Moving from public to private sector?

[Chrismawa]

I've been offered a new job in the private sector. I have worked in IT in the NHS for the last 8 years. Lack of personal development and progression has made me want to leave but now I'm not sure mainly due to the pension element. The new job will be slightly more money and should be better for personal development, however im unsure in the long run and should I stay with the NHS. Does anyone have any similar experience?

Thanks

[RuthlessGK]

Depends on your own situation pal. If youve worked there 8years can you not wait til redundancies happen and get 8months of pay as a lump sum then get a job lol?
A few years back a guy i know did the above and came back as a contractor in a different role.
All depends on you. Grass isnt always greener but as i said its for you to decide. I work within IT as well and have worked in NHS previously.

[toon10]

It all depends on the circumstances but a slight pay difference may not make up for having a great pension.

I had an interview last month to go the other way from private sector to a public sector job. I didn't get the role but the progression, opportunities and pension looked a lot more attractive in the new role. The flip side is that the pay difference for the same job title was absolutely massive. If I had taken it and they had given me the lower end of the pay scale I'd be £9k per year worse off and lose about £5.5k in bonuses. Add to that a bigger commute stuck in traffic with a car that gets me 25mpg at best and nowhere to park (with permit parking in the surrounding streets) then I couldn't have taken it anyway.

[RTaylor2208]

It has to suit your own circumstances and work ethic, but I did the very same back in 2010, I worked in the NHS for 11 years but by then I had, had my fill of the bullst, lazy attitudes and the lack of opportunities for a good tech person without going into a people management role.

It was probably the best move I ever made, my salary has doubled, I work from home 3 days a week, have flexible working hours and run global data operations for a well known technology company.

The only downsides were losing a generous NHS pension and 40 days a year annual leave.

A word of warning though, to succeed you need to be constantly learning, be willing to do more than your contract states till your established and generally work hard, but it will pay dividends in the end providing you work for a good private sector employer.

[Monty Python]

Assuming the public sector pension actually survives:

https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/01/the-slow-death...

Only 15% of public sector pensions are fully funded - the rest are have a total liability of £1.3 trillion. Add on that people are living longer and you have to ask where all that extra money is going to come from.

[Chrismawa]

Thanks for the input guys. I have accepted the new job as it will help me progress a lot further i think than where I've been for the last 8 years.

[Pulse]

I made a similar move, after 6 years in the public sector.

I wouldn’t go back to the public sector.

[devnull]

Every time I go visit a customer in the public sector, I am reminded never to work in the public sector.

[anonymous-user]

Bit late, but congrats on your new job. Be prepared for hard work, the NHS (medics excepted) is workshy in comparison to the private sector.

[manracer]

I'm an IT contractor, I worked in the public sector for nearly 2 years - NEVER AGAIN.

[xx99xx]

At my public sector organisation, several people over the years have jumped over to the private sector, lured by bigger salary. However, quite a few of those people have come back to join us soon after they left because the grass wasn't greener.

Salary isn't everything (for some people). Work life balance, flexibility, security, pension, job satisfaction etc is worth more to some.

Although I haven't had a pay rise for a few years (other than inflation) and obviously no bonuses, it would take something very special for me to jump ship.

[Countdown]

xx99xx said:

At my public sector organisation, several people over the years have jumped over to the private sector, lured by bigger salary. However, quite a few of those people have come back to join us soon after they left because the grass wasn't greener.

Salary isn't everything (for some people). Work life balance, flexibility, security, pension, job satisfaction etc is worth more to some.

Although I haven't had a pay rise for a few years (other than inflation) and obviously no bonuses, it would take something very special for me to jump ship.

I did my accountancy training in the Public Sector (mainly NHS) but I've been private sector for a while. In general I agree with what you say above.

One of the best things about the Public Sector was working with people who genuinely cared about helping people. None of the people I knew were in it for the money. many could have been earning more if they worked in Asda. A few of the teachers were high flying city types who wanted something that provided them with proper job satsifaction. I'm talking about nurses, teachers, police officers. I've said it on various other threads - the pay they get for the job they do is ridiculous. I wouldn't do it in a million years, I remember a Police Officer dealing with an 18yo lad who was suicidal, a doctor and nurse telling parents that they're daughter hadn't survived...I could go on but it's probably pointless. There are others on here who are far far more knowledgeable about this than me, I only came in contact with them through budget meetings or audits.

Back office wasn't too bad - pay is pretty good up to about £40k but then it turns into a competition to fill dead men's shoes and, actually, even in Finance, the level of responsibility outweighed the salary/benefits (IMHO). At the time I left i think the FD of an average sized Trust with a budget of £100m was on something like £80k - £100k. Anyway, for me personally, I've found private sector much more rewarding (in terms of costs/benefits than Public Sector.