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Is Semi-State job the best of both worlds? (Public vs Private sectors)

  • 21-03-2023 1:28pm
    #1
    KJK1LL3R
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 91 ✭✭


    I have worked in ICT Technical Support roles predominantly in the Public Sector for the bulk of my career. Initially I worked for a number of years in the Education sector in an FE college and then in a HE University. I then in a Civil Service department for a short period and I'm currently working for a Local Authority in a grade 5 role. I also tend to keep my eye out regularly for jobs across the Public sector including the likes of HSE and ETB's.

    From this I have observed the following:


    • The salary (for comparable roles) seems to be worst in the Civil Service, and best in the Universities with the Local Authorities falling somewhere in-between. For example, I was recently interviewed for a Tech Support role at a University which had LSI's equivalent to that of someone on a grade 7 in a Local Authority.
    • The annual leave also appears to be worse in Civil Service compared to the Universities and LA's.
    • The training and education opportunities are very good in the Civil Service, less so in Universities in LA's.
    • Promotion prospects are better in Civil Service, very few internal competitions in Universities and practically none in LA's.

    I have noticed some training courses that offer grants but only for people employed by commercial semi-state employers. What is the difference between the different types of state bodies? I've read online reports about An Garda Siochana offering the best pay over all Public Sector but I would imagine that is limited to particular staff who are entitled to overtime so I wouldn't have thought their ICT staff would be paid as much.


    I would like to remain in the Public Sector for the remainder of my career, but I am trying to get a consensus to figure out if there is a sweet-spot in terms of something closer to private-sector salary whilst still retaining the perks of the public sector. I am currently studying towards transitioning from a career in Tech Support into the more interesting and profitable field of Cybersecurity, so I am trying to determine if there is a particular sub-section of the Public Sector that is most rewarding and sought-after particularly for ICT staff.

    I am not fully aware of all the details, for example do semi-state employees get the same DB pension benefits or are they only DC pensions?

    Do semi-state come with extra employee perks like health insurance, income protection, etc. that are fairly common in private sector?

    Do people generally view Semi-State as a better place to be compared to a central government department?



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