Leaving Feds - one of us has to move right?

[Anonymous]

I’m a federal scientist, and my agency is going through a lot of changes and have pending RIF and reporg.

I have some offer for a lateral job for slightly less money, in a city far from DC. We have a freshman in high school and DW has another Fed job (which is terrible right now so happy to quit).

We are both in our 50s, so new jobs are hard to come by, and all the leads I have found are outside of the DC area.

Should I take the job and we live apart 1-4 years until DC in college? The COL in new locale is just as high, but new job would have better promotion potential so hopefully in 4 years I would be earning enough that DW could just retire in our new area.

How do people solve the three body problem — two working adults and high schoolers?

Will DC job market eventually get better??

[Anonymous]

Military families move kids. Yes high schoolers.
Does your kid want to split up the family to stay at same school? Well say no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Military families move kids. Yes high schoolers.
Does your kid want to split up the family to stay at same school? Well say no.

Our kid has learning disabilities and changing schools is a huge risk. We have an older one at college, and they are largely independent after sophomore year.

The job is somewhat unstable — I would want to be there a while before DW quits her job too, so there are a lot of reasons.

Of course if I was RIF I would take it. But timing and hireability comes into play

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Military families move kids. Yes high schoolers.
Does your kid want to split up the family to stay at same school? Well say no.

Military families have a built in support network with OTHER military families, common housing etc.

They also have made several moves by the time in high school, so develop skills on how to manage. Moving someone for the first time at 15 is very different.

[Anonymous]

Does the new job allow for any remote work? How difficult would it be to travel back and forth every week?

[Anonymous]

Can you dramatically downsize and stay in the area on one salary? That’s what I decided to do. I also have a child when educational special needs, and moving felt like too big of a risk.

[Anonymous]

What kind of scientist?

Have you looked at NSWC/Carderock or ARL/Adelphi or NRL/DC as possible lateral moves? A transfer might be possible. Some if those labs and separately some parts of the IC have limited freeze waivers for certain STEM positions. Possibly those also are worth looking into.

[Anonymous]

So you’re considering leaving unstable job 1 in high COL city to take unstable job 2 - for the LESS pay - in another, high COL city where you’d be away from your wife and kid for 4 years? How is this even a question?

[Anonymous]

Maybe wait until you get past October 1 to make a decision. The government may be shut down for a good long time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So you’re considering leaving unstable job 1 in high COL city to take unstable job 2 - for the LESS pay - in another, high COL city where you’d be away from your wife and kid for 4 years? How is this even a question?

Right? This makes no sense so you're going to pay for a second residence and be away from your family? Are you going through a midlife crisis and are suddenly romanticizing the idea of living in a bachelor pad or something? No dude, you stay with your family unless the new job pays a ton more and will pick up your living expenses while you wait for your family. This world is way too unstable right now and your family needs you to stay with them unless your new situation would provide significantly greater security (via financial padding) and it sounds to me that it would actually make your family much less secure and stable for you to take this job.

[Anonymous]

I'm a fed social scientist facing RIF/reorg as well, and I wouldn't make this move. If not disrupting my family was a priority, I'd look for work outside my field and take a pay cut to stay in the area. (That is my plan, currently.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So you’re considering leaving unstable job 1 in high COL city to take unstable job 2 - for the LESS pay - in another, high COL city where you’d be away from your wife and kid for 4 years? How is this even a question?

I mean current job has admin intent on eliminating.

The new job is “unstable” only that it’s in a tech company, which are inherently less stable than gov work. The company has been around 20 years and many people I’ve interviewed with have been working there for nearly a decade. I won’t feel stable in any private industry job in current “make it all AI” era…

But the job has significant growth potential — unlike Fed jobs which have been capped.

I don’t love it, but DW wants to quit her job and my job is likely ending — so you say I stay put until RIF, let her be breadwinner in job she hates, and then hope I can find some kind of work locally even for much less pay?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a fed social scientist facing RIF/reorg as well, and I wouldn't make this move. If not disrupting my family was a priority, I'd look for work outside my field and take a pay cut to stay in the area. (That is my plan, currently.)

What kind of work are you considering, working retail making $20/hr?

[Anonymous]

My sense is that if you're in a targeted government agency, it's time to get out. The government offers no upside, with low starting salaries, instability, and the likelihood of a shrunken pension. While a "leveling up" move would be ideal, it seems most people are only finding lateral opportunities in this job market

[Anonymous]

Stay put. Your federal job is a strong place in a chaotic private sector. Even if there are budget cuts, your government role will open doors at contractors like Palantir as much of govt is privatized.

Ride out the current instability, and with lowering rates hiring is going to pick up big time.