What does "civil servant" mean to you?

[MrsTingly]

If you hear someone is a civil servant, what image comes to mind? For me, Sir Humphrey etc- I imagine someone with an important and senior job (or on the track to one) working at the heart of government. DH says for him it conjures up someone working in the dole office.

Obviously it's a very broad category and encompasses both, but where does your mind go? (Context is we just that we were watching Mastermind and someone gave their occupation as civil servant.)

Additionally, you need to be flexible as a civil servant - in a crisis you can be pulled into a completely different area of work dependent on need. Often working long hours and (dependent on grade / role) contactable 24/7.

I'm a civil servant but I hold a specialist technical role in civil engineering

I generally refer to myself as a "civil engineer for the Department of x"
That's my experience of people with technical or specialist roles who work within the civil service. When asked what they do, they usually lead with "I'm an engineer/in cyber security, an accountant, a lawyer, a software developer", rather than "I'm a civil servant ".

Edit to change clumsy phrasing

I think more of people working in underpaid admin roles that can be tough than I do of Sir Humphrey

@LolaSmiles even "civil engineering" doesn't mean much to me.
I mean what do you do ?

I disagree. But I think your view is the one most people hold.

I don’t think drafting advice to Ministers on something as complex as designating terrorist organisations is boring…or writing the policy on Rwanda - complex and morally difficult, not boring.

Ambassadors (Karen Pierce) are Civil Servants - that’s definitely not a boring job.

Yes there are lots of shit ones, but there’s also a lot of very interesting ones which you could never do in the private sector

LolaSmiles even "civil engineering" doesn't mean much to me.
I mean what do you do ?
It doesn't mean much to me other than some type of engineering, but it's a bit clearer than 'civil servant'. I don't understand what a lot of roles do day to day, but I'd understand if someone said they were a software developer that they do something in IT and it's a professional role or if someone said they were an accountant I'd know it's something financial.

When people say "civil servant" it could mean anyone from someone being a pen pusher in a back office to someone with a high level of expertise in their policy field, to a range of professional roles who happen to he employed within the civil service.

If someone works for Marks and Spencer and I asked what they did for a living, I would expect them to say "I work in M & S," rather than say they are a retail assistant.

Some poor bugger who works in the job centre with the thankless task of trying to coax the lazy, the disinterested, the workshy, the dodgy and those with made-up ‘illnesses’ to look for work to support themselves. And all for £24k a year.