OK, here is the deal, a buddy of mine out here in the States has been in IT for about five years now working in the States (graduated also in the States). However, his desire (just like mine) is to come back home to Naija to work. He has been on this for sometime now and finally got two offers from Naija for him to come and work over there.

The first offer is from a bank, and the second is from an oil company. The oil company pays slightly more than the bank. He is having a hard time making a decision, not only about the money, but about the potential for growth, security among other things,

My question to you now is, if you were in his shoes which company would you choose? Which do you see as having a better upside, what factors would be considered in making a decison? 

It depends on what trips your friend's wire.
Both have their upside and downside.
Also depends on the specific Bank or Oil Company

If we assume one of the major Banks vs one of the major oil operators (upstream)

Bank
Merit[/b]
1.Smart IT applications
2.Interesting Technical Challenges
3.Speedy growth - could get promoted to the top faster if he is really smart but he may not get all the way to the top as he is not in core Banking
4. Acquire enough experience to float his own IT firm and make bigger bucks

Demerits[b]
1. Long, stressful working hours
2. Probably no benefits like Pension (maybe this has changed now), free medical care for dependants, etc
3. Job security is less - could get fired anytime
4. Heavy work pressure - has to be up and doing all the time


Oil Company
Merit[/b]
1. Bigger pay
2. More sensible working hours - maybe long sometimes but not all the time and no where as stressful as what obtains in the Bank
3. A more relaxed working environment - less pressure at work
4. Lots of fringe benefits - pension, free medic care, leave bonus, dependants medic care, longer Leave days, staff clubs, etc
5. Smart IT applications to work with
6. Bette job stability and security.

[b]Demerits[color=#990000][/color]
1. Promotion to the top could be slow because the major firms are mainly foreign owned and IT is not a core "oil industry profession".
2. Sometimes the IT work may be less challenging, especially if the company's IT infrastructure is supported from outside Nigeria
3. If not careful, he could loose his sharp IT edge, especially if most of his work time is spent managing IT contractors rather than doing the actual IT work.


All said, if I were in his shoes I would go for the Oil Company job.
The banks in Nigeria are not yet to be fully trusted for stability while the oil companies have been around for a long time, are the main stay of the country's economy and won't go under just yet.

@ funloving,

I appreciate the advice, The bank is GTB, and the oil company is Shell.

What sort of IT jobs in Shell and GTB was he offered ?

Like I said, if he wants cutting edge challenge it might be better in GTB but if he wants some sort of job stability, good benefits and also cutting edge challenges, then let him pick Shell.

In summary, if it is about the benefits, pick Shell but if it is about the job type, pick GTB (maybe Shell also, depending on the type of IT work he is going to be doing there)

3. If not careful, he could loose his sharp IT edge, especially if most of his work time is spent managing IT contractors rather than doing the actual IT work.

I think this should be under the merits, a person with five years+ experience shouldn't be looking to do the manual stuff

@Fun loving and Dis Guy

Thanks for your input. I guess it all boils down to choice. Shell's position seems to be more lucrative, but yet laid back. On the contrary, the GTB schedule seems to be more tasking.

The main question would then be, which is most likely to be more stable - "guaranteed" ??

Good analysis there. Am not an IT person , lets say from a layman's point of view in this case, he should pick Shell. You cannot compare both. For me, work environment matters alot. You would get the best in shell as oppossed to Gtb.

"Oil & Gas solid jobs i stand, all other jobs are sinking sand, all other jobs are sinking sand"

Just sing the song above. There is no basis of comparison.
Shell job will definitely pay off no matter how.
Moreso, I believe someone with over five years experience in IT should be thinking of setting up his own IT firm.
He can easily do this with Shell job as opposed to GTB.
I hope this helps.

Brgds,

@abbyode, bebe2007

It seems to me though that the banking sector in Nigeria is making so much noise nowadays. As a matter of fact, dont you think to maintain that sharp edge in IT and to be able to set up your own firm later on, that it is better you work with a company who constantly utilizes your skills (bank).

I don't know how true this is but I have heard that you hardly do so much for all the money you get paid working in an oil company, compared to what you do in the bank.

BTW, that was very hillarious, the song , all other grounds are sinking sand.