Current non supervisory GS14. Should I become GS15 supervisor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I started my federal career, I was told the unicorn job that everyone dreamed of was a fully remote non-supervisor GS-14. I have been a 14 now for over 15 years, and as a 14/10, there is nothing that would get me to switch to dealing with staff, EEOC and labor issues, and endless leader reports. I have 5 1/2 years until retirement and will stay this grade - but will take leadership development courses and other skill enhancement classes for my post retirement consulting work.

Amen. Don't do it, OP. LOL!

[Anonymous]

What about an opportunity for a supervisory 15 at my agency or a no supervisory 15 at a new agency? Which would you all choose?

[Anonymous]

No.

Unless you’re ready to burn out and exit within a couple of years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about an opportunity for a supervisory 15 at my agency or a no supervisory 15 at a new agency? Which would you all choose?

Take the non sup. At my agency they are coddled beyond belief while managers do all of their work for them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about an opportunity for a supervisory 15 at my agency or a no supervisory 15 at a new agency? Which would you all choose?

Can they convert a non sup 15 to sup 15 on a whim? Don’t think option for 14. Perhaps a long tail risk though?

[Anonymous]

They cannot convert non-supervisory 15 to a 15 on a whim.

[Anonymous]

Nonsupervisory.
I entered an agency as an outside hire as a supervisory 15. I asked to "meet my colleagues" before accepting. I met peers, not the people who would be my direct reports. I was dumb not to catch on. Peers were great.
My direct reports included eager young 9s, 11s and embittered 14s who had wanted my job, embittered and burned out 13s and 14s who had retired on the job. Two in particular did nothing. My boss just said "give more feedback." Their response literally was "we have 2 years until retirement and it will take you longer than that to get rid of us."
True that. I stuck it out 18 months and walked out the door for stress related sick leave and never came back.
So know who you would be managing.

[Anonymous]

Weighing supervisory at known quantity ie current agency vs unknown new agency non supervisory 15

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like my job and my colleagues. I work 40 to 45 hours a week. I could get a supervisory role in my office. I would be supervising excellent workers. But… I have 19 years left until I retire. I know my staff would change at some point.. I almost make a GS15-1 salary already, and the GS 15 pay scale is capped and the cap creeps down the scale every year. Is it worth the extra work and headaches? If you were in a similar situation, what did you decide?

The pay cap is real, but it seems to get lifted a bit every 5-10 years.

At my workplace a 14 and a 15 both are doing deeply technical work. The supervisory 15 also is, but she also looks after the budget (with help from a GS-7 financial analyst) and handles the performance reviews. A supervisory 15 where I am also can get a non-trivial $$$ bonus at end of FY, depending on how their group did.

Different parts of the civil service are very different. OP needs to understand the pluses and minuses in their organization, and also the potential benefits of getting a 15 and then laterally moving in a few years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s a 2 step rule for promotions: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-administration/fact-sheets/promotions/

But in your case, it still works out to a 15-1.

Thank you ! Helpful information. Great resource.

[Anonymous]

I'm a supervisory 14 and there is no way on Earth I'd take a GS15. I don't care if it's non supervisory or supervisory. Those are awful jobs in my field. Tons and tons and tons of work. They get called to testify before Congress, they're interviewed in the news, they're experts in the field, they're responsible for large programs. No thanks.

I do like being a supervisor though. I have a lot of enjoyment over directing my program how I want it, tasking my employees and making sure that everyone's workload is okay. I still have way more work than I can get done in 40 hours, but nothing like the GS15s have. And the SES? They work 7 days a week and have several hundred people under them. Nope.

[Anonymous]

Non-sup GS 15 here. The only reason to ever take a sup role is to get some “management” experience to later (near term, ie 3-5 years) capitalize when jumping to private sector to triple your salary. Otherwise, non-sup GS 15 is an awesome, balanced life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Non-sup GS 15 here. The only reason to ever take a sup role is to get some “management” experience to later (near term, ie 3-5 years) capitalize when jumping to private sector to triple your salary. Otherwise, non-sup GS 15 is an awesome, balanced life.

Can’t you still capitalize on a non supervisory 15 and make a ton in the private sector?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They cannot convert non-supervisory 15 to a 15 on a whim.

True, but IME the non-sup 15s often have tasks like training others and providing feedback on written work, which leads to you being a first-line supervisor in all but name. Depends on the job, of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Weighing supervisory at known quantity ie current agency vs unknown new agency non supervisory 15

This is a question any time you change employers: you won't know, you can only pay attention, talk to contacts, and accept some risk.