It depends on your definition of bad. What are you comparing to? If you're comparing to remuneration, there is no way public sector will ever be on par with the private sector even for graduates.

However if you're looking at making a difference to our nation and having a good work life balance, then public sector is the place for you. Then again, it varies from organisations to organisations, from portfolios to portfolios.

My suggestion is if you're a male with a diploma, young and ambitious, then venture out into the private sector where there's more room for progression and career advancement. Public sector looks at your academic credential first. Going by that, those with diploma are already on the losing end even before they start.

For example, diploma holders will never reach Div I grade no matter how hard they work, unless they further their studies to obtain a degree. Even then, it varies from organisations to organisations on whether they accept your degree and move you up to Div I.

In comparison, if you work in a private company, you will see people climbing up the corporate ladder based on their accomplishments rather than their academic credentials. This is a totally different story in the public sector for graduates/diploma holders as they will be bounded by PSD's rules and regulation on promotion and remunerations. Having said that, public sector does have it's advantages in that you can be sure of salary increments every year (for avg performers and above), though the quantum isn't that big.