Formerly the Copts had a special reputation for their skills as craftsmen
and for their abilities as tax collectors and as scribes in the state service, and
thanks to the efficiency of the schools run by the Coptic Church many of
them were able to qualify as finance administrators in the public service. But
that is a thing of the past. The professional structure of urban Copts today
is barely different from that of urban Muslims. There is, however, a relatively
high proportion of Copts in middle-level positions in the civil service today,
owing to the fact that these are low paid and unattractive, whereas securing
a livelihood in the more lucrative private sector requires good connections to
the state apparatus, which is still controlling it through regulations, licences
and concessions. As a minority the Copts are largely lacking the required
connections.