But as the new generation enters the workforce and begins their professional career, the private sector can often offer salaries and perks with which government can’t compete.
Acknowledging that a first job is often just one of many on a diverse career journey, GT asked state technology leaders what their pitch is to young professionals to convince them to consider the public sector.
Utah CIO Alan Fuller had just spoken to a group of students recently. “Just last week, I spoke to an MBA class at one of the local universities and made my pitch as best I could,” he said. Noting his own private-sector background, he pointed to the “purpose-driven, service-oriented” people he enjoys working with in state government. “We at the state have a really unique opportunity to do lots of cool and interesting work,” he added, from working on electronic health records and drones to homelessness and more.
Montana Chief Information Security Officer Andy Hanks said the state is a great place to start, as well as end, a career, pointing as Fuller did to the broad base of experience it offers, in contrast to the specialized work of a lot of private-sector roles.
