Originally Posted by Unregistered

The specialised scheme premium is cancelled out by the extra time it takes for most EOs to move up the EO grades. It's fine and dandy until you want to cross over to another scheme, then you suddenly find yourself a grade or two behind your peers.

The difference is not so pronounced when crossing over to MXO, because to be honest their promotions aren't as fast either. But when crossing over to other specialised schemes in other ministries/agencies, you could see gaping differences.