Civil service jobs are positions within government organizations that focus on providing essential public services. Civil servants are employees who work for the government at the state, local, and federal levels to provide a service for the public. They are government officials who are employed in civil occupations that are neither political nor judicial. Civil service jobs are available in almost every industry, and the variety of jobs available is almost as wide as in the private sector. Some examples of civil service jobs include registered nurse, IT specialist, and patent attorney.

Civil service jobs offer many benefits that make them much more lucrative than simply being substitutes for when you can’t secure a private sector position. These benefits include healthcare insurance, retirement funding, and more uniquely, job security. Civil service jobs also offer competitive salaries, and some of the highest paying positions include roles such as judges, top-level executives in government agencies, engineering managers, IT directors, and more.

In the United States, the federal civil service was established in 1871, and it is defined as "all appointive positions in the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of the Government of the United States, except positions in the uniformed services". In Canada, the civil service at the federal level is known as the Public Service of Canada, with each of the ten provincial governments as well as the three territorial governments also having their own separate civil services.