Hey all,
I’m early in my IT career in the APS and trying to figure out whether it’s worth sticking it out long-term or jumping to private.
I’m currently an APS5 with ~3 years total experience (Java + .NET) and came finished an APS grad program last year.
How common are technical specialist EL1/EL2 roles?
Are these roles usually externally advertised, or do most people get there via internal promotion / acting?
I’ve mostly seen roles like this from AFP — are other agencies just filling them internally?
From what I can tell, EL1 is often more of a leadership/management step rather than pure engineering. The salary jump also doesn’t seem huge (~$124k–$142k for EL1) compared to APS6 , unless you get into the specialised roles.
I’m basically debating:
Stay in APS, aim for APS6 → EL1 technical specialist (~$150k+ eventually?)
Or jump to private sooner for higher pay (but more risk given the current job market)
Also unsure about timing:
When did you apply for APS6?
How long did it take you (or people you know) to move APS5 → APS6 → EL1?
Would really appreciate any advice or experiences, especially from people in IT/engineering streams