Ministry or stat board with master degree

[mangogreen]

Hi, I am about to complete my master's deg in the UK and is considering civil service jobs. I saw a vacancy in one of the stat boards that somewhat fits my skills although may not be the most interesting job I could think of.

So here comes the question: Is it better (i.e starting pay, career progression in terms of pay, glass ceiling, etc) to get a job at a stat board that potentially utilises more of my skills or one of equivalent level at a ministry, assuming jobs in ministries are generally paid better? I've read some of the other civil service threads in this forum so I'm aware of some of the discussions wrt the MXO structure.

My hypothesis is that I may be taken more seriously at the stat board because I can fit more skills to the job, whereas at any ministry (taken a look at the vacancies in general), I am likely going to do jobs that other people of similar subject backgrounds (social sciences) can do. It's rather awkward since I'm not considered a specialist in hard terms (i.e lawyer, doctor, engineer, economist, foreign affair) but still differentiable in terms of course content from other equivalent degrees in most other universities, foreign or local. So I don't know how much ministries actually care about your course content, or that they just "judge" you according to your degree title, results and uni.

For reference, I'm female, had undergrad in another UK uni (both undergrad and master Kunis well recognised), a few internship experiences (including one with a ministry) but no full-time working experience. Also a farmer.

Thanks.

Mango green I prefer watermelon pink.

Originally Posted by mangogreen

Hi, I am about to complete my master's deg in the UK and is considering civil service jobs. I saw a vacancy in one of the stat boards that somewhat fits my skills although may not be the most interesting job I could think of.

So here comes the question: Is it better (i.e starting pay, career progression in terms of pay, glass ceiling, etc) to get a job at a stat board that potentially utilises more of my skills or one of equivalent level at a ministry, assuming jobs in ministries are generally paid better? I've read some of the other civil service threads in this forum so I'm aware of some of the discussions wrt the MXO structure.

My hypothesis is that I may be taken more seriously at the stat board because I can fit more skills to the job, whereas at any ministry (taken a look at the vacancies in general), I am likely going to do jobs that other people of similar subject backgrounds (social sciences) can do. It's rather awkward since I'm not considered a specialist in hard terms (i.e lawyer, doctor, engineer, economist, foreign affair) but still differentiable in terms of course content from other equivalent degrees in most other universities, foreign or local. So I don't know how much ministries actually care about your course content, or that they just "judge" you according to your degree title, results and uni.

For reference, I'm female, had undergrad in another UK uni (both undergrad and master Kunis well recognised), a few internship experiences (including one with a ministry) but no full-time working experience. Also a farmer.

Thanks.

Ministries deal with policy work, while stat boards do more "practical" work (relatively speaking).

Without knowing your course content or the exact job you are applying for, its really difficult to tell.

But generally speaking, if you have a social science background, you will not be taken seriously anywhere in Singapore anyway. In fact, a masters or a phd will actually worsen your prospect.