Hard working GS-15 Fed - Sometimes feel inferior to higher paid non-Fed friends

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To be totally honest, which I can because this is an anonymous forum... I feel a bit self-righteous as a GS-15 compared to my peers in the private sector making boatloads more money than me. I'm a lawyer so I don't know whether it's the same for other positions, but it's damn hard to get this gig. Lots of lawyers working at firms would give anything to have this job, but wouldn't make the cut.

same.

[Anonymous]

PP, you nailed it. I feel the exact same way. I am a 14/7 and no longer want to even think about coming into work. The job just isn't satisfying any more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you sound a lot like my DH. For the first 5-7 years he was a fed, his sense of mission and work made him feel like it was fine that he was making less than his peers (he was in biglaw before and took a paycut to go into the fed gov). Then he moved up in his agency, and soured on the sense of mission as he saw how politics played into his work. Before that he definitely felt like he had great work life balance, good colleagues in the gov, and felt like he was doing good in the world and that his gov job was a great career opportunity.

Once DH lost the sense of mission in his gov job, he became more focused on the financial aspects of his job, and more keenly aware that his former biglaw colleagues were making more. Eventually this combination drove him back to private practice/biglaw, and (honestly) he is MUCH, MUCH happier than he was as a fed.

That hits home really hard for me - - and I think a lot of my Agency. A LOT of people are looking to jump.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To be totally honest, which I can because this is an anonymous forum... I feel a bit self-righteous as a GS-15 compared to my peers in the private sector making boatloads more money than me. I'm a lawyer so I don't know whether it's the same for other positions, but it's damn hard to get this gig. Lots of lawyers working at firms would give anything to have this job, but wouldn't make the cut.

same.

same here. Yes, sometimes I think about the pay disparity, but I don't feel inferior because of it. I've never thought that how much money someone earns has any connection to their value as a person, and I know that my job was really hard to get, and that a lot of people would love to have it. If my friends think they are better than me because they make more money...well, they aren't my friends in the first place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Didn't want this to get political. Appreciate some of the other comments. I also have to remember that I'm playing the long game. Good job, family balance, health coverage, pension, etc.

The long game? You play the long game by earning lots more money, dope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Didn't want this to get political. Appreciate some of the other comments. I also have to remember that I'm playing the long game. Good job, family balance, health coverage, pension, etc.

The long game? You play the long game by earning lots more money, dope.

not necessarily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you sound a lot like my DH. For the first 5-7 years he was a fed, his sense of mission and work made him feel like it was fine that he was making less than his peers (he was in biglaw before and took a paycut to go into the fed gov). Then he moved up in his agency, and soured on the sense of mission as he saw how politics played into his work. Before that he definitely felt like he had great work life balance, good colleagues in the gov, and felt like he was doing good in the world and that his gov job was a great career opportunity.

Once DH lost the sense of mission in his gov job, he became more focused on the financial aspects of his job, and more keenly aware that his former biglaw colleagues were making more. Eventually this combination drove him back to private practice/biglaw, and (honestly) he is MUCH, MUCH happier than he was as a fed.

That hits home really hard for me - - and I think a lot of my Agency. A LOT of people are looking to jump.

SAME! We aren't doing it for the money. But when the politics of the agency and the mission go downhill, what's left?

[Anonymous]

That hits home really hard for me - - and I think a lot of my Agency. A LOT of people are looking to jump.

SAME! We aren't doing it for the money. But when the politics of the agency and the mission go downhill, what's left?

Not all GS jobs are created equal and some agencies/jobs are not as political as others....I feel mine is pretty sweet compared to my peers especially over the long term (alot of my friends who had high paying jobs either spent the money, eventually lost the jobs and could no longer afford the lifestyle they created for themselves, or those who did well..more power to them, I am happy it worked out!!).

[Anonymous]

For me, once I hit a certain minimum amount of money I value my time far more than additional compensation. I don't have to deal with working a lot of overtime nor do I have a blackberry.

Stuff just doesn't make me that happy and I'd rather have my own time.

[Anonymous]

It's all a matter of perspective.

My wife is a civil servant (GS-14) and I am a federal contractor (I make the equivalent of a GS-15). We may make less than peers in the private sector, but we also know we have a much better work-life home balance. We see our kids way more than those peers in private sector do and we have a lot more flexibility to take care of our family as we need to. My wife has a long term medical issue that has required significant medical treatment over the years (including 15 surgeries in 14 years). We can take the time we need to travel for the best medical care in the country including many follow-up medical visits to another city. We can flex our time to cover lots of this. We can take family vacations and take time to do things for our young children. For example, one of the parent chaperones had to drop out for our kids' class field trip this week. I found out last week about 6 business days before, but with very little notice, I could request leave and replace that chaperone (in fact, the teacher asked me if I could come as I've chaperoned before and work well with the kids). My work had no problem. I know friends in my field out in private and some guys would be pressured not to go or would be frowned on asking for last minute leave for a child's field trip. Not worth it at all. My wife's benefits are extremely good for our family and she gets to telework 4 days a week thanks to her special accommodations. A lot of her peers in private would not be able to do that. We have plenty. While we make less than our peers, we also make more than 95% of the country and 90% of locals. We're grateful for what we have and do not resent being out in the stressful grind of the private sector and missing out on our children growing up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this is probably more of a self-worth issue, but sometimes I feel less accomplished (almost inferior) to my friends who make more outside the government. I have a good job with decent work life balance, am respected, and believe in my agency's mission. I know that money should not be the value of someone's worth, but it's easy to lose perspective around here. Just needed an anonymous vent for a moment.

How many of them have pensions?


I'll be sitting on my ass collecting $60K. My husband will be collecting even more.

That's how I justify my government job.

And trust me when I say I work hard each day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you sound a lot like my DH. For the first 5-7 years he was a fed, his sense of mission and work made him feel like it was fine that he was making less than his peers (he was in biglaw before and took a paycut to go into the fed gov). Then he moved up in his agency, and soured on the sense of mission as he saw how politics played into his work. Before that he definitely felt like he had great work life balance, good colleagues in the gov, and felt like he was doing good in the world and that his gov job was a great career opportunity.

Once DH lost the sense of mission in his gov job, he became more focused on the financial aspects of his job, and more keenly aware that his former biglaw colleagues were making more. Eventually this combination drove him back to private practice/biglaw, and (honestly) he is MUCH, MUCH happier than he was as a fed.

That hits home really hard for me - - and I think a lot of my Agency. A LOT of people are looking to jump.

SAME! We aren't doing it for the money. But when the politics of the agency and the mission go downhill, what's left?

This. Government attorney as well, and my Agency is just all sorts of messed up. The mission of who we serve is only played as a trump card. It's often not the true focus! Every single attorney in our office is looking to leave. But, sorry folks- no backfilling!

[Anonymous]

For what it's worth, I'm in the private sector and sometimes feel inferior to my public sector friends because they didn't "sell out". So just know that this goes both ways. I admire the folks out there working for the betterment of our country (current administration excluded).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is probably more of a self-worth issue, but sometimes I feel less accomplished (almost inferior) to my friends who make more outside the government. I have a good job with decent work life balance, am respected, and believe in my agency's mission. I know that money should not be the value of someone's worth, but it's easy to lose perspective around here. Just needed an anonymous vent for a moment.

How many of them have pensions?


I'll be sitting on my ass collecting $60K. My husband will be collecting even more.

That's how I justify my government job.

And trust me when I say I work hard each day.

Pension is a big deal for me as well. Will be collecting $55k when I retire. That's huge for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is probably more of a self-worth issue, but sometimes I feel less accomplished (almost inferior) to my friends who make more outside the government. I have a good job with decent work life balance, am respected, and believe in my agency's mission. I know that money should not be the value of someone's worth, but it's easy to lose perspective around here. Just needed an anonymous vent for a moment.

How many of them have pensions?


I'll be sitting on my ass collecting $60K. My husband will be collecting even more.

That's how I justify my government job.

And trust me when I say I work hard each day.

Pension is a big deal for me as well. Will be collecting $55k when I retire. That's huge for me.

and healthcare