No progression in civil service...

Originally Posted by Konfidant

My job right now is similar to auditing, although with much more networking, plus I have people management responsibilities.

I've been headhunted on behalf of banks numerous times, but never took them seriously until now. I do like my current job, but having stagnated for 3 years, with other offers on the table already, really makes me question my unrewarded loyalty.

I've tried to be as objective as I can, but apart from being scholars who have higher education levels (one has Honours, the other has a Masters), I don't see how the ones promoted over me are 'better'. I take more initiative, and do better work judging from numbers alone. If this is how it's going to be from now on, then my only choices for further advancement are to get my postgrad, or switch to the private sector...

Let's take things into perspective a bit - you been working for 9/10 years in the Civil Service, started with 3.3k and now earn slightly over 8k monthly. That would peg you around MX11A band currently. (assuming 8k is your monthly salary, excluding bonuses)
Now, the problem is that you are comparing yourself against scholars, maybe because your unit has more scholars on average. Ideally, you should be judged on your work and not paper qualifications, but being in the service this long you should know the reality. However, what you should be doing is comparing yourself against non-scholars as well. In that category, you seem to well ahead of the curve (I would say top 5-10% of non-scholars in terms of progression within your cohort). You have effectively tripled your salary in 9 years. It seems you got promoted relatively quickly earlier (Made manager in less than 6 years) i.e. that when you became MX11A. That, my friend, for a non-scholar with an overseas degree, is quite impressive.

The reason you are being looked over may be related to scholars getting first dibs, but also perhaps may be due to the estab in your office. Maybe they do not have a senior position available to justify promoting you (don’t forget scholars are transient, they come, they do, they go – their promo estab comes from their respective ministry/agency). Or perhaps you could be in a situation where your CEP hasn’t been pushed up (maybe ask your boss when you for drinks), so that could be stalling your promotion as well. It is possible to score good PB grade consistently and yet not get promoted because of low CEP.

If you have been performing well and have a good CEP, then ask your boss to recommend you for the PSLP programme – that’s a good way to showcase your leadership qualities and be put on a faster track for promotion/progression.

Your pay increment has probably slowed down because you are coming closer to your pay ceiling of MX11A (around 8.5k). Don’t worry, once you get next promotion, you will see a decent jump. Though, you are around 34-45, taking home 130k annually currently – go input this into Salary.sg income bracket calculator, and see what percentile you are amongst SG taxpayers (those who earn above 20k annually). You will easily be in the top 10-15% of earners.

Plus, you say you like your work – this means you either have good colleagues, or have passion for what you do, or both. That is an often underappreciated aspect of a job – moving to a new job might be better financially, but you might end up with bad colleagues/bosses. You said you have been overlooked for 2-3 years now, which means you are closer to getting another promotion (usually non-scholars get promoted every 4-5 yrs). More reason to wait another year out and see how it goes.
Lastly, the best advice I can give you is to not make work the central focus of your life. There are better things outside work that can be done and bring much greater joy and meaning. Once you let non-work stuff define you, you learn to be more chill about working in civil service.

In summary, to answer your initial question, based on how you are doing, yes you should consider staying in CS since you are doing relatively well for a non-scholar. Seems like you have a good work environment as well, and like what you do. Just derive a little less meaning from work and more from outside work.

Let's take things into perspective a bit - you been working for 9/10 years in the Civil Service, started with 3.3k and now earn slightly over 8k monthly. That would peg you around MX11A band currently. (assuming 8k is your monthly salary, excluding bonuses)

Now, the problem is that you are comparing yourself against scholars, maybe because your unit has more scholars on average. Ideally, you should be judged on your work and not paper qualifications, but being in the service this long you should know the reality. However, what you should be doing is comparing yourself against non-scholars as well. In that category, you seem to well ahead of the curve (I would say top 5-10% of non-scholars in terms of progression within your cohort). You have effectively tripled your salary in 9 years. It seems you got promoted relatively quickly earlier (Made manager in less than 6 years) i.e. that when you became MX11A. That, my friend, for a non-scholar with an overseas degree, is quite impressive.

The reason you are being looked over may be related to scholars getting first dibs, but also perhaps may be due to the estab in your office. Maybe they do not have a senior position available to justify promoting you (don’t forget scholars are transient, they come, they do, they go – their promo estab comes from their respective ministry/agency). Or perhaps you could be in a situation where your CEP hasn’t been pushed up (maybe ask your boss when you for drinks), so that could be stalling your promotion as well. It is possible to score good PB grade consistently and yet not get promoted because of low CEP.

If you have been performing well and have a good CEP, then ask your boss to recommend you for the PSLP programme – that’s a good way to showcase your leadership qualities and be put on a faster track for promotion/progression.

Your pay increment has probably slowed down because you are coming closer to your pay ceiling of MX11A (around 8.5k). Don’t worry, once you get next promotion, you will see a decent jump. Though, you are around 34-45, taking home 130k annually currently – go input this into Salary.sg income bracket calculator, and see what percentile you are amongst SG taxpayers (those who earn above 20k annually). You will easily be in the top 10-15% of earners.

Plus, you say you like your work – this means you either have good colleagues, or have passion for what you do, or both. That is an often underappreciated aspect of a job – moving to a new job might be better financially, but you might end up with bad colleagues/bosses. You said you have been overlooked for 2-3 years now, which means you are closer to getting another promotion (usually non-scholars get promoted every 4-5 yrs). More reason to wait another year out and see how it goes.

Lastly, the best advice I can give you is to not make work the central focus of your life. There are better things outside work that can be done and bring much greater joy and meaning. Once you let non-work stuff define you, you learn to be more chill about working in civil service.

In summary, to answer your initial question, based on how you are doing, yes you should consider staying in CS since you are doing relatively well for a non-scholar. Seems like you have a good work environment as well, and like what you do. Just derive a little less meaning from work and more from outside work.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Let's take things into perspective a bit - you been working for 9/10 years in the Civil Service, started with 3.3k and now earn slightly over 8k monthly. That would peg you around MX11A band currently. (assuming 8k is your monthly salary, excluding bonuses)

Now, the problem is that you are comparing yourself against scholars, maybe because your unit has more scholars on average. Ideally, you should be judged on your work and not paper qualifications, but being in the service this long you should know the reality. However, what you should be doing is comparing yourself against non-scholars as well. In that category, you seem to well ahead of the curve (I would say top 5-10% of non-scholars in terms of progression within your cohort). You have effectively tripled your salary in 9 years. It seems you got promoted relatively quickly earlier (Made manager in less than 6 years) i.e. that when you became MX11A. That, my friend, for a non-scholar with an overseas degree, is quite impressive.

The reason you are being looked over may be related to scholars getting first dibs, but also perhaps may be due to the estab in your office. Maybe they do not have a senior position available to justify promoting you (don’t forget scholars are transient, they come, they do, they go – their promo estab comes from their respective ministry/agency). Or perhaps you could be in a situation where your CEP hasn’t been pushed up (maybe ask your boss when you for drinks), so that could be stalling your promotion as well. It is possible to score good PB grade consistently and yet not get promoted because of low CEP.

If you have been performing well and have a good CEP, then ask your boss to recommend you for the PSLP programme – that’s a good way to showcase your leadership qualities and be put on a faster track for promotion/progression.

Your pay increment has probably slowed down because you are coming closer to your pay ceiling of MX11A (around 8.5k). Don’t worry, once you get next promotion, you will see a decent jump. Though, you are around 34-45, taking home 130k annually currently – go input this into Salary.sg income bracket calculator, and see what percentile you are amongst SG taxpayers (those who earn above 20k annually). You will easily be in the top 10-15% of earners.

Plus, you say you like your work – this means you either have good colleagues, or have passion for what you do, or both. That is an often underappreciated aspect of a job – moving to a new job might be better financially, but you might end up with bad colleagues/bosses. You said you have been overlooked for 2-3 years now, which means you are closer to getting another promotion (usually non-scholars get promoted every 4-5 yrs). More reason to wait another year out and see how it goes.

Lastly, the best advice I can give you is to not make work the central focus of your life. There are better things outside work that can be done and bring much greater joy and meaning. Once you let non-work stuff define you, you learn to be more chill about working in civil service.

In summary, to answer your initial question, based on how you are doing, yes you should consider staying in CS since you are doing relatively well for a non-scholar. Seems like you have a good work environment as well, and like what you do. Just derive a little less meaning from work and more from outside work.

Very good advise for TS....
In conclusion, i guess many different replies had give a 3rd party opinion.

My opinion on this also staying in CS might be good even though there are "alot of money" out there. Reason being:

1) I value stability, I know i can take my current pay + some increment and retire early or the age i want
2) Working environment is good, like what TS mentioned , okay with boss, co-worker
3) More money doesnt mean more happy in the sense, environment changes, and risk of meeting lousy bosses or co-worker, even increase money so what? Everyday is living HELL.

I work in the private sector and am lucky to be in a good company. Good bosses, colleagues and dynamic culture. Salary is good as well.

There is no end with comparing with people. Comparing dont make us happier. I have friends who did much better than me. I believe that having a good boss and enviromment is not easy to come back. I value them more than good salary.

You should talk to your boss again on your concerns.

Be grateful with what you already have.

TS sounds like he likes the job very much.

So, go get a Masters. Ask for a post grad scholarship. Or to do part time masters, ideally sponsored if not at least with HR support and lesser workload for a year. The reality is paper matters in civil service.

Originally Posted by Konfidant

Started with 3.3k, now I'm basically stuck at 8k. I've had barely 1k increment in regular salary in 2-3 years, and at my rank I need a promotion that I'm repeatedly being passed over for to get any significant increase.

Not sure if it has got to do with CEP?

[Konfidant]

Thanks for all the advice.

From all the information I've got from various sources, I feel like my breakdown of options essentially boils down to continuing to wait, moving to a higher paid private sector job, or pursuing my postgrad education.

For now, I've decided to discuss with my boss the option of taking extended leave to pursue my postgrad. If I am guaranteed job security even after leaving to study, this is probably my ideal choice.

Civil service is like this one de ma. Just work normal and use salary to invest in stocks/property. I am richer than everyone in my division except the director.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Civil service is like this one de ma. Just work normal and use salary to invest in stocks/property. I am richer than everyone in my division except the director.

Other than director which is rarer, anyone in cs with a deg is some sort of AD or DD. "Richer than everyone except director" is just a bombastic way to say above average.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Other than director which is rarer, anyone in cs with a deg is some sort of AD or DD. "Richer than everyone except director" is just a bombastic way to say above average.

That idiot obviously not from cs & dunno how to even boast properly.