Working in public services encompasses a huge range of different roles, but it’s essentially all about trying to improve the wellbeing of the general public. Those who work in the public sector work directly for the government, which means they usually have a fairly stable and regular working life. The sector is divided into four sections, which are: tax collection, law making (politics), law enforcement (police) and service delivery (such as Medicare, Centrelink, Department of Environment and heaps of others). Because the government is such a huge institution, public servants work within a massive operating team.

WILL IT SUIT ME?

The public sector needs people with all kinds of interests and skills, such as language, numeracy, science, ethics and administration. It’s a sector with a reputation for being extremely structured, and is sometimes criticized for strict approach to bureaucracy. Within government institutions, there’s a set structure and procedure for everything, and public servants are expected to adhere to the guidelines. In return, workers are rewarded with great job security, holidays and a range of employment benefits. 

HOW CAN I GET THERE?

There are literally so many different fields within the public sector that it’s hard to talk about the education pathways in general terms. For some roles, such as senator, legal aid representative or town planner, you’ll almost certainly need a university degree. For others, such as council worker, administrator or job provider, you might receive training on the job. It’s worth looking specifically at what kind of public service role you might be seeking and go from there.

WHAT SKILLS WILL I LEARN?

Working in the public sector will reward you with transferable skills such as:

• Excellent organisation and negotiating skills.
• Creativity and flexible thinking.
• Leadership.
• Decision-making ability.
• Teamwork skills.
• Dependable when needed.
• Good communication skills, written and oral.

The public sector boasts some of the best working conditions around. That means the administration is really on point when it comes to sick pay, holiday pay, maternity leave, superannuation schemes and working conditions. The tradeoff is that there is a lot of bureaucracy, paperwork and sometimes a lack of flexibility when it comes to working conditions. At the end of the day, if you’re passionate about politics, policy issues, current affairs and job security then working in this industry may be for you.