[Uni Grad] Debating between 2 offers

For context, I'm a Y4 undergraduate studying CS in Big 3, debating btw 2 offers. One's a private MNC, the other's a gov agency. First one's likely offering low 70k, second one mid-high 80k.

Things I considered:

- I'm in the tech field, i.e. a fast moving field - starting my first job in a private MNC is likely to give high growth/development in skillsets + good exit opportunities. However, the drawback is lower pay.

- However, it's well known that your first job dictates your future job's salary. By taking the lower offer, my salary growth might be slower in the long run. Hence it might be better to take the higher offer, but the drawback is gov agencies have more red tapes and are generally slower-paced, meaning slower growth in relevant skills.

It's really a debate between (my foreseen) faster salary growth vs skill growth, of which the latter might result in even higher salary growth in the long run, due to accumulation of highly relevant skills that will give me a stronger edge in future.

Any advice regarding this?

Posted Feb 26, 2026, 8:16 AM UTC

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