The proportion of government employees who enter the civil service after their studies has fallen through the generations: direct entries involved more than three quarters of civil servants working in 2010 and who had joined before 1980 as opposed to around six in ten for those joining after 2000. Associated with the general raising of the level of qualifications for the later generations and with that of the positions offered in the civil service, the qualification level on entry increased on a regular basis and was increasing more than that required to take up the positions: among civil servants joining since 2000, 55% of those holding a B or C post have a postgraduate degree. The salaried careers of civil servants are set in accordance with statutory rules. Nonetheless, numerous events can occur during a career: appointments, promotions, geographic or functional mobility, career breaks. These different events have a significant impact on the salary paid.