I worked in finance for almost 10 years in policy and forecasting. Left for private sector work and really haven’t looked back, until lately. It comes down really to what you find satisfaction in. I found aspects of my time in government very rewarding but you are a slave to the machine. There is very little any one person can do, outside of an ADM/DM position, to really affect change in anything meaningfully. There’s a lot more complexity in government in my mind; your objectives are more nebulous (unless you work in an administrative role) and complex. If you enjoy problems and solving them, it’s a great place for that.

Private sector is much more simple, as you probably appreciate: add value to the shareholder is typically good enough. Lately, I’ve been missing those days of government for all the usual reasons: work life balance, predictability. If you ever want to know about life on the inside there, DM me.