Public Sector

[gingerjedi]

On the plus side once you have completed a public sector contract you become one of them and more tend to follow, on the downside once a private company knows you've been doing public sector work....

 

[a7awo]

Cool ... now I understand :-D

 

[el duder]

On the plus side once you have completed a public sector contract you become one of them and more tend to follow, on the downside once a private company knows you've been doing public sector work....

naah, thats not true, ive been in public sector for 12months and have been offered a private banking contract twice!

ive turned them down, cause they were offering the same money for doing more work around a bunch of asshole, public school boys.

the government have started to compete with the private industry in terms of gettting and keeping resources to improve their services.

there is more of a cross-over than you think between private and public sectors.

 

[el duder]

That's the plan, but there's a good chance that you'll return as El Zombie - but with a tan.

nope. i dont beleive that.

if i took a month off, id be back in shape big style i just know it.

 

[BA to the Stars]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Red 7
If you enjoy working at 5% of your usual potential whilst receiving a generous rate, they can be quite rewarding.

5% - for public sector that would make you a super-star

 

[HarryPearce]

More of the normal

More of the normal

The public sector is much larger than the private in many ways, it's not all paper pushing clerks.

IT contracts vary from GCHQ, thru MOD, the infamous OGDs, Home Office, Police Forensics Laboratory, down to Walsall Council Housing dept. They're not all as boring and inefficient as this thread made out.

You're only using the PC in front of you because of work done by civil servants.

 

[gingerjedi]

To be fair I have enjoyed the public sector work more than the private stuff and like someone just said there is a big and ever increasing crossover between private and public work due to all the outsourcing that’s going on at the moment, I guess its easy to get into the public sector knocking mentality but from what I've seen they are starting to put their house in order and move with the times.

The biggest problem the government has is the fact that a lot of private companies see the public sector as a bit of a cash cow and rely on repeat business as approved suppliers due to the lack of vender rating and benchmarking, but again that is starting to change.

 

[HarryPearce]

Error!

Does not compute!

Much of the initial work on IC design was done by MOD Research labs back in the late 50's 60's. The LCD likewise came out of the same stable.

 

[wendigo100]

Let's put it this way. I worked with more duffers in the public sector, including contractors, than in the private.

 

[al_cam]

I agree with what has been said about working at significantly less than your potential in the public sector. It certainly is easy money with no stress and no long hours - although the frustration at the waste of taxpayers money is hard to deal with...

Just don't extend otherwise you will be extended forever and will lose your skills and credibility.

Normal length contracts with different government departments are OK, as you will learn new things on each contract and many public sector contracts seek people with previous public sector experience so you have nothing to lose by going for one, just keep a good mix.