Compare civil service salary

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I agree with the post immediately above. Its really not a bed of roses in CS esp with increased public engagement and scrutiny. Have also seen officers getting shelled by senior
management at meetings, so you definitely are held accountable for
the work you do

That is a good thing for our country, no? Or should civil servants not be accountable?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Sharing my personal experience. Started out at the finance ministry in 2011 as a fresh grad with 2nd upper from local uni, not a scholar, MX13, 3.6k. Pay rise to 4k in my second year. For those with the thinking that CS/PS gives you work-life balance you might be misled. High profile ministries usually deal with alot of work on a daily basis, and fresh grad/new hires bear the blunt of it. I felt burnt out when i approached my second year and took a year off, quit the job to pursue my personal interests.

Came back this year to find a job, and I learnt that it's not easy to find a job in the private sector, given that work in the CS is usually general and niche (at least for what I did for my first job) Applied for 3 SB positions and landed myself in one dealing with the finance industry. Got a 5% increment from my last drawn, and my SB doesnt follow the MX grading. So far it's looking a lot better than my ex-ministry job, and there seems to be decent career prospects within the organisation.

My advice is that for those looking to join CS/PS, find out more about the job description and maybe from friends who are working in a similar position. Be prepared to work with the mindset that you will be here for the long run, it will pay you decently well, but probably less than your equivalent in the private sector. You will also need to bear in mind you might be passed on for promotions, given that competition is as tough. If not tougher than the private sector.

I plan to apply to SBs and was wondering what's an appropriate expected salary to indicate. I'm currently in a ministry.

You mentioned that this SB gave you a 5% increment from your last drawn salary.
Did they meet your expected salary?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I plan to apply to SBs and was wondering what's an appropriate expected salary to indicate. I'm currently in a ministry.

You mentioned that this SB gave you a 5% increment from your last drawn salary.
Did they meet your expected salary?

I landed the SB position having gone on a 1 year sabbatical so i was happy with starting back off at my last drawn pay which was 4k. They gave me 5% more on top of this so you can say it was above what I expected.

I noticed that the bonuses and benefits at the SB is also better than the package I got when i was at the ministry, so yep no complaints.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Sharing my personal experience. Started out at the finance ministry in 2011 as a fresh grad with 2nd upper from local uni, not a scholar, MX13, 3.6k. Pay rise to 4k in my second year. For those with the thinking that CS/PS gives you work-life balance you might be misled. High profile ministries usually deal with alot of work on a daily basis, and fresh grad/new hires bear the blunt of it. I felt burnt out when i approached my second year and took a year off, quit the job to pursue my personal interests.

Came back this year to find a job, and I learnt that it's not easy to find a job in the private sector, given that work in the CS is usually general and niche (at least for what I did for my first job) Applied for 3 SB positions and landed myself in one dealing with the finance industry. Got a 5% increment from my last drawn, and my SB doesnt follow the MX grading. So far it's looking a lot better than my ex-ministry job, and there seems to be decent career prospects within the organisation.

My advice is that for those looking to join CS/PS, find out more about the job description and maybe from friends who are working in a similar position. Be prepared to work with the mindset that you will be here for the long run, it will pay you decently well, but probably less than your equivalent in the private sector. You will also need to bear in mind you might be passed on for promotions, given that competition is as tough. If not tougher than the private sector.

Thks for sharing ur personal experience. U work until totally burn out leh. Ur example juz show the potential pitfalls of joining the CS. Well, at least u went thru a tough patch n managed to pick urself up after tat.tats commendable. I dun haf frens working in those policy formulation roles which is the reason why I am asking here instead. In any case, ur inputs is very much appreciated.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I landed the SB position having gone on a 1 year sabbatical so i was happy with starting back off at my last drawn pay which was 4k. They gave me 5% more on top of this so you can say it was above what I expected.

I noticed that the bonuses and benefits at the SB is also better than the package I got when i was at the ministry, so yep no complaints.

So you indicated an expected salary of 4000 and was offered 4200? That's nice.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thks for sharing ur personal experience. U work until totally burn out leh. Ur example juz show the potential pitfalls of joining the CS. Well, at least u went thru a tough patch n managed to pick urself up after tat.tats commendable. I dun haf frens working in those policy formulation roles which is the reason why I am asking here instead. In any case, ur inputs is very much appreciated.

Not too sure if the contributor was/is in a Policy role, but what he or she shared about CS/PS is most certainly true. No clue how the chill image of CS/PS came about, but my time in Policy roles involved countless late nights and "shelling" (i.e. as I mentioned earlier, be prepared to stand corrected). In fact, I had to work well into 3/4 AM within first few months. This is because while there often are deadlines, work in Policy roles just can't be rushed (e.g. writing an assessment on something is not something you can magically churn out before 6 PM).

Take heed.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Not too sure if the contributor was/is in a Policy role, but what he or she shared about CS/PS is most certainly true. No clue how the chill image of CS/PS came about, but my time in Policy roles involved countless late nights and "shelling" (i.e. as I mentioned earlier, be prepared to stand corrected). In fact, I had to work well into 3/4 AM within first few months. This is because while there often are deadlines, work in Policy roles just can't be rushed (e.g. writing an assessment on something is not something you can magically churn out before 6 PM).

Take heed.

Are you still in the public service? Moved on to non-policy roles?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Not too sure if the contributor was/is in a Policy role, but what he or she shared about CS/PS is most certainly true. No clue how the chill image of CS/PS came about, but my time in Policy roles involved countless late nights and "shelling" (i.e. as I mentioned earlier, be prepared to stand corrected). In fact, I had to work well into 3/4 AM within first few months. This is because while there often are deadlines, work in Policy roles just can't be rushed (e.g. writing an assessment on something is not something you can magically churn out before 6 PM).

Take heed.

Yes I was in a policy role, and truth be told for a first job to take on writing policy or stating a stand, being prepared to be shot down by your boss and go through alot of ding-dong with your bosses and senior management, it's really quite overwhelming for a fresh grad. If I could use an analogy, it's like throwing you into the deep end of a pool when you haven't really even mastered threading water.

Still it was great exposure and I got to work with really committed and intelligent people. It also helped me discover what I didn't really enjoy doing, and what I could foresee myself doing in the future. Some of the colleagues I worked with really put in the effort and hours to get to where they are, but of course there is also the small handful who rise up the ranks purely by virtue of the scholar route.

I'm doing more of a functional role now, which is a little similar to what I used to do, but has a larger operational aspect to the job.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Not too sure if the contributor was/is in a Policy role, but what he or she shared about CS/PS is most certainly true. No clue how the chill image of CS/PS came about, but my time in Policy roles involved countless late nights and "shelling" (i.e. as I mentioned earlier, be prepared to stand corrected). In fact, I had to work well into 3/4 AM within first few months. This is because while there often are deadlines, work in Policy roles just can't be rushed (e.g. writing an assessment on something is not something you can magically churn out before 6 PM).

Take heed.

R the deadlines given realistic? How often does a policy need to be revised or a new policy formulated on average? Is the insane OT u mentioned seasonal? Or does it happen all the time? I took a quick look at the policies for the sb tat I m interviewing for n agree that it cannot be rushed out given the level of complexity n detail inside.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Yes I was in a policy role, and truth be told for a first job to take on writing policy or stating a stand, being prepared to be shot down by your boss and go through alot of ding-dong with your bosses and senior management, it's really quite overwhelming for a fresh grad. If I could use an analogy, it's like throwing you into the deep end of a pool when you haven't really even mastered threading water.

Still it was great exposure and I got to work with really committed and intelligent people. It also helped me discover what I didn't really enjoy doing, and what I could foresee myself doing in the future. Some of the colleagues I worked with really put in the effort and hours to get to where they are, but of course there is also the small handful who rise up the ranks purely by virtue of the scholar route.

I'm doing more of a functional role now, which is a little similar to what I used to do, but has a larger operational aspect to the job.

It seems tat u learned a lot during ur stay there so I tink its was still worth it ba. Functional role? Can to share some generic details? Seems like the policy work folks still remain highly employable in the context of the public sector despite 1 year break in btw.