Joining SEC from another agency on GS pay scale

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are not a lawyer, steer clear of the SEC.

Everyone, from HR to IT and everyone in between, gets the pay bump. Not sure why people should steer clear of that. Accountants make the same as lawyers, even though private sector salaries are usually lower, so not sure why they would avoid it either.

I wasn’t referring to the salary. It’s just if you’re not a lawyer, you will have no clout at the SEC.

Depend on the office. Accountants do ok in the Office of the Chief Accountant. I don’t think HR or IT people have any less clout at the SEC than they do elsewhere. They have clout in their spheres and not elsewhere.

The SEC has more lawyers and more legal focused offices, but that’s just the nature of the work. There aren’t legions of program officers like in some places.

Finally, although you weren’t talking about money, I was. Even if you are right that non-lawyers have less clout, the significantly increased pay salves a lot of wounds. Most people aren’t going to “steer clear” of a big pay bump because of less clout.

If you want to feel valued and you’re not a lawyer, the SEC is a nightmare. It’s run like a law firm.
I’m leaving.

Where do your work and/or in what role that you feel so unappreciated?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are not a lawyer, steer clear of the SEC.

Everyone, from HR to IT and everyone in between, gets the pay bump. Not sure why people should steer clear of that. Accountants make the same as lawyers, even though private sector salaries are usually lower, so not sure why they would avoid it either.

I wasn’t referring to the salary. It’s just if you’re not a lawyer, you will have no clout at the SEC.

I dunno. I moved from another agency within the last year, and I have been pleasantly surprised. My teammates are fantastic, and the people I work with on other teams have all been fairly nice. There is a lot more bureaucracy and politics that I was used to, and oh holy hell my ears feel like they are going to fall off from all of the meetings, but I can't imagine trying to go through this pandemic at my last agency. I feel like I have reasonable influence for what I work on, which is enough to make me happy.

One note for the extra 3% match-- it's straight cash that sits in an account until you vest at 3 years. I have no idea if I will be here that long, but it'll be a nice bonus if I am. There are short term and long term disability plans; they have their own life insurance plan that is much less expensive than the federal one; they are currently offering 20 hours of admin leave per pay period due to COVID on top of the CARES act sick leave, and they have their own parental leave policy in place that has no wait period, before the federal one goes into effect oct 1. also you can carry over 320 hours of vacation, rather than the standard 240.

[Anonymous]

I wasn’t referring to the salary. It’s just if you’re not a lawyer, you will have no clout at the SEC.

That depends on what you consider clout. I don't consider just being able to make people who work for you miserable as "having clout."

If you are a staff attorney you have no clout. These are most of the lawyers. Your clout -if any - depends on who you know and who stands behind you.

If you are a managing attorney sk15 or 17 you are a middle manager squeezed between upper management and the staff. Both will make your life miserable.

If you are a staff senior officer you have some leeway but also a lot of constraints. Like everywhere else, smart qualified people inside and outside the agency are gunning for your seat. Your clout depends on who you know and who stands behind you.

If you are political appointment, your clout also depends on who you know and who stands behind you.

Like everywhere else, to have clout, your network is your net worth.

If your SEC salary is important to you, you are not likely to have any clout. People at the SEC with clout are not there for the salary. They are there to achieve a greater goal - whatever that is - likely further down the road and outside the agency.

[Anonymous]

Is SEC moving from the Union Station location?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is SEC moving from the Union Station location?

It’s not clear. We were supposed to have known about the new lease by now, but it has been delayed for some reason.