What would you say the main advantages and disadvantages are of working in the public sector? 

The advantages are that most of your colleagues are very nice and friendly and it's a friendly, it's a good working environment. I think this is a public sector feature – to work flexibly. Sometimes you have to put in long hours because the work demands it, because for instance here, if there's going to be a vote at eleven o'clock at night, you have to be here for that vote. So, the next day, if it's quite a light day, no one minds if you go home early or you work from home or whatever so it's that kind of flexible. You're doing what the work demands but you're not doing more than the work demands. You're not here for the sake of being here and there is a sense of common goals and common effort. The advantages include as well are that you get a fantastic pension which I guess most people don't get in the private sector anymore. They say you get paid less, I don't know, actually, how far that is true. You certainly get paid more than you would in academia. I guess you don't get these six figure salaries but then if you're looking for that, you're obviously not looking to go into the public sector anyway.