Public to private sector?

[Runforthehills754]

I work in a niche area and have been approached by a consultancy firm about a potential job. Currently work in the civil service. Would it be insane to change jobs now given the state of the economy? Pay would be a lot higher but I'd obviously lose all my employment rights.

It must be great to have a job you really believe in. Definitely not something to be given away lightly.

I guess a lot depends on what happens over the next few months and how much the CS suffers due to cuts etc. I never worried about losing my job but I did worry about having to take on the workloads of others when people left and weren’t replaced. That really ground me down a lot.

Oh gosh this has taken an interesting turn. The first posts were all for staying but now there is some support for leaving. Still excellent and helpful advice all round though so thank you all.

I think I'm minded to give it a go but I am so institutionalised its such a scary thought!

Public sector is a doddle compared to private

I left the nhs (and its pension!) to go into the charitable sector. I also do consultancy work (private) on the side. Best decision I ever made. I left nhs when I was 37- that's another 30 years to work before pension age. I'd rather be happy and fulfilled in the here and now. I run my consultancy work through my Ltd company and pay myself my pension through that so get the corporation tax and person tax savings.
Op if you're earning 50% more that's a lot you could put away for pensions/ investments etc.