Tell me what I need to know about working in the Federal Government

[Anonymous]

Not the OP, but in the same general situation (starting as an attorney this fall). This has been really helpful, so thank you all!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:19:08,
On the STD and LTD. I got a pamphlet for it during my orientation but the govt doesn't pay any portion of the cost whereas when I was in the private sector this was paid for by the company. So yeah, maybe they offer it but you're footing the entire bill.

I wasn't offered any STD. I would love to have one but in the private market they are pricey if not offered through employer.

OP my best advice is to hoard information. Information is power in the government.

And pens

LOL. I love my job but yes, the pen rationing is ridiculous. I buy my own now.

[Anonymous]

I'm the "list" poster. Basically, the G fund makes very little interest, so put your money in G or F if you are retiring soon, but otherwise go with S or I or C. I have 45% in C 45% in S and 10% in I. L has a similar breakdown, but it's also got a little in G and a little in F.

thanks for the SD and LD information!

also, I looked up life insurance and didn't find better deals. I'm 34, BTW and was looking a few years ago.

however, my husband has a cardiac thing that's pretty minimal, but would affect our rate. Since you can't get the life insurance whenever you want and you don't know what life will bring, I think it's better to just get the Federal insurance because you know they won't kick you off or raise your rates suddenly based on a health condition that may occur later.

[Anonymous]

Know your place. That is all.

[Anonymous]

I was surprised by the absolute deference to the most senior person in the room. In meetings only they would talk unless they said something incorrectly and then you could carefully say something.

There are people who do very little.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was surprised by the absolute deference to the most senior person in the room. In meetings only they would talk unless they said something incorrectly and then you could carefully say something.

There are people who do very little.

I was also surprised by this. Especially how people will fawn over someone in the SES. What is worst is when the SES person thinks they deserve to be treated like an extra special person.

Until you have established a successful track record, play the deference game.

When people don't make a lot of money, the little things like titles, office space, who arrives first at a meeting, can become very important to them.

[Anonymous]

Be visible to your boss. It is really easy to get into a habit of retreating to your cube/office and only coming out for meetings.

Your boss may not be the best manager -- he/she may be more of a subject matter expert. Help them manage you by keeping the, in the loop on what you are doing. Plus, when they know what you are doing, it leaves them an impression that you are doing work, which leaves them the impression you are a hard worker, which leads to the impression that your work is good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was surprised by the absolute deference to the most senior person in the room. In meetings only they would talk unless they said something incorrectly and then you could carefully say something.

There are people who do very little.

I was also surprised by this. Especially how people will fawn over someone in the SES. What is worst is when the SES person thinks they deserve to be treated like an extra special person.

Until you have established a successful track record, play the deference game.

When people don't make a lot of money, the little things like titles, office space, who arrives first at a meeting, can become very important to them.

So true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the "list" poster. Basically, the G fund makes very little interest, so put your money in G or F if you are retiring soon, but otherwise go with S or I or C. I have 45% in C 45% in S and 10% in I. L has a similar breakdown, but it's also got a little in G and a little in F.

thanks for the SD and LD information!

also, I looked up life insurance and didn't find better deals. I'm 34, BTW and was looking a few years ago.

however, my husband has a cardiac thing that's pretty minimal, but would affect our rate. Since you can't get the life insurance whenever you want and you don't know what life will bring, I think it's better to just get the Federal insurance because you know they won't kick you off or raise your rates suddenly based on a health condition that may occur later.

I'm sorry but your advice here just doesn't make much sense. The C, I, and S funds are stocks funds for large, int'l and small companies. The G and F funds are fixed income (bond) funds. There might be people for whom it makes sense to be 100% in the stock market with their retirement funds, but simply telling people that G and F don't make money and therefore are only appropriate for people near retirement is a recipe for problems unless you take the time to explain the risks, e.g. C, I, S funds can easily lose 20-40% of their value too. People should understand what the funds are, and figure out what their preferred asset allocation is. If they aren't willing to do that, then they should go with the L fund which is TSP's best judgment of asset allocation for various risks.

Likewise, if you get level funded premiums for life insurance from a company, they can't kick you off or raise your rates. In fact, the feds are a worse option from that perspective because if you leave fed service you'll have to get new insurance, and by then it might be much more expensive. Also the feds limit how much you can buy so you might need extra anyway. I have never met someone in good health under 40 who couldn't get better insurance on their own, but obviously the thing to do is to check out rates and not take anyone's word for it on the internet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:19:08,
On the STD and LTD. I got a pamphlet for it during my orientation but the govt doesn't pay any portion of the cost whereas when I was in the private sector this was paid for by the company. So yeah, maybe they offer it but you're footing the entire bill.

I wasn't offered any STD. I would love to have one but in the private market they are pricey if not offered through employer.

OP my best advice is to hoard information. Information is power in the government.

And pens

LOL. I love my job but yes, the pen rationing is ridiculous. I buy my own now.

And Skillcraft pens suck. Better buying your own and keeping others at bay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the "list" poster. Basically, the G fund makes very little interest, so put your money in G or F if you are retiring soon, but otherwise go with S or I or C. I have 45% in C 45% in S and 10% in I. L has a similar breakdown, but it's also got a little in G and a little in F.

thanks for the SD and LD information!

also, I looked up life insurance and didn't find better deals. I'm 34, BTW and was looking a few years ago.

however, my husband has a cardiac thing that's pretty minimal, but would affect our rate. Since you can't get the life insurance whenever you want and you don't know what life will bring, I think it's better to just get the Federal insurance because you know they won't kick you off or raise your rates suddenly based on a health condition that may occur later.

I'm sorry but your advice here just doesn't make much sense. The C, I, and S funds are stocks funds for large, int'l and small companies. The G and F funds are fixed income (bond) funds. There might be people for whom it makes sense to be 100% in the stock market with their retirement funds, but simply telling people that G and F don't make money and therefore are only appropriate for people near retirement is a recipe for problems unless you take the time to explain the risks, e.g. C, I, S funds can easily lose 20-40% of their value too. People should understand what the funds are, and figure out what their preferred asset allocation is. If they aren't willing to do that, then they should go with the L fund which is TSP's best judgment of asset allocation for various risks.

Likewise, if you get level funded premiums for life insurance from a company, they can't kick you off or raise your rates. In fact, the feds are a worse option from that perspective because if you leave fed service you'll have to get new insurance, and by then it might be much more expensive. Also the feds limit how much you can buy so you might need extra anyway. I have never met someone in good health under 40 who couldn't get better insurance on their own, but obviously the thing to do is to check out rates and not take anyone's word for it on the internet.

well I'm sorry my post somehow offended you, but this is a message board and I wouldn't expect anyone to just take my word for it. My choices are not based on crap. They're based on my research for my particular situation. I have had my money set up this way based on a financial planning class early in my career and it's worked out. I know what the funds are, but I am typing on my phone and I don't think I need to give an entire goverment benefits finance class via DCUrbanMom. If you gave a difference of opinion or experience, suggest it, but it has nothing to do with what I say or do.

[Anonymous]

....and my husband didn't get a better rate elsewhere. My FEGLI rate is like $15 a paycheck, so the lower rates elsewhere weren't a huge savings (I have a good amount of added insurance).

I seriously doubt you're discussing this regularly with your coworkers unless you do FEGLI for your organization. People generally don't discuss their life insurance premiums at age 35 at work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:....and my husband didn't get a better rate elsewhere. My FEGLI rate is like $15 a paycheck, so the lower rates elsewhere weren't a huge savings (I have a good amount of added insurance).
.

before I get stung on thus, I mean the lower rates for me, not him, for whom the rate wasn't lower.

[Anonymous]

People in private industry don't get antsy around high level people? Like partners at a big law firm or something?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Know your place. That is all.

BEST ADVICE!!!!