I wrote an article previously about the appeal (the positive aspects) of being a civil engineer in the public sector.

Here, I’d like to take the opposite approach and write about the “dark side” of being a civil engineer in public service—specifically, the aspects I don’t like. Of course, things vary depending on the government office and department, so I’d appreciate it if you could take this with a grain of salt, thinking, “Oh, so that’s how it is in some places.”

We are assuming a city of roughly the same size as a "core city."

The Downsides of Being a Civil Engineering Civil Servant

There are certainly some commonalities among larger organizations, whether public or private. The first half covers civil servants in general, while the second half focuses on civil engineers.

Because I'm transferred so often, I can't develop my skills.

Typically, personnel transfers occur every two to four years, and it’s not uncommon for job responsibilities to change just as drastically as when switching jobs. If you find yourself back to square one every time you’re transferred—no matter how much you study—it’s only natural to feel a sense of helplessness and futility. Personally, though, I’m happy when I get reassigned. I don’t think the skills I’ve developed are meaningless, and I believe that “knowledge is an asset no one can take away from you,” so I want to keep building on it step by step.

The departments I want to transfer to are gradually disappearing

Every year there’s a survey on transfer preferences, but as I’ve spent more time at the government office and come to understand its inner workings better, the departments I actually want to work in are gradually disappearing. It’s strange, considering I joined the office with so much hope and dreams… I guess that just goes to show that every department has its own “dark side.”

There are employees who do not work because there are no layoffs and their jobs are guaranteed.

I don’t think there are any employees who don’t work at all, but there are certainly quite a few who are underqualified and have an extremely light workload, or who do a sloppy job. I was particularly surprised by an older guy nearing retirement—who, of course, couldn’t use a computer, but couldn’t even operate a copier. Even when you try to teach them, they just can’t get it. Their colleagues end up having to pick up the slack (though I suppose it’s much the same in the private sector, too).

There are a lot of people who are against civil servants. They’ve become a punching bag for the public.

The intense backlash against civil servants these days is really out of the ordinary. I get the feeling that more and more people think they can say whatever they want to civil servants. When you think about it calmly, a situation where a specific profession has such a large number of detractors is clearly abnormal. In the real world, revealing your profession can sometimes lead people to think, “Oh, they’re a decent person,” which brings a sense of relief and trust. But especially online, you often see thoughtless comments from detractors. It’s really tough to have people who are against your profession.

We're passing the buck back and forth with other departments

Even though there is a division of administrative responsibilities, there are many cases where it’s unclear which department is in charge. The reality is that people are reluctant to take on these tasks because doing so would increase their workload. Few managers take a holistic view of the organization’s best interests. Yet, they often increase the workload of other departments for the sake of their own department’s convenience or impose overly strict adherence to rules. It’s Parkinson’s First Law, isn’t it? Why is the relationship between departments so strained?

I'm always cleaning up after someone else

I’m sure there are various factors at play, but I feel like I’m always cleaning up after someone else (I know this might sound like I’m getting a big head, but I really feel this way, so please let me write it down). It’s staff members who were involved in that work in the past, my predecessors, colleagues, contractors, and so on. It’s reached a point where I can’t even say, “I make mistakes too, so we’re all in the same boat.”… I think this is something you have to be prepared for as long as you work in an organization.

Salaries are low when you're just starting out

Young employees don’t make much. Since they get raises every year, by the time they’re over 30, their salary reaches a level where they can feel somewhat secure—but when they think about the future, they can’t afford to live lavishly. With the current work-style reforms, they can’t even count on overtime pay, so I imagine young employees with less than 10 years of experience are in a pretty tight spot.