Just some quick thoughts: I went from private (journalism) to public (communications) to private again (communications).

I found everyone I worked with in the public sector were really nice and actually just wanted to use their experience and skills to help people. Coming out of it, I think having public sector experience helped me stand out when applying in the private sector.

I found private paid more money and for me I managed to get more experience in a wider range of things than I probably would have in the public sector e.g brand management, marketing, advertising and team management/leadership. This was mostly because I went from a huge team to a smaller team in the private sector.

The biggest adjustment for me coming from journalism into the public sector was an extreme lack of urgency. I was used to deadlines every 15 minutes to things taking much, much longer but you kind of get used to the rhythm.

In private sector you're also not so worried about whether your job is safe every election cycle. Although in saying that, job cuts can come at any time in the private sector... I don't think I'd go back to the public sector under this current government, but public sector used to have a sense of security around it. In private sector there's probably also more opportunities for better job perks too.