Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest
Comparing IT Career in National Government VS Local Government
-
09-04-2021 3:47pmGood afternoon folks, I aim to spend the rest of my career in the public sector so I wanted to get some advice/opinions from people who have possibly worked in both national government and local government.
I currently work in an IT Tech Support role (Executive Officer grade) within the Civil Service but I am highly placed on panels for IT Tech Support roles (grade 5) with a number of Local Authorities (County Councils) with more interviews upcoming, so I am trying to compare the two careers in order to decide if I should ultimately stick with the Civil Service or potentially keep applying for IT Tech Support roles with local County Councils.
So far I have noted the following factors to be considered:
Is there any other factors that I should be considering when trying to figure out the best future career path for myself here? I would be keen to get some insight and feedback from people who have maybe had similar experiences or who have worked in a variety of public sector areas e.g. Civil Service, County Council, HSE, University, etc.
Some people have told me the grass isn't always greener and that I would be crazy to even consider leaving a Civil Service career behind, given how difficult it can be to get a foot in the door. I know in my case I was on a waiting list for two years before I was offered my current post.0
Comments
-
I don't think you are comparing like with like. I'm fairly sure EO in CS is equivalent to Grade 4 in LA... salary starting points are much closer together. The analogous of the LA Staff Officer (grade 5) was abolished from the Civil Service a number of years ago AFAIK (it was also called staff officer).0
-
Responsibilities in the Civil Service at EO can vary quite a lot. Larger departments generally have ICT Divisions split up into separate teams. Depending on your HEO/AP, your duties and opportunities will vary quite a lot.
As for county councils, this will depend on where you go. Larger councils in cities will be quite different to the likes of Leitrim. The job specs will be generic so they can move you around.
Pay scales:
The Grade 5 would appear to be a slightly higher grade. The problem with these pay scales is that it is difficult to compare Public Service vs standard Civil Service pay scales.
Typically a Grade 5 in ICT LA will not have staff reporting to them. This is different to an EO.
Tbh, I always felt that the Grade 5 should be brought back to Civil Service. It’s difficult to retain EOs in Dublin.
Schemes:
Most LA’s will have Further Education, flexitime, shorter working year, career break schemes etc. Employee Assistance Service will be outsourced to a private company. If you read the job spec, they generally include summaries of schemes available.
LAs have arrangements for inter-council competitions. Depending on local arrangements, they may advertise posts internally, then inter-council and then external. It’s quite common for staff in LAs to progress within the same ICT division. Arrangements may vary from council to council. They occasionally advertise secondments etc. Bare in mind that councils will be more focused on themselves - they won’t want to lose staff whereas it’s quite common for transfers and mobility to occur in the Civil Service. Indeed it’s expected at AO for example. You will find HR in Councils to be a bit more “independent” as its run locally. As a result, many will operate slightly differently and some will be more efficient than others.
LAs and Education will all certainly have trade unions (Forsa/SIPTU).
Pensions and increments:
If you transfer to a LA you will bring your pension with you and should maintain any increments.
If offered a post, I’d suggest having a chat with your prospective manager to learn more about the role and the depts current plan before you accept. If you’re in the public service, pay isn’t going to be the major factor because you’ll never going to be a millionaire, instead look at a move strategically. For example, does it suit your lifestyle and your career interests? Will this help you progress to where you want to go?
You may find a transfer to another Dept or to a LA will help you learn more and gain more experience. My only advice is don’t look at it for pay, but consider how this works for you in the long term.0 -
County Council will likely be a dead end for your career. Lots of good people doing good work in shambolic working condition in the councils. However they won't get any credit for their efforts as councils are regarded as a joke by many in the civil and wider public service, let alone those in the private sector.
The closer you are to central government, the better. Better again if you are in Revenue.
The councils are a mess and at this stage it's hard to say whether it is a resourcing issue or bad management or both. Either way, this obviously isn't going to improve when the next recession arrives
From an "IT" point of view, look at many county council websites - ugly with broken links and 404 errors, spelling mistakes etc. Planning files not online even though they were provided with a system for doing so years ago. Look at the job vacancies page too - is the application form some poorly formatted .doc or .docx file, are they refusing to accept applications by email, do they want 4 printed copies of the form plus 4 of everything from your driving licence to your junior cert results. Alarm bells should be going off at this stage.
County Councils are best suited to people with few or no career ambitions who want to live in their local area and enjoy the generous annual leave. If you are a high achiever who wants to "do good" in one of these jobs you'll likely waste your time and burn yourself out.0 -
ahnoyouregrand wrote: »I don't think you are comparing like with like. I'm fairly sure EO in CS is equivalent to Grade 4 in LA... salary starting points are much closer together.
So in theory if I was to stick with my current EO role in the Civil Service for another 5/6 years, I would eventually be earning the equivalent of the grade 5 LA role even though my EO workload would still be comparable to a grade 4 LA role.Typically a Grade 5 in ICT LA will not have staff reporting to them. This is different to an EO.
If you’re in the public service, pay isn’t going to be the major factor because you’ll never going to be a millionaire, instead look at a move strategically. For example, does it suit your lifestyle and your career interests? Will this help you progress to where you want to go?
You may find a transfer to another Dept or to a LA will help you learn more and gain more experience. My only advice is don’t look at it for pay, but consider how this works for you in the long term.The closer you are to central government, the better. Better again if you are in Revenue.
County Councils are best suited to people with few or no career ambitions who want to live in their local area and enjoy the generous annual leave. If you are a high achiever who wants to "do good" in one of these jobs you'll likely waste your time and burn yourself out.
To be honest I am not an overly ambitious person, I know I will never earn millions and I don't currently have any desires for a managerial role. I don't mind a bit of project management, but I don't have much appetite for managing staff. Of course that outlook may eventually change if I was to get married and have children, but I am reasonably frugal so would probably just adjust my lifestyle in order to live within my means rather than chase a higher salary in a more stressful career. I have cared for a disabled parent for decades so I honestly have enough stress at home without looking to bring more stress into my work-life too. I envisage myself as the kind of person who would want to reach the top of my pay scale and would be quite happy and content with that. If I stick with the Civil Service, any potential promotion from EO to HEO will almost certainly require me to assume managerial responsibilities, but in a Local Authority I've seen grade 6 roles for IT Analysts and Project Leaders which are probably more about project management as opposed to people management.
I'm fortunate that my current Civil Service role has been allowing me to work from home most of the time, but if it wasn't for covid I'd be looking at an hour long commute every day which is far longer than I'd ideally like in the long term. And unfortunately I wouldn't be eligible to apply for a transfer to a different department in a closer location for another 2/3 years as I only have a few months service at this stage. And even then, there is probably no guarantee that a spot would be available for me to transfer to. But if I could land a role with one of the local county councils, my commute to the office would be 15-20mins which would cut down massively on travel expenses in terms of time and fuel costs. Perhaps if my Civil Service office had been based closer to home, then I wouldn't even be really consider other career paths.
And again I must confess the extra 7 days annual leave in a LA is a nice incentive over the Civil Service. Based on what 'BrianD3' has said above, it has me thinking now that perhaps I am the type of person that a council career would suit as I am looking for a relatively simple stress-free career with the work-life balance tipped more towards the life side of things.0
Advertisement