AIBU to discourage DC from entering public sector careers?

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DD17, DD14 and DS12 have all been talking a lot about jobs they’d like to do lately. They are all very different fish, 2 very academic girls and one creative but not so book smart DS. Their schools to introduce a broad range of careers, but their teachers (understandably) seem to know more about public sector roles such as teaching, legal aid law and health professions (there’s a special ‘get into medicine course DD was encouraged to do).

When I started out, there were good options for people looking to work in the public sector. I headed into a helping profession in a Local Authority (but struggled with the inflexibility and have since moved into private practice). Friends were looking forward to careers in medicine, teaching and the civil service. A couple were pretty snobby about the moral superiority of public sector roles ( I remember an physio friend asking a trainee actuary friend how they got up each morning with such a boring job). Others headed into law, banking, consultancy etc. We were all very well educated and had many options.

However, at 45, things have all come out in the wash, and (with a few exceptions, notably two doctors who are independently wealthy, and a diplomat), those who chose private sector jobs are not just much wealthier but also seem to enjoy more flexible, varied roles and just seem happier in their work. Friends in the public sector complain that they are burnt out, struggling financially and stuck in their jobs with few other options.

AIBU to at least encourage DC to consider that public sector careers might not be the best idea any more? Obviously, they’ll choose what they choose, but to me, the difference between private and public sector roles (especially in London/SE) nowadays seems pretty stark.

I would encourage public sector. The culture and way they look after staff is second to none and pensions etc worth their weight in gold. Also loads of career opportunities in civil service. My friends in private sector are treated appallingly in comparison. It really hit home during COVID. We were really well looked after.

Gosh I'm the opposite. The people I know in the public sector earn great money and have better flex/T&Cs compared to the private sector ones. Appreciate this will vary by job/field but if my kids fancy the public sector they'll have my full encouragement.

I’ve worked in both and now in private sector but the t&c for public sector is so good: sick pay in particular. Yes people leave early but often with considerable pensions, even with early retirement penalties. I am often tempted to return just because it’s literally impossible for me to build up my pension to the same degree outside the public sector.

DH and I do public sector jobs and have had great flexibility, get lots of annual leave, decent sick leave and maternity leave, good pensions, I get flexi time and we both had flexible working applications to compress our hours granted which has been great for childcare purposes and spending more time with our daughter. I could potentially get paid more in the private sector but my pay is still very good, I got promoted straight after taking maternity leave too. Our jobs are also very safe.

I think YABU to discourage your children from a) public sector careers or b) any career that they want to pursue. They’ll adults by then. It’s not really any of your business.

Okay I understand now yes that sounds about right with your age and also considering your dependents 50% pension rights on your death if they survive you.

Public Sector for me all the way. At 48, other than 12yrs running my own business, I have always been PS. Never had any inclination to into the private. My kids will be encouraged to work in the sector that suits them best.
To be fair my role doesn't exist in the private sector anyway, I do have scope for movement upwards, sideways and in slightly different contexts but they are all government/MOD run anyway so it's not like I have much choice unless I completely change my career which would me mad as I like what I do, it suites me, has reasonable pay and pension, hours and work environment can be brutal at times though, but you can't have it all!.

Health care will be privatised by the time they enter they are working (much of it is already). If they become Doctors they can work in many great places around the world including Australia, Canada and New Zealand

Choosing between public vs private sector matters far less now than choosing a career which won't disappear in the coming years thanks to AI. All that matters is choosing a career that only a human can do.

I completely agree, although earlier on in my career and on less!

However I work 36hrs p/w, get flexi, 6 weeks holiday and 11 privilege days.

After maternity leave I’m taking a career break for a further year and then will hopefully drop my hours a bit too. I work from home which is very convenient with no core hours.

I also love being in a policy area and working in the general area of Ministers and seeing “behind the scenes” but I am a politics geek

I have risen to senior management in the public sector so while I could be better paid in private sector, I am still well paid.

I have interesting work and it gets changed regularly (between general rotations of staff and promotion, and just how society and Govt priorities change over time). But what I have done in the past has been relevant to what o do now.

I've had lots of useful training paid for, including a Masters in Economic Analysis.

What I do can make a huge difference to business and to wider society. And I have the levers to make things happen.

I work with interesting people at work, and get to deal with big swathes of society who are mostly interesting too.

I've been able to travel all over the world. Lots to Europe (and all around Europe, not just over and back to Brussels), but also to South America and Far East. Many colleagues have been to the other continents as well. For a mix of negotiations, supporting Ministers, speaking and presenting at events etc. And while I haven't done it yet, there are a number of opportunities even in my own Department (not Foreign Affairs) to do a 4 year posting overseas.

I don't preach about public service values - but doing good for wider society is definitely something that motivates me. But at the same time, I am paid a decent wage for interesting work and given good working terms and conditions. So well worth it as a career.

If I had my time around, I wouldn't choose working for the public sector again.

Used to work in the public sector. Left as I was so sick of public money being wasted and people being overpaid to do sweet fuck all. Colleagues online shopping while I'm working away.

Work in the charity sector, lower paid, shit pension, but work bloody hard. Sell services to public sector clients and honestly, the stupidity of some of them is unreal, yet they are on £50,000. Also 23 year olds who are already 'heads of'.

Public sector is the job to aim for for money, pension, annual leave etc. If they don't like one public sector employer, move to another?

Public service doesn’t have to mean a British government employee. DH is what they call an ‘international civil servant’ with an INGO and it’s great. He has a really good work-life balance, the job pays well, we receive excellent private healthcare, and the pension is great. Have a look at UN or NATO type graduate roles. UNjobs.org is the place to browse what’s available if they are interested. It’s best to avoid consultant roles and go for actual staff roles as the staff are definitely looked after (whereas consultants get the short end of the stick), but graduate roles are a great way to get experience.

I have worked in the public sector all of my working like apart from once, which was the biggest mistake ever.
Worked for a private company there was bullying, monthly meetings where they had a go at all the staff, the boss used to get drunk and send abusive text messages and the staff where horrible to each other.
There was no one to complain to as it was bullying from the top down.
Least in the public sector there are policy’s in place and always someone higher to complain to.

I worked in 3 private sector jobs. Bullying, wage confidentiality, brown nosing and presenteeism was horrible.

26 years in public. Unions, wage scales, policies, transparencies ( some) better holidays, better conditions. I would never work to fill someone else’s pocket again.

Surely it depends what they want to do? It’s a pretty varied set of jobs.

My DP is in the public sector.

yes pensions are good, sick pay is good (although they are loathed to allow you sick and you get grief for it). Your pay is on a scale, so doesn’t matter how hard you work you will be paid the same as some idle worker next to you unless you can bolt on extra job descriptions, so no bonus for being a good worker.

I say his pension is good, he doesn’t have a degree so pay is fairly poor and less than the minimum wage for a fairly important and stressful role (if you have a degree for a degree required job your pay is better, but probably not as good as private sector). However when you add the pension the overall package is good. Just when you take home a smaller amount every month sometimes the pension doesn’t seem as good as it actually is, especially as public sector pensions are changing and dwindling every year or so, so no guarantee
so overall package undeniably is good and helpful, but actual pay and working conditions (no air con, no fancy perks) is to be realised… a colleague said to him “you’ll never be rich”. He’s been there a couple of years and I still remember it. People join and then leave for better pay, the turn over in staff can be phenomenal and bulk of workers are near retirement and don’t have mortgages, younger lot cannot afford to work there so are often huge staff shortages.

I am in the Private Sector. It’s not all roses here either, payrises only occur if we have made enough money, basic pensions, minimal sickpay, but take home pay not bad if you work hard - and bonus if you’re a hard worker you have a better chance of being recognised.

Staff shortages here too, workers bargain for more money in interviews and sometimes this pays off.

overall, I would opt for public sector, if medical yes always! But they may find when it comes to mortgages unless they’re a Dr or high paid they may one day switch to private.

good luck though.

Sorry less than the average wage - not minimum wage!

Most of them were students on minimum wage, temporary contracts and not permanent staff.

I probably should add that while I have mostly worked in public service (but not all
My jobs were), my DH has done a couple of roles in public sector but vast majority was private sector. He took a pay cut of roughly 35% a few years ago to move from private sector side to public sector side of his work - it's meant different kinds of issues, a lot less worries about whether the board will just close down sections of the business and make everyone redundant (he had to tell people a good few times that their areas were being closed down and his entire remit was in danger). But while he always had public facing roles, he has far more engagement with the political system and decision making (you never want to see how the sausage is made!) in this role than before.

But he can be more compassionate to staff and manage personal difficulties with humanity - which is his preference rather than worrying about profit all the time.

In answer to another poster's question, I worked in private sector jobs as well - during uni and also once I graduated. Thank F** I got the public sector job I did as there was no comparison in the opportunities available and mindset in them.

I disagree. They need to choose something that they love and are passionate about.... I am 35 work in public sector- for nhs as an ahp- on £50000 a year (a little more), work 40hrs a week and am generally not having to worry about anything- work can be stressful...
I have some friends who work for private sector who are more stressed.... choosing something they love helps when it gets stressy!!

This. I helped run a vaccine centre and it was entirely run on volunteers for the first few months (including us as the doctors doing it on our days off from our real jobs). Lots of people volunteered as they were out of work, desperate to do something to help.
The rest of the time we are piteously understaffed.

They really were most likely mainly volunteers, not on any wage at all.