Your Career, Young Woman!

If the price and hours are right, go for it. You'll be much happier later on when you don't have to worry about where the money for rent/mortgage, food, clothes, entertainment, etc is coming from.

Negotiating salaries is tons of fun. I was afraid to do it for fear of looking like a bastard for a long time, which led to a string of jobs where I was making something on the order of $10-20K under the national average for my job description/skill level. When I decided to negotiate, I ended up so far over the average that my head is still spinning.

Its good to haev a plan for retirement.

The bonuses of working in the civil service are good hours and flexi time (I was on 37 hours per week and by taking half an hour for lunch got a flexi day off once a fortnight). Also, you tend to get more holiday - my sister gets 6 weeks per year. Another thing is that, they (generally) treat staff a bit better - lots of departments and agencies have got Investors In People, for example. They're also good at career development - lots of training, good promotional structure, quite easy to get a transfer etc. And they're much, much more likely to employ you if you're disabled/black/gay/anyone else who might be discriminated against elsewhere.

However, they don't pay well - you have to balance this out against the benefits. And, because everything they spend on comes from taxpayers' money, you could well be working in a scabby office with skanky orange carpets, battered filing cabinets and sitting near people with very bad dress sense indeed.

I used to work in housing benefit and it was great fun. The pay was okay, the hours fine, and the job pretty exciting.

Make sure there's a termination clause in your contract: that's my advice.

What's the alternative?

Madchen, are you suggesting that civil service employees' *clothes* are funded by the tax payer?

No, but they should be. There are more geography teachers in the Department of Health than in the DFEE.

I like the Talking Heads song about civil service workers

The alternative is leaving civil service, and going back to temping elsewhere - where I would aim to earn more than I'm getting right now. After a few months of temping in the same place, I'm getting over the fear. I've had some experience and all that jazz.

Paul, after your stories, I'd defintely check termination clauses.

I'll have to see what pay and what grade I go in at. Main fear is knee jerk reaction about getting "proper job". Never mind civil service proper job. But with a few months office experience and quite good A-Levels, sense is telling me I might as well take it. And go for the money. BRANE is telling me "50years wearing cardigans is ahead of you". And I am wearing a cardigan. Sure, it starts with nice black ones....

Sarah, as the Evil Wing of the media delight in telling us, a recession is planned by the Powers That Be for very soon. I would take the job mostly on that basis. Personally I have a big thing against temping because Nazis are involved and the agency makes a fortune compared to your cut of the money. A lot of civil servants based in Whitehall (will this be you?) get the £25 ICA membership as soup and samwich at the ICA bar is a nice way to spend the lunch hour. You will not lose your sense of style. And in a civil service job, they can't hassle you for having one either.

Would the job include mind-numbing things? It might be worth, but be sure to discuss everything beforehand. Also, would you have to take job stress home with you? Buy a working-woman briefcase too small for that.

Would the job include mind-numbing thongs?

Some times I wish I had a mind numbing thing...wait, oh yeah beer.

Tom, that thread os over here.

Thread redirection just doesn't seem right coming from anyone but Nick. Sorry Dan, it's not you it's me etc. etc.

"Permanent job fear" = what the fuck ?!

Man, MY fear is to have to keep doing replacements 3 days a week someplace where I never know how long they're gonna need me, and where I don't know if I'll be employed 6 months from now. I have a permanent government job right now that I'm about to quit, and I'm scared shitless. Having a stable enough income to be able to make plans = Classic. Grab the opportunity while you can, Sarah.

Patrick, whatever you do, avoid the bank whose logo is a big red N (a bank that shall remain nameless, as I still work there) - the big bad bank rap is all true. Well, all except that one bit of loony propaganda about the giant financial office tower in NYC, the one with the number of the beast on it that houses evil old men plotting to imbed microchips in all the world's populace so as to take ultimate control and all that other BigBadBanker muahahhaahaha stuff... but even then, I'm beginning to wonder.

Not to change the subject, but do you lot enjoy the game of Chequers?

What is "The Game of Chequers"? Is that the one where Tony and Cherie try to bounce Leo into the bin off Euan's beer-filled stomach? Do you mean draughts?

But would you be a pale impersonator of a government administrator?