Product V/S Service Company. Which one to choose?

In the IT industry, there are two types of organizations if we classify them at a vast level.

• Product Based
• Service-Based

At some level engineers or other professionals, has to do the job in either of these above organization. Now which one to choose if you have a choice to make? What parameters should you consider while making a decision about accepting a job offer?

Product Based Organization

• An organization which has their own product to promote/sell.
• Specific roles and technology

Service-Based Organization

• An organization which do not have their own product, they work for other organizations/clients
• Works for others / individual clients / organizations
• Roles are not generally specific, so does technology.

Disclaimer: The information on this blog are based on my personal opinion and experience. All views expressed on this blog are my own and do not represent the opinions of any entity.

Comparison Parameters

1. Interview Process
2. Learning
3. Working Environment
4. Salary
5. Growth
6. Shift Timing
7. Job Certainty

Interview Process

**Product Based (PB):**Generally conducts more interview rounds than SB, and interview mostly based on data structure and algorithm analysis. Most of the time, they want an intelligent guy here who can do the specific task for which they are hiring intelligently. Selection and rejection process is defined, if they reject you, they’ll tell you the whole reason and areas of improvements.

**Service-Based (SB):**Generally conducts simple interview rounds ( like 3 to 4 rounds). The interview mostly based on technical knowledge and coding for which they are hiring for. Selection and rejection process is very random here if they reject you they don’t even bother to tell you the reason for that. If they select you right for you. Generally, they hire a guy who can work in multiple technologies. Here they want a worker who should be intelligent enough to do the task.

Learning

**PB:**Learning is always good in product-based organizations, they use an optimized way of coding, efficient algorithms, etc. The learning curve is perfect. There is still a separate team for support, the developer never does the support work.

**SB:**The Learning curve is not right here, sometimes you find there is no learning in the projects, these are simply support projects. These organizations generally don’t have the separate support teams, the developer does the support and development both if necessary. It’ll make you a jack of all master of none.

Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow. Anthony J. D’Angelo

Working Environment

**PB:**Small teams, so team interaction is always right. Fewer politics and favoritism compare to Service based. Team size is small so can’t afford politics etc. People generally care for team members. Work pressure is good.

**SB:**Teams are large. High politics and favoritism. Nobody care for no one. High work pressure.

Salary

**PB:**Good Salary, sometimes variable components are less or negligible. Sometimes startups offer equity in the company. The increment is always good as per your performance.

**SB:**Less or non-competitive salary with significant variable components and deductions. Decent increments are an infrequent event here irrespective of your performance.

Growth

**PB:**Both professional and financial growth is always good than service-based organizations.

**SB:**Less aggressive financial growth and professional growth might be there or might not. In support project technical growth sucks.

Shift Timing

**PB:**Generally flexible timings because they care about the work more. If work is complete, you can leave early for the day or can come early and finish the task and can leave.

**SB:**Very inflexible timings, they also have shift timing to overlap with the overseas client timings. You have to complete 9 hours or whatever the week hours are there to complete.

Job Certainty

**PB:**Teams are of small sizes, so job certainty is high there and also sometimes recession-proof.

**SB:**Big teams, follows hire and fire methodologies. If the project is there just hire and project delivered and don’t have a new project, just fire the guys. So Job certainty is very less here.

Big Question

Q: Which one to choose?

If you are an experienced professional, always go for the product based company. And if you are a fresher and have an option to choose in between product and service company always go for a product company, you won’t regret your decision in the future. And if you are a fresher and have a job offer only from a service company. Try to get the job in a product company, but if didn’t get one, no worry just join the service company. Keep trying for a position in a product company, and if you got one just join it. And if you don’t get the job in a product company. Prefer not to work in a service company for more than a year. Try to get out of there as soon as possible.

Maturity is achieved when a person postpones immediate pleasures for long-term values. — Joshua L. Liebman