Compare civil service salary

Originally Posted by Unregistered

march 21 man!!!

Thanks much!

[spastik]

Perhaps the old sages here can enlighten me on my prospects.

Been pretty unlucky with the private sector. Interviews are few and far between despite my not being choosy and explicit low indication of expected salary in my CV.

But at least the public sector is showing giving me more attention.

My stats:
- Econonomics Masters degree (Top Aussie uni), 2nd Upper
- Finance & Business Bachelors (same top aussie uni), 2nd Upper
- Minimal, hence, negligible work experience. Considered ZERO experience.
- Did NS. 2years 3months (i think. around there.)
- 29 before birthday. Almost 30. Ugh
- Married without children. Yet.

What kinda wage can I command or expect in, say, a policy role at a stat board or ministry?

Do i stand a chance in those tough intelligence positions as well?

Thanks very much in advance for the advice.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

march 21 man!!!

Great, then it's bonus in another 2 days!

Hi, I'm a female, 26yrs, with 2nd Uppers for Business USA Degree. Have been working in the public sector for about close to 4 years, last drawn pay was $3200. My starting salary when I first started working was $2500.

I have been offered a position in a Ministry and they are only offering $2600, and I was even told by friends and others in the public sector that government jobs don't pay well. And that $2600 is for fresh grads. I read the previous posts in this threads earlier, and found that some actually do get good pay, or last least still matchable and not so far off that much of a difference.

I don't understand the difference in pay. Should I take the offer? Is there any room for negotiation? What is the pay that I should be expecting? Would stat board pay be higher than that of a ministry?

Thanks!

If pay is your main consideration, you should not remain in the public sector. Your salary increment over the past four years reflects that you are not valued there, or you would be drawing far more than $3,200 after four years. I mean no offence, but merely provide an honest and objective evaluation of your prospects in the public sector. Moving to another ministry for a salary of $2,600, which is barely more than your starting pay again reflects their lack of appreciation of your experience and ability.

In my view, you should consider moving to the private sector. At your pay scale, you are still relatively affordable and a firm would be able to offer you a pay that provides recognition of your working experience. At 26, you are also young enough to start even in a new industry. If you want to advance your long-term pay prospects, then you should leave the public sector as soon as possible to start in the private sector. The skills you pick up in the private sector will give you more mobility, and ironically, if you do choose to return to the public sector in the future, they will in fact value you more as a result of your private sector experience.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi, I'm a female, 26yrs, with 2nd Uppers for Business USA Degree. Have been working in the public sector for about close to 4 years, last drawn pay was $3200. My starting salary when I first started working was $2500.

I have been offered a position in a Ministry and they are only offering $2600, and I was even told by friends and others in the public sector that government jobs don't pay well. And that $2600 is for fresh grads. I read the previous posts in this threads earlier, and found that some actually do get good pay, or last least still matchable and not so far off that much of a difference.

I don't understand the difference in pay. Should I take the offer? Is there any room for negotiation? What is the pay that I should be expecting? Would stat board pay be higher than that of a ministry?

Thanks!

I wouldn't take that 600 pay cut if I were you. Try to look around a while longer or transfer to another department if you can't stand your current boss.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi, I'm a female, 26yrs, with 2nd Uppers for Business USA Degree. Have been working in the public sector for about close to 4 years, last drawn pay was $3200. My starting salary when I first started working was $2500.

I have been offered a position in a Ministry and they are only offering $2600, and I was even told by friends and others in the public sector that government jobs don't pay well. And that $2600 is for fresh grads. I read the previous posts in this threads earlier, and found that some actually do get good pay, or last least still matchable and not so far off that much of a difference.

I don't understand the difference in pay. Should I take the offer? Is there any room for negotiation? What is the pay that I should be expecting? Would stat board pay be higher than that of a ministry?

Thanks!

I don't think it's a reasonable offer.

I'm in a social Ministry. My starting pay four years ago as a fresh grad was $2600. Now i'm drawing $4500.

Originally Posted by blackswan

i do not like the idea of wearing coverall inspecting the petrochemical plants in jurong island , in fact i dont really like hardcore engineering, reading P& ID etc.
I am ok with a bit of technical stuff but i am more interested in the commercial aspects or interplay of technical and commerical aspects in oil/gas industry, however do not have opportunity. Just nice a stat board offered me within 24 hrs of interviewing me so i accepted.

Hi Blackswan,

I totally agree with your view on this. I guess we all have our own personal preferences as to the sort of environment we would want to work in. I have done IA (industrial attachment) in Exxon during my undergrad studies, and that experience was enough to tell me that THAT is not my cup of tea. No doubt the money is good and the bonuses are crazy, but from what I observe, the engineers are made to work for extended hours and the daily work do get kind of routine. Only occasionally will there be exciting episodes in their career, such as during plant start-ups and shut downs. Other than that it is rather routine. Of course there may be those who may contest my views on this, but then again everyone's entitled to an opinion right?

Similar to you, I am also a 2nd Upper Chem Engrg graduate from a local uni graduated in 2009.
Following that, I pursued for my MSc in Chem Eng overseas, which I decided to go for since it was an all-expenses paid, with monthly stipends and bond-free Scholarship.
Now I am back in Sg and soon joining a Stat Board. Have been offered a position but have yet to receive my salary package from HR.

I wonder if someone could tell me what I should be offered by the stat board, given my educational backgrd. Or at least, what is the range? This is so that I will know if I should negotiate or accept/reject the offer. I also heard that recently, there had been some positive revisions to the starting pay for public and civil service. Is this true?

Any input is much appreciated.

[miwashi]

How did you get a bond-free scholarship?

Originally Posted by miwashi

How did you get a bond-free scholarship?

Hi miwashi,

Bond-free scholarships may be considered rare but they do exist. As for my MSc scholarship it was paid for by the government of the country where my university is in. I shall not go into the details of it but several international universities in the middle east are rolling out bond-free scholarships recently.

Even in NTU & NUS, there are bond free PhD scholarships such as the NTU Research scholarship and NUS Research Scholarships which are bond-free. Although the benefits are not that fantastic, but hey, you're getting paid for your studies!! Many people are not aware of these scholarships.