I have been in my current public service job for slightly over 2 years but I felt like leaving (stagnant learning curve, did not feel motivated about what I was doing, average pay). Need some advice!

Hi Anon,

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like yourself I was in the public service for 5 years before I took the plunge to join to the corporate world.

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During my time or should I say my position, I knew exactly that in public service there is different path planned based on your academic result and certification. Though we were given the idea that should you get your own merits and/or academic qualification promotion or progression will be in placed for you.

Just note that (I have left Public service for 12 years) for my ex-colleagues who have upgraded their skills in term of academic qualification and perform well till date they only just barely made it to their Senior Official rank (lowest of the senior officer ranking) and that was provided that they didnt had any hiccups along the way of their 12 years career. (if there hiccups, I think they can say bye bye to any progression)

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I think the most important thing for you to understand and reflect is what do you envision your own life and career to be. Based on what you have mentioned above I think there is a fire in you to do much better because you are willing to take time off for upskilling. If you still want to remain in the Public Service which i admire you for, then you really need to see if there is any job transfer program or scheme that you can take. But if not then look to the corporate world where there are abundance of choice for you to venture. Its not without risk (retrenchment...etc) but hey no risk no return

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So once you have decided, evey step you take from now on should be towards your envision and goal. There will be people who will comment and belittle you (which was what I got) but you know nobody can be in a better position to speak for yourself than you. So pick up that courage and get that motion going....

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All the Best

Talk to ur boss about it to see if anything can be changed

My suggestion - the first step you can take is to look around, read the job descriptions of available jobs to determine what catches your fancy. Then speak to people who are in that industry to get a feel of how that line of work / that company is like.

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Don't worry about your year end bonus first. You will need time for research, for application process, interviews etc so your offer might only come much later. Even if you are so lucky to land an offer before payout of your AWS, you can always nego with your future employer to start slightly later because you are waiting for bonus.

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As for work life balance, you can look for next job that fits into your long term goals and still afford you the balance that you are looking for. Ultimately it's up to what matters most to you, no perfect job in this world but also nothing wrong hopping around to find what works best for you.

What about considering an internal transfer request at this point? If you can find something you want within, it will be a win win and you need not worry about AWS and PB.