A High Level Overview of a Career Path in the NSW Public Sector
A career in the public sector was not my first choice coming out of university but it certainly is a sustainable career to manage family and other life responsibilities and has lots of opportunities for mobility and internal promotion.
Progression
The career progression for professionals (depending on what field you are in eg. accounting/legal/policy/ environmental etc etc) mirrors that of any organisation (most junior listed first):
- Intern/ Graduates
- Analyst
- Associate
- Senior Associate
- Associate Director
- Director
- Executive Director
- Deputy Secretary
Unlike other organizations such as banks, accounting firms, law firms etc. the roles advertised are usually slightly less skill focused but rather based on more behavioral capabilities. While the titles are important and do show seniority, the progression is seen more as “grade levels” ie. 1,2,3,4… 11/12 etc etc. For example, you could have an analyst earning a grade 9 salary which is much higher than an associate earning a grade 7 salary in another team. Furthermore, there is no automatic promotion- rather you will need to apply for a promotion and compete with other external candidates (although this may be just a matter of process rather than substance).
CROWN EMPLOYEES (PUBLIC SECTOR — SALARIES 2021) AWARD
A general guide of the public sector salary grades are governed by the Crown Employees’ Salaries Award and are as follows:
Exit Opportunities
Depending on your area of specialisation, people typically move around in and find more senior opportunities in other government agencies or they could move back into private accounting firms, banks, law firms, social start ups etc.
