<p>Here is an interesting topic... What do you of the pros and cons of working in the public sector (i.e United Nations, Govt, NGOs, Think Tanks) vs. the private sector (i.e Companies, Financial Institutions, Consultancies)...? </p>
<p>In terms of WorK Quality, Time committment, Salary, Competition, Education one needs to enter the market and so forth to name just a few!</p>
<p>I have no first-hand experience yet, but from what I've gathered, government jobs have greater job security while private companies have better financial incentives.</p>
<p>It depends what field. For instance, as a lawyer you would be tempted to opt for the big paying, corporate job, but when you realize that you will be working 80-100 hours a week for years with the possibility of perhaps never making partner, public interest work looks mighty appealing.
In other fields the private sector probably has better incentives overall even though it almost always offers less job security and longer hours.</p>
<p>Private sector has more pressure, and also more potential for rewards if you are actually better than most people at what you do, in the form of performance bonuses (in addition to generally decent rates of base pay). Job security varies depending on the job, anywhere from moderately high (accounting) to extremely low (investment banking). Benefits also vary widely depending on the firm, industry, and job type. Career advancement is flexible, and if you are very clever and/or well-connected you can potentially rise through the ranks at a faster pace than in government (provided you are smarter politically than all your colleagues who are trying to do the same thing).</p>
<p>Government jobs have much less pressure, extremely high job security (as close as you can get), more vacation time, very generous benefits, hardly any opportunities to be rewarded for superior performance, significantly lower salaries for doing the same work as someone in the private sector -- and usually no bonus. Career progression is on a set timetable, as are pay raises. So if you want to get ahead quickly you'll have to wait in line for that promotion or pay raise until after the incompetent person who just happened to start working 2 years earlier than you did gets theirs (unless you are dating Paul Wolfowitz).</p>
<p>In either case, any large organisation will be bureaucratic, and promotions tend to be based more on politics than actual merit -- a major flaw with the current system of western capitalism. It amazes me that in a country like the US with such strong capitalist roots, nepotism would be so widely accepted.</p>
<p>Based off of what I have observed from my parents (who both work in NGOs) what Nauru said is generally correct. My parents have relatively flexible hours, and they (as I understand it) have a good degree of job stability. The downside is that workers in (some NGO's) may be less motivated than their private sector counterparts (they tend to have less incentives to be "go-getters"). Thus, it is sometimes harder to enact change within an organization (which may be frustrating for a more motivated individual).</p>
<p>Very interesting..Thanks for the replies. So I will add something to make it narrower...What about if your Graduate degree is in the social sciences like international relations or development studies - what kind of jobs exist in the private sector for these degrees, or related, if you want to avoid the lack of career advancement opportunities in the public sector?</p>
<p>And furthermore, what are your preferences, your current work fields, etc.</p>
<p>I've worked for a state agency and have also worked in private industry. You <em>definitely</em> do more work per dollar you earn in the private sector.</p>
<p>ken, I have found this to be true as well. But, either way, you are there for 8 hours anyway, and the hard work doesn’t bother everybody, it helps me pass the time. The one state job I had, was actually quite boring and trying to find things to pass the day.</p>
<p>I would say in the private sector, there aren’t many. I would say that there WOULD be many, however, for someone who started in public and then migrated to private.</p>
<p>Public Agency- When work ends at 5pm, it really ends at 5. Pays significantly more than private, better benefits and pension for some agencies.</p>
<p>Private Firm- Almost never,it never ends at 5pm. Pays significantly less than public, companies have different matches for 401k and benefits depend on the firm.</p>
<p>Worked in both types of environment. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Which would be more fulfilling?
Or is the corporate pay worth it, given you have to work 40 hours a week anyhow. Should you just make as much money as you can given the short time? Then pursue your interests on the side?
Or, should you take a lower paying public/gov job, but maybe do more fulfilling work? Or is government bureaucracy just as bad as corporate america long term?</p>
<p>I suppose the other option is non for profits, but they pay significantly less and often rely on donations for support. Probably the most fulfilling, but unless you are already set up well, how would somebody pull themselves into a different tax bracket and have a better life for their children?</p>