How is working in the private sector different than working in the public sector?
September 8, 2004 12:43 PM Subscribe
How is working in the private sector different than working in the public sector? (details inside)
I've worked a fairly diverse set of jobs -- dishwasher, teacher, programmer, lab tech, warehouse monkey, webmaster -- but all for various US state universities. Recently I decided to leave the public sector, and in a few weeks I'll start a new job at a medium sized, publicly traded tech company in Silicon Valley. I keep flashing on that scene from Ghost Busters where Ray tells Venkman, "You’ve never been out of college. You don’t know what it’s like out there! I’ve worked in the private sector. They expect results." My question is: beyond the cultural variety you see workplace to workplace, what differences should I expect? For people who've made the switch: what do you wish you'd known up front?
I've worked a fairly diverse set of jobs -- dishwasher, teacher, programmer, lab tech, warehouse monkey, webmaster -- but all for various US state universities. Recently I decided to leave the public sector, and in a few weeks I'll start a new job at a medium sized, publicly traded tech company in Silicon Valley. I keep flashing on that scene from Ghost Busters where Ray tells Venkman, "You’ve never been out of college. You don’t know what it’s like out there! I’ve worked in the private sector. They expect results." My question is: beyond the cultural variety you see workplace to workplace, what differences should I expect? For people who've made the switch: what do you wish you'd known up front?
I have not, myself, worked in the public sector, however I have in the past looked into doing so (and may very well consider it again). The differences I was able to identify right off the bat were:
The pay scales in the public sector are abyssimal.
The non-pay benefits (time off, health care, pension) in the public sector are typically so much better as to render the pay scale differences almost negligable. Some private sector outfits offer fantastic benefits packages, but they are the exception rather than the rule.
Government departments appear to operate as somewhat more inefficient versions of large corporate departments: swamped with red tape, mired in The Way We Do Things Here, and equally pennywise/poundfoolish as the corporate environment.
The "results matter" thing varies across company cultures. There are plenty of private sector outfits which are heavily stocked with useless middle managers who produce nothing but Minesweeper scores and PowerPoint documents, as well as line workers who go to great effort to make themselves appear productive.
Generally it seems as though the public sector would come as a huge shock to someone accustomed to working in small businesses, but would seem familiar to anyone who has experience in a huge and lumbering corporation. I assume this would hold true moving in the other direction.
posted by majick at 1:51 PM on September 8, 2004
The pay scales in the public sector are abyssimal.
The non-pay benefits (time off, health care, pension) in the public sector are typically so much better as to render the pay scale differences almost negligable. Some private sector outfits offer fantastic benefits packages, but they are the exception rather than the rule.
Government departments appear to operate as somewhat more inefficient versions of large corporate departments: swamped with red tape, mired in The Way We Do Things Here, and equally pennywise/poundfoolish as the corporate environment.
The "results matter" thing varies across company cultures. There are plenty of private sector outfits which are heavily stocked with useless middle managers who produce nothing but Minesweeper scores and PowerPoint documents, as well as line workers who go to great effort to make themselves appear productive.
Generally it seems as though the public sector would come as a huge shock to someone accustomed to working in small businesses, but would seem familiar to anyone who has experience in a huge and lumbering corporation. I assume this would hold true moving in the other direction.
posted by majick at 1:51 PM on September 8, 2004
it seems as though the public sector would come as a huge shock to someone accustomed to working in small businesses, but would seem familiar to anyone who has experience in a huge and lumbering corporation. I assume this would hold true moving in the other direction.
I believe this. My experiences working for large corps and a large university (albiet a private one) are pretty much the same. My experiences working for small businesses are somewhat similar to each other as well -- and very different from the large experience. The larger the organization, the more intrigue over corners of the kingdom, the less sense of urgency about ones duties as effecting the whole enterprise.
posted by weston at 4:44 PM on September 8, 2004
I believe this. My experiences working for large corps and a large university (albiet a private one) are pretty much the same. My experiences working for small businesses are somewhat similar to each other as well -- and very different from the large experience. The larger the organization, the more intrigue over corners of the kingdom, the less sense of urgency about ones duties as effecting the whole enterprise.
posted by weston at 4:44 PM on September 8, 2004
I agree with most of the posters: the size of the organization is what seems to matter. In a small business, the only person doing your job is you. Lots of pressure to perform, but relative job freedom. In a big organization, you have lots of rules to follow, but you can skate by more easily. You can be horribly under-resourced in either.
posted by bonehead at 6:40 PM on September 8, 2004
posted by bonehead at 6:40 PM on September 8, 2004
My experience in the public sector was at least pretty predictable. If I was scheduled for a vacation one week, I went on vacation. If there was a holiday, I didn't have to go to work.
In the private sector (just my experience talking) results do matter. I've had to cancel trips because suddenly big deadlines have come down and I have to help meet them. I get phone calls on my days off to ensure that such-and-such project is progressing as planned. On the other hand, I've learned that if I walk quickly through the building with my brows knit, holding some file folders, everyone think I'm too busy for any more assignments (even works when the folders are full of blank paper).
It was much easier to avoid taking my public-sector job home with me. But the pay was peanuts.
posted by kamikazegopher at 6:40 PM on September 8, 2004
In the private sector (just my experience talking) results do matter. I've had to cancel trips because suddenly big deadlines have come down and I have to help meet them. I get phone calls on my days off to ensure that such-and-such project is progressing as planned. On the other hand, I've learned that if I walk quickly through the building with my brows knit, holding some file folders, everyone think I'm too busy for any more assignments (even works when the folders are full of blank paper).
It was much easier to avoid taking my public-sector job home with me. But the pay was peanuts.
posted by kamikazegopher at 6:40 PM on September 8, 2004
I've worked in both and the difference I've seen is that the level of dedication to the task at hand sees to be much higher in the private sector.
There have been times where I have been told in the public sector that working overtime or on the weekends is not a possibility but in the private I encountered frequently the ethos "I'll work until it's finished." Which is (I hope!) the way I tend to be.
As far as non-profits in the USA, I think they are money sinks and for the most part, people that work for them are slime. But that only applies to the ones I have met.
posted by Dagobert at 3:51 AM on September 9, 2004
There have been times where I have been told in the public sector that working overtime or on the weekends is not a possibility but in the private I encountered frequently the ethos "I'll work until it's finished." Which is (I hope!) the way I tend to be.
As far as non-profits in the USA, I think they are money sinks and for the most part, people that work for them are slime. But that only applies to the ones I have met.
posted by Dagobert at 3:51 AM on September 9, 2004
the biggest difference i noticed in switching from private to public (legal) practice was--as noted above--in the public sector, if i have vacation scheduled (or the end of the day comes along), i go home. if i stay late, i don't come in until noon. management (and the courts) know how seriously underpaid we are (compared to the private sector and in relation to the educational debt many of us carry) and they compensate us in the only way they can, by not expecting us to work 60+ hours a week.
otherwise, dedication levels of colleagues, acceptable quality of work, office politics and red tape seem more related to the individual workplace than they are to whether it's private or public sector.
posted by crush-onastick at 12:49 PM on September 9, 2004
otherwise, dedication levels of colleagues, acceptable quality of work, office politics and red tape seem more related to the individual workplace than they are to whether it's private or public sector.
posted by crush-onastick at 12:49 PM on September 9, 2004
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Your results may vary.
posted by pomegranate at 1:12 PM on September 8, 2004