Is the public sector as bad as what they say?
Discussion
I work in IT, for a growing IT company, however my pay is pretty terrible and after 18 months it hasn't got much better. So I have been looking to move on, much to the disgust of some pals who keep saying "stay on for 2 years in total, as it will look better on my C.V". While they are right, I am fed up of the crap pay.
So I have been for an interview at my local council for the same I.T position, but on enterprise level networks and the chance for a lot of further development (courses etc), room for progression, much better pay and a much larger team to work in (this is a major bonus for me).
However, I have been doing my research and a lot of people slate the private sector, but the one that concerns me is, a number of people (including my friend who is a recruitment consultant) have said that if I took the job, it will harm my C.V and make it very difficult to leave the public sector in the future. Is this actually true? My friend is assures me that it is and I would be foolish to leave my job.
My current pay for my position of 2nd line tech is 16k (already under what other private companies pay) and the new job is offering £21k with a pay rise 3 months in.
So to summarise - I have been offered a job with my local council, with better pay and prospects. However I am concerned that joining the public sector will harm my future.
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Regards
P.B
So I have been for an interview at my local council for the same I.T position, but on enterprise level networks and the chance for a lot of further development (courses etc), room for progression, much better pay and a much larger team to work in (this is a major bonus for me).
However, I have been doing my research and a lot of people slate the private sector, but the one that concerns me is, a number of people (including my friend who is a recruitment consultant) have said that if I took the job, it will harm my C.V and make it very difficult to leave the public sector in the future. Is this actually true? My friend is assures me that it is and I would be foolish to leave my job.
My current pay for my position of 2nd line tech is 16k (already under what other private companies pay) and the new job is offering £21k with a pay rise 3 months in.
So to summarise - I have been offered a job with my local council, with better pay and prospects. However I am concerned that joining the public sector will harm my future.
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Regards
P.B
I've moved from Private to Public, back to Private again and now a combination of the two (but mostly Public) and it certainly hasn't harmed me in any way. Each move was a step up both in terms of career progression and salary.
A good friend of mine is in the Civil Service (lowest band of the Senior pay grade) and has been approached a number of times by private organisations with job offers.
A good friend of mine is in the Civil Service (lowest band of the Senior pay grade) and has been approached a number of times by private organisations with job offers.
Its easy. You wont want to leave. The politics will be very real and very annoying however. And the waste!!!
I had a meeting with two council members recentky. They broughtbsome paperwork with them for me. Two things:
It was in full colour. Why? I dont have access to a colour printer at all
Amongst their paperwork was some confidentual looking paperwork from a member of the public. I knew what had happened: they had just picked up the pile, assumed it was all from them and picked it up. No matter: power without responsability or comeback. Easy.
I had a meeting with two council members recentky. They broughtbsome paperwork with them for me. Two things:
It was in full colour. Why? I dont have access to a colour printer at all
Amongst their paperwork was some confidentual looking paperwork from a member of the public. I knew what had happened: they had just picked up the pile, assumed it was all from them and picked it up. No matter: power without responsability or comeback. Easy.
IT is predominately about what technical skills you have. The public sector tends to have less money to splash about on hardware/software than the private sector (I realize that goes against a central belief of PH) so you're less likely to pickup skills with the latest flashy kit which you can use to leap onto the next well paying band wagon.
Not in IT but have made the move. As had been said waste is everywhere, certain peoples attitudes writhe regards to work is trying and you sometimes feel as if you are hitting your head against a brick wall, but had some if not all of these issues whilst working in the private sector. As for career, I get asked and offered jobs all time, usually through LinkedIn so don't think you will have an issue. Overall, at the moment, 2 years in, I quite enjoy it and it's a challenge.
If you a fixing stuff then it shouldn't make much difference. It's when you get up to higher levels and decisions need to be made that the politics really kicks in. I generally plan for double the Professional Services in a PS engagement as it generally takes twice as long.
Don't expect the latest kit. Everything will be very safe.
Then all of a sudden they will buy a really cutting edge piece of equipment that no one knows what use it for. You will spend 3 years working with it, spending millions before it being dropped before more than 10 users are active. Meanwhile no money will be spent on properly critical systems.
Don't expect the latest kit. Everything will be very safe.
Then all of a sudden they will buy a really cutting edge piece of equipment that no one knows what use it for. You will spend 3 years working with it, spending millions before it being dropped before more than 10 users are active. Meanwhile no money will be spent on properly critical systems.
Pig benis said:
I work in IT, for a growing IT company, however my pay is pretty terrible and after 18 months it hasn't got much better. So I have been looking to move on, much to the disgust of some pals who keep saying "stay on for 2 years in total, as it will look better on my C.V". While they are right, I am fed up of the crap pay.
So I have been for an interview at my local council for the same I.T position, but on enterprise level networks and the chance for a lot of further development (courses etc), room for progression, much better pay and a much larger team to work in (this is a major bonus for me).
However, I have been doing my research and a lot of people slate the private sector, but the one that concerns me is, a number of people (including my friend who is a recruitment consultant) have said that if I took the job, it will harm my C.V and make it very difficult to leave the public sector in the future. Is this actually true? My friend is assures me that it is and I would be foolish to leave my job.
My current pay for my position of 2nd line tech is 16k (already under what other private companies pay) and the new job is offering £21k with a pay rise 3 months in.
So to summarise - I have been offered a job with my local council, with better pay and prospects. However I am concerned that joining the public sector will harm my future.
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Regards
P.B
I'd be amazed if working there harmed your future. I can't see how moving for more experience and training would be a bad thing for you.So I have been for an interview at my local council for the same I.T position, but on enterprise level networks and the chance for a lot of further development (courses etc), room for progression, much better pay and a much larger team to work in (this is a major bonus for me).
However, I have been doing my research and a lot of people slate the private sector, but the one that concerns me is, a number of people (including my friend who is a recruitment consultant) have said that if I took the job, it will harm my C.V and make it very difficult to leave the public sector in the future. Is this actually true? My friend is assures me that it is and I would be foolish to leave my job.
My current pay for my position of 2nd line tech is 16k (already under what other private companies pay) and the new job is offering £21k with a pay rise 3 months in.
So to summarise - I have been offered a job with my local council, with better pay and prospects. However I am concerned that joining the public sector will harm my future.
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Regards
P.B
What I would say is, get what you can from the role and then consider your future wisely. There is nothing wrong with public sector work, I have loved the time I've spent there so far, and I think coming in now as a new person you kind of know no different (already on the new pension scheme, etc).
I certainly have been offered good roles in the past, and the fact you have commercial experience already gives you an edge in the future.
There isn't a straight forward answer to this.
It depends on where you want to go with your career, as has been said above the lack of "new" kit and software can mean your technical skill base falls behind the rest of the industry.
The private employers I know in IT (I'm one) while not actively avoiding people with a public sector background we are on the look out for those who are too used to working in the cultures that pervade some of those organisations.
Now I'm not saying it's universally true and it maybe widely inaccurate in specific cases but public sector IT does have a poor reputation in other areas of the industry.
It does sound like your salary is kinda crappy for IT and if there isn't much available elsewhere then you might be better off moving but just go into it with your eyes open and when applying for Jobs afterwards I'd make sure your CV stands you out from the stereotype.
It depends on where you want to go with your career, as has been said above the lack of "new" kit and software can mean your technical skill base falls behind the rest of the industry.
The private employers I know in IT (I'm one) while not actively avoiding people with a public sector background we are on the look out for those who are too used to working in the cultures that pervade some of those organisations.
Now I'm not saying it's universally true and it maybe widely inaccurate in specific cases but public sector IT does have a poor reputation in other areas of the industry.
It does sound like your salary is kinda crappy for IT and if there isn't much available elsewhere then you might be better off moving but just go into it with your eyes open and when applying for Jobs afterwards I'd make sure your CV stands you out from the stereotype.
Slurms said:
There isn't a straight forward answer to this.
It depends on where you want to go with your career, as has been said above the lack of "new" kit and software can mean your technical skill base falls behind the rest of the industry.
The private employers I know in IT (I'm one) while not actively avoiding people with a public sector background we are on the look out for those who are too used to working in the cultures that pervade some of those organisations.
Now I'm not saying it's universally true and it maybe widely inaccurate in specific cases but public sector IT does have a poor reputation in other areas of the industry.
It does sound like your salary is kinda crappy for IT and if there isn't much available elsewhere then you might be better off moving but just go into it with your eyes open and when applying for Jobs afterwards I'd make sure your CV stands you out from the stereotype.
Thank you everyone for your constructive input. It depends on where you want to go with your career, as has been said above the lack of "new" kit and software can mean your technical skill base falls behind the rest of the industry.
The private employers I know in IT (I'm one) while not actively avoiding people with a public sector background we are on the look out for those who are too used to working in the cultures that pervade some of those organisations.
Now I'm not saying it's universally true and it maybe widely inaccurate in specific cases but public sector IT does have a poor reputation in other areas of the industry.
It does sound like your salary is kinda crappy for IT and if there isn't much available elsewhere then you might be better off moving but just go into it with your eyes open and when applying for Jobs afterwards I'd make sure your CV stands you out from the stereotype.
So the outcome that I have arrived at is, I have accepted the job. My reasons for taking it are, the pay is a damn sight better and after having a word with my boss, there is no scope for movement with my pay. This was a big deciding factor, but also I have a very strong feeling that I will not be progressing in my job. The team is very small (4 including me), there is already 1 manager, 1 senior support technician, the MD and me. As great as the team is, I just have no scope for movement. I firmly believe that I will have a lot more opportunities at the Council to progress.
I don't start for 6-8 weeks and I will be handing in my notice at the end of this week, whereby I have to work a months notice, so I will have some time off which I intend on going skiing.
Some of you have mentioned that I won't be exposed to so much of the new technology on the market, well that might be true, I am very much into playing about with new equipment/software/hardware at home. So I hope that will be enough. At the moment I am teaching myself VMWare on a server that I built.
Anyway.. Thank you again for the advice
P.B
I have to admit we use to take on dispensers (pharmacy) from the NHS who just couldn't hack the private sector and used to leave or cry alot so we were always wary of employing them. we would only accept them when we could not fill the role with private sector workers. We had one go the other way to the nhs. She hated the slow pace and disorganisation so she came back to us.
The key to coming out of a public sector role is not to show a 'public sector attitude'. As a private sector IT employer we've interviewed public sector people but I don't recall employing one because the attitude is wrong, there is a sense of more time, less urgency. If we have a customer with a problem it needs solving now, if we need to roll out new kit we need to do it without disturbing the business and so on. Some how public sector people don't seem to get that. But that is about having the right attitude at interview, not so much where you coming from.
Would agree completely with the last 2 posters, its about attitude. In my short time within the public sector, there are clearly a large number of people who wouldn't survive in the private sector mainly down to their attitude. If you can keep the mindsight of the private sector when working within the public sector you will be fine when transferring back, if that happens.
AMG01 said:
Would agree completely with the last 2 posters, its about attitude. In my short time within the public sector, there are clearly a large number of people who wouldn't survive in the private sector mainly down to their attitude. If you can keep the mindsight of the private sector when working within the public sector you will be fine when transferring back, if that happens.
I will most definitely keep my focused, task orientated and time concious mind set in my new position. Since handing my notice in there is a terrible atmosphere in the office. I thought that I really got along with my boss, however that appears to have changed now. I did explain that it was a really hard decision and that it is really not a personal thing against the company. My final day is the 31st January, so I hope things calm down a bit
AMG01 said:
Would agree completely with the last 2 posters, its about attitude. In my short time within the public sector, there are clearly a large number of people who wouldn't survive in the private sector mainly down to their attitude. If you can keep the mindsight of the private sector when working within the public sector you will be fine when transferring back, if that happens.
I don't understand this. The 'mindset of the private sector'? Is there one? Is that not a sweeping generalisation? I don't believe there is such thing.As has been said, there are good and bad people in both sectors.
I was private sector for around 3 years, then public sector for around 6 years, and now back in the private sector. I'm the same person I've always been.
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