I’m American so I don’t think we have any such thing so it’s hard for me to wrap my head around.
[The Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_service?wprov=sfti1#) makes it sound like it’s all non elected government employees, but it’s hard for me to imagine a single exam that you need to pass to become a post office worker or a DMV worker or something like that.
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so, “civil service” covers everyone form the characters in Parks and Recreation, though the boss of the local DMV, to the guy that briefs the President about the expected damage of an incoming hurricane. its a diverse collection of public officials, with often diverse job requirements and thus entry standards.
The “civil service examinations” are often prominent in countries and times were the civil service was open to basically everyone with the education to attempt them, and was a gateway into a comfortable, well to do lifestyle. Thus, these exams were seen as a major path to social advancement by the better off elements of the lower classes, and both massively over-subscribed and fiercely competitive.
Passing these exams was seen as a mark of real capability, given how selective they could afford to be. sort of the “my son is a doctor” vibes, but the son is instead in charge of the power grid for half the province or something similar.
You see this in places like the British and Chinese empires, where the promise of wealth and power the exams offered were a way to “pay off” local power groups by giving them a way into the “in crowd”, and also channelling their best and most capable people into serving the empire, rather than plotting for its demise.
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