one of the fundamental pillars of Indian democracy. It is the role of IPS officers to ensure that people under their jurisdiction are safe.
• They lead all the security commands given by the Central Police Organizations like National Security Guards, Vigilance Organizations, CBI, Intelligence Bureau, BSF, CRPF and Indo-Tibetan Border Police.
• To implement the laws at the regional level and commanding Police Forces to collaborate with the Indian Army.
• Some of the other important functions of an IPS Officer include accident management, preventing crimes, preventing accidents (Social, Economic, etc.), detection of crimes, registration for first information report, taking action against the prosecution and recovery of the stolen things, providing security for the transportation of cash, rallies, political/religious functions, providing permission for loud-speakers.

Everything About UPSC Civil Services Exam

Get all the key information about the UPSC Civil Services Exam from the table.

If you are a law graduate and you want to join the UPSC, we can certainly say that you are on the right track. Law graduates often choose law as an optional subject in UPSC Civil Services Exam which plays a key role in cracking the exam. The only thing you need to take care of is to stay focused and keep yourself updated because that’s what UPSC CSE aspirants do.

For any assistance or concern, you can simply dial 1800-572-9877 (toll-free) and talk to our admission experts. In case of any queries, write to us in the QnA zone.

Stay tuned to CollegeDekho to find similar writeups on UPSC. We wish you all the very best for your Civil Services Exam!