When I was just about to graduate from University, I had an offer from Amazon on the way (yay internships) but not really in-hand yet, so I kept interviewing. One of the options was CSEC, Canada's NSA.
The stark reality was that at Amazon, in 2 or 3 years I would be making double what CSEC was offering. Early career pay in one was end-career pay in the other. They seemed nice, and I suppose what they were doing felt important, but the money was simply too good to turn down. (No regrets either- I worry if I'd gone with them, I might have wound up living in Russia with a roommate named Ed.)
It worked better for you and I'm glad to hear that. For some people, the stability of a Govt. job, the regularity of promotions, the lack of long term uncertainty and perhaps the absence of as high expectations makes it worthwhile to pursue a job that pays less.
Actually, this stability and security was another big reason I chose not to join Government. I had done a few internships in the public service, and what I saw horrified me.
When you have job security and low expectations placed on you, it's wonderful. When everyone does, it's horrible. There is relatively little room for the lazy and useless in the private sector.
Again, I ask that you refrain from characterizing everyone as lazy and useless. I know a lot of women friends who choose to join Government service because of its long term stability which is important for them as they raise a family. They are some of the hardest working and smartest people I know.
Sure bad apples are harder to eliminate, but that doesn't mean everyone is bad.
I agree that my choice of words implies everyone is- and that is not true.
What I saw in government was a lot of dead weight adding little value and taking home paychecks, being carried by a small group of people working their asses off to keep everything afloat. The dead weight couldn't be fired short of them doing something crazy, like sneaking into the office over the weekend and drinking half the wine set aside for the Christmas party (so the story went of the only guy who got fired from that office). The heavy lifters felt unable to even take a vacation because they know nothing would get done if they left- example, a boss I had who wasn't sure she could go to her sister's wedding in Jamaica for two weeks because the office wouldn't manage without her.
My own wife is an engineer in municipal government. She's a superhero as far as I can tell. The dead weight on her team can't be fired, and she does many times the work they do for a smaller salary- they've been here longer, you see, so they make more money.
Perhaps my perspective on public sector jobs is skewed, but I've yet to hear a compelling reason I would want to have one.
The stark reality was that at Amazon, in 2 or 3 years I would be making double what CSEC was offering. Early career pay in one was end-career pay in the other. They seemed nice, and I suppose what they were doing felt important, but the money was simply too good to turn down. (No regrets either- I worry if I'd gone with them, I might have wound up living in Russia with a roommate named Ed.)