Am I missing that much not going government?

[Anonymous]

Military spouse here. I work remotely for the same employer I was with prior to marrying and am reasonably happy with them. My work is not government/military-related but would translate well. I make just over six figures, have 6 weeks of vacation a year + close to a year of sick leave saved up, full TA for another masters or PhD if I so choose, blah, blah, blah.

But he entire time I've been married, people have been harping on me to consider hopping over to the GS side. I don't see the appeal, like, at all. It would be a pay cut, less PTO, weird culture, etc. On the other hand, 100 people can't be wrong, right? What am I missing?

[Anonymous]

Pension. That’s it.

[Anonymous]

Odds are good that most of the 100 people have government jobs and have to justify them. They are very safe jobs, pay decently and have nice benefits. It sounds like you have a good deal with 6 weeks of vacation, work remote, a years worth of accrued sick leave and TA.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't switch if I were you. I guess the only reason I might switch is if you were a contractor and you had to switch employers and lose seniority/vacation benefits each time the contract came up for renewal but that doesn't seem to be your situation.

[Anonymous]

Your job sounds great. You already have your military spouses benefits for retirement.

[Anonymous]

Pension is what you're missing. I mean it still might not be worth it for you, but that assurance is what many people like.

[Anonymous]

Youre benefits except pension are great. Im not in gov and we cant get more than 4 weeks pto here.

[Anonymous]

I do have a pension, actually. Not like DH's retirement plan, but I've got a good bit coming, plus my regular 401(k).

[Anonymous]

Your job sounds great. People are probably just making conversation: a lot of military spouses do take fed govt jobs so they're assuming you'd want to.

I'm a Fed and my spouse is not. I urge him to apply because he's getting to be an older guy in a tech field and I worry about age discrimination. But otherwise there's no reason for him to move.

[Anonymous]

So you get 30 days of vacation a year, AND earn sick leave (I was a little unclear about the year accured, but i guess 360 days of sick leave will never run out).

Then it comes to growth and stability. The govt has a clear profession and cap; what is your future at the company. And how stable is it? What industry is this??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pension. That’s it.

and the value of the pension isnt much these days.

[Anonymous]

after five years you are eligible to take your health care plan into retirement, but there are several caveats to this. If that has any value to you then that is another difference.

[Anonymous]

Nothing and you don't need things like health care so stay at the job you like and is good.

[Anonymous]

Hard to know without more context. Maybe they think you're bored? Or that the mission of your organization is sketch? I spoke to someone like this at a dinner thing (talking about how perfect their job was) and turned out they worked for one of the companies that builds military weapons.

[Anonymous]

Your situation sounds golden, OP. My vote is stay where you are because you would be starting all over again for a lot of uncertainty and less perks. You make more, have more time off and are already set because of your spouse's military retirement perks. The grass isn't always greener...