Careers in the Public Service
What is the Public Service?
Public servants are government workers who conduct and manage the government operations of their city, their province, their territory, or their country. Public servants across Canada play a unique and important role in government, as follows:
- Public servants are not ‘politicians’ and are typically hired, not elected.
- Public servants are not ‘political’ in a ‘partisan’ sense, meaning being loyal to any particular party or leader.
- Public servants in Canada continue their employment across and despite changes in government.
- Public servants make recommendations on ‘what’ to do, and administer ‘how’ to implement what leaders decide on.
Social Sciences students often go on to rewarding and fruitful careers in the public service, which are broadly considered stable careers with reliable benefits and compensation.
Levels of the Public Service
Public servants work at many levels of government in Canada:
Federal Public Service
Whether working for a federal government ministry, a crown corporation, or another type of body in the public sector, working in the public service can truly help to put social sciences training and skills into action.
Provincial Public Service
The core idea of the public service works similarly at the provincial and territorial level in Canada. For example, careers in the Ontario Public Service vary widely.
Municipal Public Service
All across Canada, cities, towns, and regions employ staff members whose day-to-day work helps their municipality run. Social sciences graduates can find tremendous opportunities for work at the municipal level.
Related Occupational Categories
Whereas exploring careers by ‘sectors’ helps us to sort by employer type, industry, or general field of work, Economic and Social Development Canada’s ‘occupational’ categories tend to focus more on the duties and functions that people play in specific roles. Here are just a few of the occupation categories that may be relevant to this sector:
Academic Program Connections
As you select your program of study and the courses you will take, you can chart a path towards success in this sector from any one of our social sciences departments and programs. Here are just a few examples of academic disciplines that have connections with this sector:
