Depends what you learn, but yes, in general it will be hard to jump to private sector, not say impossible but hard

Thank you for the response. Why would it be difficult to jump to private sector? Because the domains are different?

Culture very different, also most big mnc from pte sector got stigma of hiring gov sector ppl who stay there too long.

I see. What kind of culture are you speaking about?

Typical red tape top down gov sector approach to do things. Everything write paper, meeting minutes, clear boss after boss, lots of budget & time to spare, go through motion etc.

To be fair not every gov sector staff is like that, but there are a lot around that find it hard to change and this kind of failed hire scares pte sector employers. Youngsters with <3 years exp inside still ok, those above 30 entire life in gov sector usually find it hard to find employment outside.

I see. So what are they afraid of? That they are not suited to a fast pace culture in the private sector?

It's not just fast or slow, but the general thinking is very different. Gov sector emphasize on follow process, documentation, step by step, approval layer by layer etc.

Pte sector want things done fast, problem solving mode, flexible to change, find ways to keep budget or cut cost etc.

For e.g. earlier this year we had a girl who join us from a ministry for 5 years. Her job was to support the clients to exhibit their products. When she first start, she came to the first monthly meeting with a long pre-read, some research she did with clients & online, and a few concepts for the boss to see what he want.

Boss say not interested in any of these, he just want to know what she want to do, when and how much will it cost and what we get out of the whole thing in the end. Lucky for her she quite pretty with good personality so a lot of colleagues willing to help her and she slowly adapting now.

Just a case to show the difference.

Yes the culture is totally diff, this is based on what I have heard from my friend who is working in govt sector and myself in private sector.

Also, you might not learn much from the organization itself because most of the stuff are outsourced to other company to do (not sure about your job scope). So learning opportunity is very low. and the skills that you learn in DSTA might not be useful in the outside world.

Also, if you jump, you might be facing a pay cut, which many people cannot accept because your peers will be earning more than you and also you might face difficulty in handling your expenses (if you are the one who spend every single cents that kind)

Pace is different, because if you stay too long in public sector, you will get a bit slow due to red tape and such, but in private sector, is different, you got the idea you do. Thus, you will be expecting different kind of pace.

last but not least, you will be comparing benefits from public and private sector, cause DSTA the benefit is certainly good and some private sector gives their employee a bare minimum employee benefits. then you will start to complain and many things will happen from then on (attitude, lack of motivation and etc.)

i see.. i would like to thank the both of you for your valuable insights.

and i suppose dsta is very scholar orientated in terms of promotion and advancement huh?

Just like most stat boards or quasi gov agency, advancement up to non-superscale level very much depend on your own performance. But if you want to go beyond that into superscale territory then yes you either have to be a scholar or someone powerful in DSTA/Mindef/SAF must take you under his mentorship.