facebookI am on a scholarship in the civil service. Is it a good 'investment' to stay with the government long term? - Seedly

Anonymous

18 Jun 2019

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Career

I am on a scholarship in the civil service. Is it a good 'investment' to stay with the government long term?

Discussion (13)

What are your thoughts?

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It depends on what do you mean by "good".

There are many tiers of scholars but the general outline is that if you're a scholar, the career endpoint is already set for you and you'll definitely reach there unless you go rogue. For the first few years, you'll be made to rotate from ministry to ministry. It's mainly for the higher-ups to see where do you fit in better but take the chance to explore and see what fits you too. There's no guarantee that you'll get what you want in the end but at least you could try to appeal to your bosses. Regardless the role and ministry you're in, you're set to move up. And faster than any of your peers. You're also set to go for further studies (with scholarship again, of course) to prepare you towards public policy. Depending on the scholarship you're on now (study local uni vs overseas uni), we may see you on TV one day :p

As you can see, the scholarship basically lays a red carpet for you all over public sector. Naturally with the fast progression, you'll see the money roll in. You will also get many opportunities to learn and contribute to the society. If you have the interest and passion towards that, it's definitely a "good" investment. However, if you hate doing what you do, you hate the red tape, I would say that it's a "not worth it" investment. But you have to option to leave once your bond is up.

Either way, it's never a "bad" investment in my eyes.

Truthfully, the civil service is a good place. As Gabriel has said the annual bonuses are a source of envy.

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Furthermore, you are a scholar and I believe this means you will be highly and with the potential of a quicker path to the top. This means a higher quantum of salary - work hard, earn more income to build your financial independence. To add the icing to the cake, the fact that you are interested in personal finance, and am part of the Seedly community, asking questions demonstrate your curiousity and interest to self-discover. This will bring you far in solving issues at work.

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<Written by someone inside and who thinks that the grass is not greener on the other (private) side>

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Gabriel Tham

07 Jun 2019

Tag Team Member at Kenichi Tag Team

I am an outsider looking at my friends in govt or civil service. I envy the annual bonuses and job security.

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Pascal S

03 Aug 2018

MBA Graduate at Singapore Management University

There are some very useful answers shared by other community members. Do read them.

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First. The investment is made on you by them. You know who. As such, you are bound to serve as well as bound to have your career (and maybe LIFE) carve out for you. Sorry, you are not going to be the Master Puppet anytime soon. Give it 20 years time.

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Second. I go back to some previous answers I made.

  • Start by mapping out what motivates you (money? fun? friendship? ownership? long list...)
  • Understand what are the behaviours that suit you (your strengths, your skills, your personality...)
  • Maybe, look at where you are now and where you want to be in 5, 10, 20 years time...

From all of the above 3 points, develop your strategy...

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"The only person who knows what is right for you is you"

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Third. While you have pointed out "government". I think the real answer lies within you. Given the limited info, go on a self-discovery journey to understand whether you believe you are suited to make use of your talents as a civil servants or not. After all, what worked for other people might not work for you.

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Hope it helps

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Pascal from Time to first byte

Chin Guo Qiang

26 Jul 2018

Assistant Vice President, IT EUC at OCBC

I would say go for job rotations first (as a scholar) and see the working culture in Govt sector, be...

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