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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.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

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.

Right now it's more of project management, where we execute pre-determined policy directions and do liaison work with external counterparts. More operational, but with some leeway for our own improvisation where applicable. Like I mentioned, the SB is quite large and there is possibility to join other departments to do other areas of work after 3 years. I foresee myself staying for as long as I possibly can.

Given the shock and exposure from the first job, you will learn to appreciate your next one better. Haha at least that's the case for me. As for employability, not necessarily so. Like I mentioned, I applied for 3 SB positions, the 2 who rejected me had the same job scope as my first job. (my own theory is that they know the nature of the job causes people to burn out quite fast, and they probably will prefer hiring fresh grads). Given the niche nature of the job, it was also near impossible to find a similar role in the private sector, thus going back to PS was the clearest choice.

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.

Ah. Nice to meet someone who have had more or less the same experience. Agree with what is said here - both about the learning curve, and also about getting to work with amazing, committed and intelligent folks.

For me, I've too moved on to a more functional role but still work very closely with those in Policy. Knowing their set of rationale/concerns makes working really does empower those down the stream (i.e. execution).

Deadlines are deadlines. Some are realistic, and some are ridiculous. 3/4 AM OT tends to be seasonal, but working at home until 9/10 PM is rather normal. That was so for me back then, at least.

All in all, you need to be comfortable with writing. Copious amounts of writing. And I think this is the third time I said this now, but you would definitely need to be comfortable with your paper being discussed (in some cases, torn apart). The bright side of all these is, as the other contributor shared, you learn a LOT in Policy. I am not sure where else one can learn as much but then again I could be biased, since I started out in Policy and all.

Hope this helps you, as well as all others who are or may be considering a career in Policy.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

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.

Apart from writing papers, policy officers have to carry out secretariat and staffing duties too. Takes up quite a lot of time.