Compare civil service salary

Originally Posted by Unregistered

If you work in a SME, chances are that civil service will be much better than it.
If you work in a MNC/listed company, chances are that civil service will be much lousier than it in terms of potential for progress.

The civil service is progressively also getting more stringent on offering that iron rice bowl and increasingly more willing to let go of underperforming staff. That said, it still has the strongest stability for any employer once you get confirmed.

The worst thing about civil service for non scholars is that it has a deeply entrenched practice of rewarding people for their past achievements rather than their current contributions. E.g. if you hadve a first class honour degree, or if you are a govt scholar, you will get amplified credit for promotion even if there is someone who has objectively contributed more than you but who isnt a scholar. That can be extremely frustrating for talent who simply did not excel in school/ were exam smart.

Over time you will see that the scholars will remain, non-scholar talent will leave, and those who just wish to lie low and work hard for the next pay cheque will remain. This is the typical long term picture.

So you can decide based on your academic profile and character whether the civil service is good for you.

There seems to be a lot of first class hons grads going to civil service. They're not treated like scholars right? I.e. they get higher starting salary but do not get the same promotions

Originally Posted by Unregistered

There seems to be a lot of first class hons grads going to civil service. They're not treated like scholars right? I.e. they get higher starting salary but do not get the same promotions

In some ministries they do

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Is the civil sector salary the same/better/not as good as the private sector?

Can someone explain this comparison to me. Fresh grad trying to learn here.

Just my 2 cents worth. Objectively, the nature of work in Ministries and SBs can be quite diff. Ms focuses a lot on policies, studies and governance while SBs are more focused in the execution of policies/regulations in their respective domains.

There are significantly more scholars in the Ms simply because the govt thinks that's where the thinking caps should go. And to justify their investments in the scholarships, they are obliged to give the scholars more opportunities to shine. Competing with these scholars require you to be on par with them in terms of eloquence, confidence and insight. These aren't exactly quantifiable traits, hence it can seem unfair during perfomance evaluation.

On the other hand, work at SBs often has more defined KPIs. If you are a do-er more than a thinker, you have more opportunities to shine there. Scholars here will still have advantages, but end results are more visible. I have seen farmers rise faster than scholars because they delivered higher KPIs. But course, there isn't the norm.

Hi is there anyone able to share the starting salary range in gov sector for technical officer with 10 years working experience.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

In some ministries they do

Oh! What ministries are they?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

a lot of factors to take into consideration:

1) did u take up the diploma on your own?
2) or were u sent by your ministry to take this diploma for further upgrading?

if 2), u can throw hints/be direct to your RO/boss and let him know that u have alr graduated n seek for promotion/higher pay.
NOTE N DISCLAIMER: not all M and SBs practice this. in fact, some of them even warn u beforehand on the bonded letter that nothing will happen to u even after graduation.

if your case is 1), im afraid that your organisation will only consider certs that are relevant to your industry. i know bcos i have seen ex-colleagues leaving after completing their degree n not getting rewarded at all.

Thank you for this info. Appreciate. Really helpful.

Ya i took the diploma on my own and ya it's a recognised cert (from local poly) relevant to my industry. I wrote it to HR to enquire. Just trying my luck since I need to update them on my updated qualification. Currently waiting for their reply and just crossing my fingers. Wish me luck!

Has anyone in ministry asked for a pay raise successfully before?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Has anyone in ministry asked for a pay raise successfully before?

It's not April 1st yet haha

Originally Posted by Unregistered

It's not April 1st yet haha

Means CS cannot make a request off cycle? Private anytime can.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

This is indeed the situation in my stat board. Regret joining from private sector. No scholar no go.

you are lucky not to be retrenched in private sector and think too highly assuming you'll get promoted outside... since when do you have the right to dissent in imperial singapore?