Originally Posted by qwerty

People jump for various reasons, like 1)Cannot progress in current coy due to politics, 2)Sick of the long hours and want a cushier job, etc so that's not a very strong indication of anything.

Fact is the civil service generally pays no more than above average at best. Why people have the perception that CS pays higher is because 1)they do pay fresh grads quite well at the start, 2)the increment and bonus differences between an avg and a good performer is small and 3)there are also below avg performers in the pte sector who get poor increments and bonuses.

Once you control for calibre, I think people will see that 1)poor - avg performers in the CS are paid better than counterparts in good MNCs and 2)Above avg and good performers in the pte sector tend to do better in the longer term.