SBI Clerk vs SBI PO — Major Differences & Similarities

SBI Clerk vs SBI PO: SBI Clerk Prelims Exam is over, and the next exam is SBI PO (Preliminary and Main). Both these exams open the doors of  the prestigious State Bank of India for you, but obviously at different job profiles. The syllabus for both the exams are broadly the same, but there are some major differences in the pattern and type and topic of questions that are asked in the Main exams. As you have just taken the SBI Clerk Exams, it is advisable to know what differences you can expect in the SBI PO Exams.

SBI PO vs SBI Clerk — Basic Differences

Examination	SBI PO 2021	SBI Clerk 2021
Designation	Probationary Officer	Junior Associate
Selection Stages	Phase-I (Prelims) Phase-II (Mains) Phase-III (Group Exercise & Personal Interview)	Phase-I (Prelims) Phase-II (Mains) Phase-III (Language Proficiency Test)
Exam Type	Online Except for GE/PI	Online
Cadre	Officer Cadre	Clerical Cadre
Age Limits	21 – 30 Years	20 – 28 Years

Preliminary Level Exam

The pattern of the Preliminary Exam for both the exams is exactly the same. Needless to say, you can expect questions to be of a bit higher difficulty level in SBI PO Prelims Exam (as compared to SBI Clerk Prelims)

SL	Name of Test	No of Questions	Marks
1	English Language	30	30
2	Numerical Ability	35	35
3	Reasoning Ability	35	35
	Total	100	100

Main Exam | SBI PO vs SBI Clerk

As you all must be already aware, Sectional Timing and Variable Marking Scheme has been introduced for the first time in the Main Exam of both SBI Clerk and SBI PO. Still there are significant differences between the pattern of the Main Exams.

SL		SBI Clerk	SBI PO
1	General Awareness (Includes Banking/Finance Awareness)	50 questions (50 marks)   Time allotted :- 35 minutes	40 questions (40 marks)   Time allotted :- 35 minutes
2	English Language	40 questions (40 marks)   Time allotted :-  35 minutes	35 questions (40 minutes)   Time allotted :- 40 minutes
3	Quantitative Aptitude*	50 questions (50 marks)   Time allotted :- 45 minutes	Not present
4	Data Analysis and Interpretation*	Not Present	35 questions (60 marks)   Time allotted :- 45 minutes
5	Reasoning and Computer Aptitude	50 Questions (60 Marks)   Time allotted :- 45 minutes	45 Questions  (60 Marks)   Time allotted :- 60 minutes
6	Descriptive Test	-Not Present-	Present – 50 marks   Time allotted :- 30 minutes

* Please note that the Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation & Analysis section of SBI Clerk and SBI PO exam respectively are overlapping. There were around 10 questions of Data Interpretation in the ‘Quantitative Aptitude’ section of SBI Clerk Main Exam 2021 and likewise you can expect questions from Quantitative Aptitude in the ‘Data Analysis and Interpretation’ section of SBI PO Main Exam.

Based on the number of questions in each section and the respective time allotted to them, let’s have a look how many minutes you will be having per question in SBI PO Main, as compared to SBI Clerk Main :-

SL	Section	SBI Clerk	SBI PO
1	General Awareness (Includes Banking/Finance Awareness)	0.7 minutes/question	0.9 minutes/question
2	English Language	0.9 minutes/question	1.1 minutes/question
3	Quantitative Aptitude / Data Analysis and Interpretation	0.9 minutes/question	1.3 minutes/question
5	Reasoning and Computer Aptitude	0.9 minutes/question	1.3 minutes/question

As you can notice, you got less than one minute per question in SBI Clerk Main, but you will get more than a minute per question in SBI PO Mains (Except General Awareness Section). Hence, though the difficulty level of SBI PO Main will be more than that of SBI Clerk Main Exam, you will definitely be having more time in your hands to solve the questions.

Also, Descriptive Test that you wasn’t present in SBI Clerk Main will be there in the SBI PO Main Exam to test your verbal written communication skills (Essay and Letter Writing).

Salary, Benefits, Career Progressions

Examination	SBI PO 2021	SBI Clerk 2021
Basic Pay	Starting Basic Pay is INR 27,620 with 4 advance increments in scale of 23,700-980/7-30560-1145/2-32850-1310/7-42020	Starting  Basic Pay is INR 11,765 with possible increments along the scales of  11765-655/3-13730-815/3-16175-980/4-20095-1145/7-28110-2120/1-30230-1310/1-31450
Gross Emoluments	Total  pay inclusive of allowances for a probationary officer would range from  INR 68,333 – 1,08,500/- per month depending on place of posting	Total  pay inclusive of allowances for an employee of clerical cadre would be  INR 23,600/- per month in a metro city such as Mumbai
Career Progression	Starting Rank: Probationary Officer Promotion #1: Junior Management Grade Scale-I (JMGS-I) Promotion #2: Middle Management Grade Scale-II (MMGS-II)	Starting Rank: SBI Clerk Promotion #1: Trainee Officer (TO) following 3 Years of Service + Written Test & Interview Promotion #2: Middle Management Grade Scale-II conditional on successful completion of probationary period
Highest Rank Attainable	Chairman	Deputy General Manager

It is extremely important that you start your preparation without wasting any time. To take standardized Mock Test (according to the new pattern) for SBI PO, click here

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