Civil Service Exam Professional or Subprofessional?
Should you play it safe, or should you play it smart? What factors should you consider when choosing between the Civil Service Exam Professional and Subprofessional Levels? Read on to find out and help you decide.
Civil Service Exam Professional or Subprofessional: Coverage
Most people say that if you finished a four- or five-year course, then you should take the Professional Level because it is harder. If you only finished a vocational course, then you should take the Subprofessional Level because it is easier. While there is a grain of truth to these statements, you may actually take either level of the civil service exam regardless of your educational attainment. The coverage for both levels is more or less the same except for a few key differences.
For the Subprofessional Level, you will need to study the following subjects: English, Mathematics, Clerical Operations, and General Information. The applicants are usually given 2 hours and 40 minutes to finish 165 items.
For the Professional Level, you will need to study the following subjects: English, Mathematics, Analogies, Logical Reasoning, and General Information. The applicants are usually given 3 hours and 10 minutes to finish 170 items.
The Analogy and Logic sections make the Professional Level troublesome for many applicants. These topics are excluded and replaced with Clerical Operations in the Subprofessional Level. For both levels, however, there will be questions in English, Filipino, Mathematics, and General Information.
Civil Service Exam Professional or Subprofessional: Eligibility
Your eligibility to apply for positions in the government will depend on the level of exam that you pass.
The Subprofessional Eligibility qualifies you for first-level positions such as clerical, trade, and custodial service positions, which require less than four years of college education.
The Professional Eligibility, on the other hand, qualifies you not only for first-level positions but also for second-level positions such as professional, technical, and scientific positions, which require four years of college education. (Take note that you need to be a graduate of a four-year course to be eligible for a second-level position.)
For both levels, the positions must not involve the practice of any profession and must not be regulated by other laws.
If you want to play it safe, you may take the Subprofessional Level first. Passing it will give you the confidence to hurdle the more challenging Professional Level next time. Immediately after passing the Subprofessional Level, start preparing for the Professional Level while everything is still fresh in your mind. Since you already studied most of the topics, you will need to concentrate on Analogy and Logic for the next round.
If you want to play it smart, then take the Professional Level so you will not have to study some of the subjects all over again.
Sources
Civil Service Commission website
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