单选题
Public or Private?
A. When jobseekers encounter an opening, they typically ask themselves a few basics—Am I qualified? Is it interesting work? What does it pay? Whether the job is in the public or private sector is a secondary matter. First and foremost is to find rewarding work that offers a good salary and comprehensive benefits. Yet there are significant differences between the public and private sector that could make similar sounding positions two very different experiences. Some workers seem quite capable of working in either environment, while others learn the hard way that they are ill-suited for one or the other. How do you know which is right for you? Here are some key differences to consider in making your career decision.
B. Private organizations are funded by individuals or shareholders with a goal of making money. Public organizations are typically taxpayer supported and exist to serve some public need not adequately addressed by private companies. Rather than being profit-driven, they strive to deliver maximum services within the constraints of a fixed budget. In the private sector, job counselors advise clients to contact hiring managers directly whenever possible, via phone calls or through networking. Usually, you can talk your way into an interview. The public sector operates differently. Directly contacting hiring managers in the public sector will do little good because, typically, they must first post job openings (often to a website or telephone hotline), then consider only those who pass the initial job application screening. In the public sector, you must familiarize yourself with an agency's procedures, then follow them to the letter lest you be disqualified. In some cases, you will be required to take an exam. Books that help you prepare for civil service exams are readily available at book stores and many career centers.
C. The sea of red ink that has swamped several public agencies has forced many to do the unthinkable—let people go, just like in the private sector. In fact, government has been losing jobs in California throughout 2004. In addition, a recent report by the governor advocates converting many government positions into private-sector contracting jobs. Still, if you can land a job at the city, county or state level and acquire some seniority, you have a good chance of weathering such cutbacks. So if job security is vital to you, a civil service position is your best bet. If you plan on changing jobs and moving out of the area, you will want the flexibility of the private sector.
D. Some might argue that you will have more job satisfaction in the private sector. But I am not so sure. I know a teacher, social worker, administrator, and health educator, and they all enjoy their work. As with anything, much of their job satisfaction depends upon the meaningfulness of the work and the quality of their supervisor. A teacher, for example, may experience more job satisfaction than a secretary. The key is landing a job you want to do, whether it's public or private. If you are eager to be a manager, private employment may be for you. It's easier to win a promotion and you have more flexibility with employees since there are fewer rules to follow. In public employment, you will have to compete with any and all who want to apply for the job.
E. In the public sector, pay is determined by your job title and years of service. In private industry, pay levels are usually based on your skills, qualifications, productivity, and contributions to the bottom line. Salary schedules with private employers may be more susceptible to downturns in the economy. However, the pay scale in a public agency is etched in stone, while in the private world you are only limited by what you can convince an employer you are worth. Certainly the public sector in general has better healthcare coverage, although many agencies are trying to pass on greater costs to workers(just as in the private sector). There is one area of benefits in which the private sector cannot compete—holidays. In addition, many public agencies pay retirees for a portion of their unused sick leave, a rarity in the private world. As for retirement, see below.
F. Having lived through corporate politics, I understand how onerous they can be. But you are not free of this in public agencies. At the state level, everyone has to keep the governor happy. County-level staffers answer to a board of supervisors. At the local level, it's the city council or the school board. The military, police and fire departments have very. rigid chains of command. Perhaps the only place you can escape corporate or public politics is working for a small, privately held company. With less distance between you and the owner, you are more readily able to have a positive influence on what happens in your firm. If you hate sitting through meetings that drone on, well, there is no escape. The private and public sectors both have their share of monotonous(枯燥无味的) get-togethers in the conference room.
G. You won't find a job selling widgets(小产品) with a government agency, and you won't find work as a tax collector in the private sector. Still, you can find a variety of challenging jobs in both the private and public world. If, for example, you are into marketing, you could find a private company interested in enhancing its image—or a public agency that needs to market a new public health campaign. The possibilities are only limited by your ability to think of ways to apply your skills.
H. Retirement benefits provide one of the most glaring differences between working for a public or private entity. In the public sector, it's unlikely that your retirement benefits would ever be in danger, particularly if your agency is part of the California Public Employees Retirement System (CALPERS), the largest such investment entity in the world. It's quite a different matter in the private sector. While Enron was perhaps the most dramatic and tragic case of a company pension plan collapsing, more and more, firms are trying to ease the pension burden by reducing benefits to workers. For example, United Airlines earlier this year attempted to renege on its retirement plan in order to avoid bankruptcy. The courts, however, rejected the bid. Still, countless other companies have indeed pulled back on promises of retirement benefits to current workers as well as reducing actual benefits to those already retired.
I. Of course, there are wide variances within the sectors—working for Chevron for example, is not the same as working for Morn & Pop's Pet Shop. Nor is working for the Post Office the same as laboring at the city hall. As always, wise jobseekers do their homework on target employers before applying—whether public or private.