u/Clear-Helicopter6512

I’m currently an APS5 Software Engineer with around 3.5 years of experience and am considering applying for EL1 technical roles.

Most of my experience is hands-on development, haven’t led teams or fully designed anything. But I’ve contributed to technical solutions and helped onboard developers.

Is it worth preparing for EL1 roles at this stage, or would I be better off targeting APS6 first?

What do EL1 technical interviews typically involve? Are they mainly STAR/behavioural questions, or should I expect system design, coding and deep technical questions as well?

How much technical leadership and architecture experience do panels expect? One of the role still encourages application from lower skill level but don’t know if it’s written for formality sake.

Has anyone moved from the APS into private industry or contracting? How are you finding it particularly given the current job market?

Thanks

A friend in their mid-40F works in healthcare (Bachelors degree qualification) and has been in the same role for several years. They’re comfortable where they are, but there’s very little career progression, they do shift work, and the commute is long.

They’ve been offered an APS4 Tribunal Officer role at the ART with similar pay. The main attractions are no shifts, some WFH flexibility, and what appears to be better long-term progression.

For anyone who works or has worked at the ART or in the APS:

What’s the culture and day-to-day work like?

Is workplace politics a concern?

How realistic is progression to APS5/APS6, and how long does it typically take?

If you were in this situation, would you make the switch or stay in a comfortable but stagnant role?

One concern is leaving a good team and ending up in a toxic environment or regretting the move. Any honest experiences would be appreciated.

Thanks!

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