FFRDCs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think it’s outdated, but it does feel like there’s a need to return to basics, focusing on the routine, often underpaid work that keeps the federal government running.

Underpaid?

We were talking about salaries upthread. Here is an L5 at Mitre, one of their most prominent positions,

$191,200 - $239,000 - $286,800 Annual (from the link below)

Given, this L5 is in data science/AI which is their highest paid job family (not all L5s are created equal)

https://careers.mitre.org/us/en/job/R116549/Principal-Software-Data-and-AI-Engineer

Low end of that spectrum is higher than the top end for a GS15. And Mitre tries to hire for the middle of the pay band.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think it’s outdated, but it does feel like there’s a need to return to basics, focusing on the routine, often underpaid work that keeps the federal government running.

Underpaid?

We were talking about salaries upthread. Here is an L5 at Mitre, one of their most prominent positions,

$191,200 - $239,000 - $286,800 Annual (from the link below)

Given, this L5 is in data science/AI which is their highest paid job family (not all L5s are created equal)

https://careers.mitre.org/us/en/job/R116549/Principal-Software-Data-and-AI-Engineer

Low end of that spectrum is higher than the top end for a GS15. And Mitre tries to hire for the middle of the pay band.

He's saying they should be underpaid. You're saying they're not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think it’s outdated, but it does feel like there’s a need to return to basics, focusing on the routine, often underpaid work that keeps the federal government running.

Underpaid?

We were talking about salaries upthread. Here is an L5 at Mitre, one of their most prominent positions,

$191,200 - $239,000 - $286,800 Annual (from the link below)

Given, this L5 is in data science/AI which is their highest paid job family (not all L5s are created equal)

https://careers.mitre.org/us/en/job/R116549/Principal-Software-Data-and-AI-Engineer

Low end of that spectrum is higher than the top end for a GS15. And Mitre tries to hire for the middle of the pay band.

There are very few GS-15 positions in government that have that heavy technical requirements. And to the extent there are and they hire successfully, it's been through teams that have been able to offer impact, culture, and visibility to senior leadership in a way that contractors rarely can. People throw around "higher than GS-15s" as if you should be able to get any kind of talent for that amount of money, but technical hiring is an enormous problem for the government.

[Anonymous]

And all of this expertise and GS-15s and L5s got us into the debacle of the war with Iran. The truth is that it all appears to be a waste of money

[Anonymous]

For reference, a GS-15 salary in metro DC peaks at maybe $197,000. The $239,000 peak of a L5 is above an SES-3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And all of this expertise and GS-15s and L5s got us into the debacle of the war with Iran. The truth is that it all appears to be a waste of money

No. Those always are political appointee decisions, and are never within scope for career civil service people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For reference, a GS-15 salary in metro DC peaks at maybe $197,000. The $239,000 peak of a L5 is above an SES-3.

239k is the midpoint of that L5. The peak was 286k. Yikes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For reference, a GS-15 salary in metro DC peaks at maybe $197,000. The $239,000 peak of a L5 is above an SES-3.

For reference, the exit options when you're an SES who is involved with technology in government act as deferred compensation. Your MITRE engineer is not getting that.