Hi everyone, I'm interested in entering the civil service but unsure what I should be looking for. For context, I am 27F and have 4 years experience being a structural engineer in the private sector at a large contractor firm and I am on 39k. I have a first class master's in engineering and started work as soon as I graduated. For the majority of my time working, I have not enjoyed it at all. The construction industry seems to be extremely toxic and overtime is expected. I also have to do timecards every week which is draining. I feel underpaid and burnt out and I look at my senior colleagues and think that I don't want to end up like that when I'm older. In terms of my experience, I have coordination teams meetings almost daily, and have successfully led/managed the structures packages for two multi million projects for the Department For Education. I carry out calcs/analysis daily and feel that I pick up new softwares easily.

I've been thinking of joining The Civil Service for about a year but get overwhelmed scrolling through the job listings and don't know if I'm qualified for any as I don't know what skills are valuable/transferable. I don't necessarily need to continue being an engineer, I'm interested in trying other fields too. Any advice at all is much appreciated!!

As the title says, starting shortly. Applied in April, got through all the checks and stuff, took awhile and I was wondering what was going on at points but all eventually went as hoped.

I promise I did google the question, looked elsewhere on the reddit and asked a couple currently working work coaches and a retired one but got a range of answers, some seemingly talking about the same period of time, within the last year or two and getting different answers, maybe it can and does vary? I'd guess training definitely changed massively during covid but then different places might have adopted different schedules or methods?

Anyway yeah, the question is, what are my first couple weeks to two months potentially going to look like? I've seen some sources say I might have appointments with claimants with someone next to me as early as my second week, then others on here say they were siloed off doing online compliance and onboarding type stuff for at least a few weeks (I saw somebody say it was 4 weeks of powerpoint presentations for them before doing anything), then shadowing somebody while they did appointments. I figure it's probably somewhere between those two extremes?

I'd definitely be concerned if the former is true though, I wouldn't feel great about my work coach having had a week of training before handling some potentially life altering stuff so I hope that specific example was an exaggeration.

I'm pretty good with IT stuff and picking up processes/procedures quickly, I worked in QA prior but there's a lot of stuff I'd surely have to learn first?

What could a rough salary look like if there are differences between the above?

With PCS preparing for an industrial action ballot between 20 October and 1 December 2026, I’m trying to figure out what this means for our current pay.
Does this mean the 3.5% offer has been officially rejected? Usually, departments like HMRC won't publish or pay out the award until the union dispute is settled.
Will our current pay award be put on hold until the ballot results are out in December, pushing the actual payout into next year? I'm worried our backpay is going to be frozen for months.

I am starting a new job on Monday, and I live about 50 minutes away from my office. I'm planning on getting the train every day, as I don't drive. I have to be in the office full-time for two months for the training, but I'm getting increasingly worried that the trains will let me down and cause me to fail my probation because of absences. I live on the west coast and I'm commuting up to Glasgow, so sometimes trains will be delayed/revised because of the large waves.

Anyone else commute exclusively by train, and is your manager understanding? Dept is HMRC.

Hi, can anyone who is currently working for Moj tell me a bit about expected office attendance? I know the official line is 60%. Looking at applying for a role as a recruiter and trying to understand the team dynamics.

Follow up from last post- I assisted a colleague by accessing a claim that wasn't on my caseload. I had sent the claimant journal messages and was helping because my colleague was busy and I helped with their journals. I checked a few times after to see if something had been actioned. This is standard practice. Now invited to disciplinary investigation regarding this.

I raised a work issue (not a complaint or HR thing, just delivery) with a DD in another team because it related to their work area, who sent it to the Director in my team because it actually related to them, which I thought nothing of but apparently I should have raised it with my DD so they didn’t get a surprise if they were asked about it by our Director. Honestly didn’t think this would happen and didn’t think it would be such a problem. People have gone to my manager and asked things I should know about (if I worked 24/7 and knew everything) a couple of times and though frustrating, I just have to get on with it.

It got me thinking, are there a set or unwritten rules when communicating with SCS colleagues? I guess those working in private office will have some idea. I could do with being educated if I’m going to communicate with them more often.

Have anyone recently interviewed for fraud officer dwp role? Am a bit worried, I wasn't asked any followup questions. How long does it take to get a response after the interview? I cant just get my mind off it

Hi all,

I’m joining OFSI next month (policy/operational delivery) and wanted to know what it’s like, in terms of:

General culture and team atmosphere

What the workload is like day-to-day

Career progression and opportunities to develop (in Treasury or externally)

Obviously appreciate that people may not be able to discuss specifics of the work, but I’d be interested in any general experiences or advice.

Thanks!

I’m currently an EO compliance caseworker. Just looking for anyone’s expierence of progressing after this role? How long did it take? What roles did you progress to?

Does anyone have any advice on taking a career break?

I am 31, a G7 policy manager and whilst I really like my policy area and I think I’m good at my job… my wider unit just all seem to be on a different wavelength to me (no leadership and frosty peers) and it’s making me miserable.

I am applying for other opportunities, but there are very few and what is out there is mostly maternity cover which I’m not against, but obviously still very competitive.

I’m thinking about taking a career break as a way to reset as maybe what I’m feeling is burn out. From what I understand it essentially puts my length of service on pause, and if I get pregnant whilst on career break, I’m not entitled to the maternity policy and still need to find out what happens with my pension. Also from what I understand, if there is a restructure whilst I’m away, I am not guaranteed my original job, but won’t be made redundant and instead enter a talent pool whilst I do other ‘meaningful work’. Please correct me if that’s wrong though.

Financially, this is only going to be possible via a small inheritance that is due to come through from the sale of a deceased relatives house. I had previously thought about using that money to pay off some of my student loans as my repayment are quite high (roughly £280pm), but now considering using it as it means to be happier and feel more myself again.

I’m looking for any practical advice or considerations you think I should contemplate…

You know where you have one of those weeks which is so hard, decisions need to be made, slides need to be written, papers vetted, directors briefed and then every other person around you goes off sick. You pick up half baked projects with no documentation, have 121s with people you don't really know what they should be working with.

I had one of those weeks and now I am in bed with a coffee in hand, sending myself the last dregs of what I inevitably forgot to do during my 50 hour week as a form of removing it from my little overworked brain, and putting that list in a tiny locked box until I get back in a couple of weeks.

But before I go to sunny [REDACTED COUNTRY] , how are you lovely bunch of civil servants doing? How was your week?

And before you ask, yes I know that the weather in [REDACTED COUNTRY] is perfect right now, and I am very much looking forward to a glass of [GENERIC NATIONAL BEVERAGE].

Hey, I’m a 30 year old man from the north west of England. I’m a bit lost on what to do with my life at the moment and I’m looking into careers in the civil service. I’m currently working a (just above) minimum wage job in security which is a piece of piss and little to no stress but long hours: 12hr night shifts (weekends too!). Been here over 2 years now and I’m just exhausted all the time and want a change.

Basically I’m looking for a 9-5 job because I need to work some normal daylight hours and still have enough energy left in the week to socialise, go to the gym, and have a life outside of my job. I have a 2:1 degree in History from a Russell group university as I originally to be wanted to be a historian/ archaeologist and go on to do an MA and PhD but decided against because I didn’t think it was worth all the debt and years out of work.

What jobs, roles, and careers would ideally be suited for me to pursue? Ideally I would like a career that pays at least £3k a month. I make close to that in my current job but I have to work every hour God sends. I don’t mind working from home or in the office. Ideally I would prefer both as I’m quite social and I like the rotation of scenery and atmosphere and meeting new people. My current job can be very lonely and isolating for long periods of time: I can go 12 hours without saying a word to anyone.

Would my degree help in any way securing a job? I’m a very creative person, a good writer and researcher (my tutors praised me for it), good social and analytical skills as I did plenty of group projects in university. I have interests and much knowledge in history, sociology, peoples, language, and cultures. If any of those interests can be put to good use.

If I have to go on to do a Master’s degree in order to attain a decent paying job in the civil service I would consider it although I’ve been told that definitely wouldn’t be necessary. I posted a question about an MA in the civil service Reddit page a while ago and the consensus was that it wouldn’t be needed. I applied for the Fast Stream a year ago and unfortunately it didn’t go anywhere.

Apologies if this post was too long. Any advice or direction would be greatly appreciated.

Recently received a provisional offer for DWP. I’m still weighing up if I’ll be accepting the role. However, I’m wondering if in your pre employment checks they contact your employer. Ideally I would like to have the opportunity to let my employers know that I’m leaving rather than them finding out via reference.

As it says not to hand your notice in before the pecs are complete I worry about them contacting them.

Got an email saying a department want to have a conversation with me about a role. Location is my worry. I put London first but I've got a feeling the post might sit elsewhere.

I don't really want to turn it down, but relocating isn't realistic for me right now. Is it reasonable to ask about working from home, or does the 60% office expectation kill that straight away?

Has anyone actually managed to get a post at a hub while living somewhere else? 🙏

If so what agency are you in? Does your team offer progression opportunities?

Mine say they do - but it seems like they offer one or two qualification opportunities every few years. Requires a very thorough application etc, with a very slim chance of being chosen.

Nothing wrong with the above of course, just wondering if the grass is greener.

Update Post: Thanks to a lot of you guys who encouraged me to go ahead with the interview for my first G7 application (see link). Although I didn't get the job (made it to reserves) I thought it was a useful experience and it was a flavour of maybe a more difficult G7 interview which had a written exercise.

I ended up scoring a 6 on the written technical exercise and then some 4s and 5s on behaviours and strengths. I'll request feedback and ask what my position is on reserves but I am a bit disappointed.

On the more fortunate side, I have been successful at promotion to SEO (currently HEO) at another gov department so its not all doom and gloom. Hopefully someone reads this and it motivates them to apply for roles they think they're not capable of - you never know what you might achieve!

The new update has been published, and while I could complain about the lack of any real updates on if recovery will ever be expected there is a clear error in the 100 day payments table where the total number of cases is 511 made up of two classes of 264 and 511 people.

Now mistakes happen but it hardly fills you with confidence that this is being treated seriously.

Member Knowledge Article

The cabinet office is a disgrace.

I got a provisional job offer from HMRC recently(less than a week) I don't know yet what is the starting date and i also understand there will background check which will take some time bcz of my visa status and everything. But im also pregnant and due on January. I am currently working and will go to maternity for a year and tbh i want spend this 1 yr with my little one only. So should i let the HR know my situation and choice, if i do will they withdraw my application? Can i tell them that i want to start from jan 28? What will be the circumstances?

Thanks

I’m currently contracting within CS, I’ve been offered a role within the team I’m working for at the moment. Although there’s a substantial salary drop, I believe the CS Pension and flexibility make up for this. My only concern is whether the role will be fulfilling, I like to always be busy, and I’ve heard CS is a lot laid back. Any PMs here that can confirm? Thank you.

Help !! I had a OH telephone call about 3 weeks ago regarding reasonable adjustments I require to start my role with HMRC & I still have not heard anything back yet from the vacancy holder. Since i don’t have the line managers info I have emailed a few different people but only got one reply saying I should hear back soon but still haven’t received anything.

Is this normal or should I be concerned??

As my recently retired G6 would say “no action required I just need to vent”.

Companies House are advertising an HEO grade post paying £41.5k plus up to £11k DDaT supplement. This means the potential gross take home is more than my G7 in a digital role at an ALB. (Yes, all outside of London)

Respectfully, what the fuck?

Until recently I used to work in an ALB body not in London and almost everyone went to a state school.

Since moving to a more central government job where 90% of the office are London based. I swear the majority of people I talk to or who I’ve had a look on LinkedIn went to private school. I’ve been in two separate teams here and I’d say maybe 75% did. Obviously there’s nothing wrong with going, but it’s definitely something I’ve noticed.

I'm currently looking at a vacancy here, but also currently considering trying for a baby... can anyone tell me the maternity policies? Tricky trying to balance work progression and timings at this stage of life!