Private v Public Sector

irishlady29

Would you leave public sector job for private sector job?

Currently in public sector but tempted to jump ship

Would love to hear people's thoughts. Would I be nuts to leave

TIA

Yep....... absolutely crazy to even think of it.

There is no easy answer to that question. It would depend heavily on your personal circumstances, your age, do you have kids, a mortgage... etc.

If you're single, with no ties, and no mortgage - maybe.

But if you've a family, a mortgage and need financial stability? That's the reason why most people stay.

You could take a career break

cuttingtimber22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058239463/private-v-public-sector

Do you have a clear idea of what you want to do? And do you have specific motivations on why you want to leave?

My thinking is so what makes you feel happy and have no regrets of you decide to jump ship. I am in private sector and it is not quite as bad as portrayed in terms of work, while I have family in the public sector who seem to work all hours and always on call.

Saint_Mel

Really depends on what industry you are looking at and also personal circumstances.

After 20+ years in IT roles in Private Sector, I recently moved to Public Sector (also IT role) and despite a considerable wage cut, it's made other aspects of life much better.

My own experience is almost exact opposite of @cuttingtimber22 above ... I've gone from working 12-15 hour days every day, high stress and on call to working more defined hours and manageable workload.

I've young kids so now I have much more time to spend with family and enjoy life a lot more.

Diceicle

It would (for me at least) depend on what your pension situation is. Do you have an older defined benefit pension? Or the newer (and as I understand it) less valuable defined contibution pensions?

cuttingtimber22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118855118#Comment_118855118

That’s fair enough. And I must say encouraging that someone values time and quality of life over money. We should all do that. Although perhaps the hard yards allow the flexibility later.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058239463/private-v-public-sector

Create a spreadsheet with the benefits from your current job - all benefits, not just monetary, another column with benfits of going private. See how they match up.

What are your impressions of what private sector is like for your job? It varies a good deal.