Have you made the transition from Private sector IT to Public Sector IT?

LithiumKid1976

Hi

Just wondering if anyone has changed jobs moving from Private sector IT support, to public sector IT?

If so, how did you find it? did you miss the private sector? any major benefits or issues?

i have an offer , and im 99% im going to take it, just looking for some advice..

thanks

HerrKuehn

I haven't done it, but for me the main concern would be how the PS experience would be viewed if I wanted to move back into the private sector.

cronos

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117836700#Comment_117836700

Plenty of consulting firms would love ex public sector staff. Deloitte, KPMG etc... so I wouldn't be too worried. My thoughts would be around salary and lack of a bonus. But if you have that covered and your happy I'd go for it.

Can you tell us a little about the type of role and how it compares in terms of package. Obviously not enough to identify yourself.

C.O.Y.B.I.B

Yes , have done it . Main reasons were for pension and work/life balance .

Moved almost 15 years ago and Im 4 years in current role and no regrets. Been promoted 3 times during that . Working hours are generally good and while out of hours sometimes required it's on my own terms and always get time back which didn't happen in private.

Not working for paying clients also removes a certain amount of pressure.

Salary is probably 20% lower than I could expect in private sector, but the way I look at any job is location + work/life balance + salary + role and getting any 3 of those factors right is enough.

I was working 10 hours more a week in private sector and always had fear of industry slowing down or company going under .

The role I'm in now is people management while also being technical lead. It's varied enough to hold my interest and I earn enough money now for everything I want/need . I wouldn't move to same role in private sector if my salary was doubled (which it wouldn't be).

HerrKuehn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117840483#Comment_117840483

The pension for new joiners is not worth a lot, it would be similar in value to a fairly typical (maybe slightly higher) defined contribution pension. Someone posted the actuarial valuation docs a good while ago, something like 8% employer contribution.

Manach

A key issue is work/life balance. In Private sector IT, there is a lot of unpaid and unscheuled off hours work. This seems to be related to being American companies and their culture. In public, while facing the same technology challengces, there is much less out of hours work and this is comped either in pay or time in lieu. Salary wise though, Private does pay better but this works out more even when hours worked is considered.

LithiumKid1976

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117841187#Comment_117841187

ya, looking at the offfer, the work life balance is better (although it will be a longer drive perday) but its at least another 7 days extra holidays that i dont get at the minute...

LithiumKid1976

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117840483#Comment_117840483

great to know that thier are oppertunitys to move and better yourself..worklife balance and flexitime is a nice option too, same as you, i dont trust my current employer to be still going in the next year or so,..

boombang

I'm not in IT, but I did work in a state sector body next to the IT desk for a year. The two lads seemed miserable. They appeared to be stuck in an endless loop of updating printer drivers, password resets, telling poorly trained people people to turn it off and on again and other low level issues. This might have just been much more to do with the specific role rather than the sector, but it did not seem like a happy or dynamic job.