There is no way the civil service will offer a pay increase even, unless they invited you for the job, or if you are joining from a completely different area to one which is inherently more lucrative, for example, moving from being a social worker to becoming a MOE teacher. If you are moving from the private sector to do the same thing in the civil service, then at best they will match your pay. The PSD's philosophy has always been that they will not lead the market, so there's no way a public sector job with the same job scope will pay more than a private sector one. The only exception is when you are a high-flier and you progress faster than your peers, in which case you will lead the market, but only because you have jumped to a pay grade for those who are supposed to be older. But as I said, only the scholars and AOs will enjoy that kind of advantage.