Are Fed jobs really that great?

[Anonymous]

^^ I should have said "$112k to $90k."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fed benefits don't make up for the incompetence, bad management and lack of pay.

if you say so

PP is 100% right.

- 10 years as a fed and now out, thank god

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fed benefits don't make up for the incompetence, bad management and lack of pay.

if you say so

PP is 100% right.

- 10 years as a fed and now out, thank god

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It comes down to four major benefits:

- pension
- health care after retirement
- flexibility
- job security

Only you can evaluate relative benefits of each. For most people, these are tremendious plus but may not for you.

The pension is not as good as it used to be. New employees have to contribute 4.4% of their salary towards the pension, while the older employees (Pre-2013) are only contributing 0.8% - for the same benefit! This is a huge pay cut for the newer employees. That said, I am a federal employee and I just like it because of job stability, the amount of annual and sick leave, and reasonable hours.

Not only that, but if they are mid-career or later, the years of service multiplier just wont be there to make it worth much. The current FERS pension is only worth it if you are a career employee and can rack up lots of years of service (on top of a decent high-3)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It comes down to four major benefits:

- pension
- health care after retirement
- flexibility
- job security

Only you can evaluate relative benefits of each. For most people, these are tremendious plus but may not for you.

The pension is not as good as it used to be. New employees have to contribute 4.4% of their salary towards the pension, while the older employees (Pre-2013) are only contributing 0.8% - for the same benefit! This is a huge pay cut for the newer employees. That said, I am a federal employee and I just like it because of job stability, the amount of annual and sick leave, and reasonable hours.

Not only that, but if they are mid-career or later, the years of service multiplier just wont be there to make it worth much. The current FERS pension is only worth it if you are a career employee and can rack up lots of years of service (on top of a decent high-3)

And even then, FERS is meant to be part of a "three-legged stool" of retirement along with Social Security and TSP. A fed who retires with 30 years of service will still only replace about a third of their salary with FERS alone. It's not a bad benefit at all for long-timers, especially those who got in at the 0.8% rate, but it's not obvious that it's worth taking a big pay cut for, either.

[Anonymous]

What’s the likelihood the contractor will let you go when you are around 50? If low, stay where you are. If high but you’re ready to retire at 50, stay. But, if you don’t want to job search in IT at 50, maybe consider the fed job

[Anonymous]

Nope it sucks.

[Anonymous]

Do you like your current job? Do you like going into work every day?

So many government workers that I know hate their jobs and are just doing the job for the pension. It seems very sad.

I've found that work that I like doing is not work. It is a joy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been working as an IT contractor for the past 18 years now. Never had an issue finding/securing a job. I was just offered a position with a federal agency, but I would have to take a 22k+ pay cut. Is it worth it? I've been at my current company for over 10 years now and they offer a great benefits package and lots of flexibility so I'm hesitant to leave. Everyone says being a fed is the holy grail but is it really?

Went from a silicon valley based job to fed. It has its plus and minuses, but I was hitting 40, had a young kiddo (4 years old), and was coming in as a non-supervisory GS-14/10. For me personally the 35K pay cut was worth it. I was able to work from home 4 days a week (pre-pandemic), spend time with the family and not worry about work after 5 and the weekends. Don't get me wrong it is not like that never happens in the current job (especially now that I am at a 15 and supervisory), but it is extremely rare that I have to work after hours and on weekends (perhaps once every two months) whereas it happens more than I cared for in private sector.

It was a bit of a culture shock going from caring about utilization rates, billiability, and multipage timesheets to a fed environment. I had to slow myself down a bit and get used to the pace, but it took about 3 months. On some occasions I miss the unlimited vacation time, the RSUs, discounted stock purchases, free stuff, and the bonuses, but in the end I do enjoy the stability and not watching the stock price go down and pondering if a layoff could be coming.

So in sum, all depends on your priorities and yes the supervisor, branch, division, directorate, agency, etc will all differ in experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been working as an IT contractor for the past 18 years now. Never had an issue finding/securing a job. I was just offered a position with a federal agency, but I would have to take a 22k+ pay cut. Is it worth it? I've been at my current company for over 10 years now and they offer a great benefits package and lots of flexibility so I'm hesitant to leave. Everyone says being a fed is the holy grail but is it really?

Went from a silicon valley based job to fed. It has its plus and minuses, but I was hitting 40, had a young kiddo (4 years old), and was coming in as a non-supervisory GS-14/10. For me personally the 35K pay cut was worth it. I was able to work from home 4 days a week (pre-pandemic), spend time with the family and not worry about work after 5 and the weekends. Don't get me wrong it is not like that never happens in the current job (especially now that I am at a 15 and supervisory), but it is extremely rare that I have to work after hours and on weekends (perhaps once every two months) whereas it happens more than I cared for in private sector.

It was a bit of a culture shock going from caring about utilization rates, billiability, and multipage timesheets to a fed environment. I had to slow myself down a bit and get used to the pace, but it took about 3 months. On some occasions I miss the unlimited vacation time, the RSUs, discounted stock purchases, free stuff, and the bonuses, but in the end I do enjoy the stability and not watching the stock price go down and pondering if a layoff could be coming.

So in sum, all depends on your priorities and yes the supervisor, branch, division, directorate, agency, etc will all differ in experience.

What's the purpose of unlimited vacation time if you can never take it?

[Anonymous]

Nope.

They used to be, now many benefits are better in private industry, in addition to salaries. Many of my coworkers are leaving at the 20 year mark, so they can pay for their kids college college by working for private industry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been working as an IT contractor for the past 18 years now. Never had an issue finding/securing a job. I was just offered a position with a federal agency, but I would have to take a 22k+ pay cut. Is it worth it? I've been at my current company for over 10 years now and they offer a great benefits package and lots of flexibility so I'm hesitant to leave. Everyone says being a fed is the holy grail but is it really?

Went from a silicon valley based job to fed. It has its plus and minuses, but I was hitting 40, had a young kiddo (4 years old), and was coming in as a non-supervisory GS-14/10. For me personally the 35K pay cut was worth it. I was able to work from home 4 days a week (pre-pandemic), spend time with the family and not worry about work after 5 and the weekends. Don't get me wrong it is not like that never happens in the current job (especially now that I am at a 15 and supervisory), but it is extremely rare that I have to work after hours and on weekends (perhaps once every two months) whereas it happens more than I cared for in private sector.

It was a bit of a culture shock going from caring about utilization rates, billiability, and multipage timesheets to a fed environment. I had to slow myself down a bit and get used to the pace, but it took about 3 months. On some occasions I miss the unlimited vacation time, the RSUs, discounted stock purchases, free stuff, and the bonuses, but in the end I do enjoy the stability and not watching the stock price go down and pondering if a layoff could be coming.

So in sum, all depends on your priorities and yes the supervisor, branch, division, directorate, agency, etc will all differ in experience.

Yeah Op if you are like this Pp (and me, not casting shade) and not among big tech money by 40, you likely never will.

On many other threads people ask “how much should I make to leave Fed job” and invariably it some huge number like 2x GS15. So $22k is nothing. Roughly the pension is worth $30k, you you are paying $5000+ so more like $25k.

The stability is a big draw as you age, especially in IT if you aren’t in BD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been working as an IT contractor for the past 18 years now. Never had an issue finding/securing a job. I was just offered a position with a federal agency, but I would have to take a 22k+ pay cut. Is it worth it? I've been at my current company for over 10 years now and they offer a great benefits package and lots of flexibility so I'm hesitant to leave. Everyone says being a fed is the holy grail but is it really?

Went from a silicon valley based job to fed. It has its plus and minuses, but I was hitting 40, had a young kiddo (4 years old), and was coming in as a non-supervisory GS-14/10. For me personally the 35K pay cut was worth it. I was able to work from home 4 days a week (pre-pandemic), spend time with the family and not worry about work after 5 and the weekends. Don't get me wrong it is not like that never happens in the current job (especially now that I am at a 15 and supervisory), but it is extremely rare that I have to work after hours and on weekends (perhaps once every two months) whereas it happens more than I cared for in private sector.

It was a bit of a culture shock going from caring about utilization rates, billiability, and multipage timesheets to a fed environment. I had to slow myself down a bit and get used to the pace, but it took about 3 months. On some occasions I miss the unlimited vacation time, the RSUs, discounted stock purchases, free stuff, and the bonuses, but in the end I do enjoy the stability and not watching the stock price go down and pondering if a layoff could be coming.

So in sum, all depends on your priorities and yes the supervisor, branch, division, directorate, agency, etc will all differ in experience.

So went from working 10 hr days so you could have “unlimited” vacation?

[Anonymous]

I'm a paralegal that went from a big law firm to the feds and it is a night and day difference and the grass is far greener on the fed side to me. My day ends at 4:30; no if and or buts about it. No more having to deal with those "Oh shit, I need it now" calls after hours or on vacations. My office actively encourages taking time off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a paralegal that went from a big law firm to the feds and it is a night and day difference and the grass is far greener on the fed side to me. My day ends at 4:30; no if and or buts about it. No more having to deal with those "Oh shit, I need it now" calls after hours or on vacations. My office actively encourages taking time off.

Pretty typical. Unless you make $$$$, Fed equivalent usually a better deal.

But if you can make $$$$, take it!