See hy do so many want Federal government jobs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a fed and make almost 200k plus bonuses, have 26 days of vacation (over 15 years of service), work a 40 hr week on interesting topics and for a mission I believe in. Telework a lot too. I mean what’s not to like/want? My work life balance is pretty amazing - I work out regularly, am super present for my kids, etc. I’m not making as much as ppl I know who r in private companies but I’m definitely the least stressed and fulfilled.

That said, I’ve worked at 3 agencies and my current gig is the most functional and competent I’ve worked at so that def makes a difference. It can be a hit or miss.

Have you ever thought of yourself as a parasite. Re-read your post.

Nope, I’ve earned it and I’m worth it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. It’s interesting that there’s a pretty consistent narrative for seeking federal government work.

So, I have a follow up question. Most of you seem pretty happy with your federal government gig, yet you still complain A LOT. Square that for me. How can you be so aware of how good you have it and yet complain that you’re underpaid, for instance? When you say such things, do you temporarily forget the cost of your pension, days off, etc. The whining makes you seem ungrateful for what many of you have described as a pretty desirable situation.

I’m pretty happy as a fed and I don’t complain here, but I can think of reasons why I would given my situation.

For a long time I was a government scientist. I had to do “development” and scrape for billable hours all the time and it was a constant struggle to support my salary and the people working for me. I used to work 60hr weeks and there’s zero comp time or bonuses. Now I’m in a senior management role elsewhere in the government and I have a more manageable schedule but my pay is capped (which means declining real income) and I see my peers outside the government eclipsing my compensation. Living in the DMV I have a lot of fed friends at similarly high levels. They all have a similar story. They get offers for 50% more in private business. But things like the sense of doing good for the nation or just the retirement health care (we’re old enough that that’s near for us) is enough to keep us in government. And we watch our non-fed friends taking two-week European vacations that yes, we have enough time off for, but which we can’t afford. And we see the trolls on DCUM complaining that we’re lazy and have it easy when clearly they have no idea what it’s like. And people in the military who, by and large, have better pay and better benefits, are considered exemplars while civil servants are considers leeches even though we often work side by side.

So I get why people complain. We love our work (or at least tolerate it in the sense of public service). A lot of feds in the DMV work very hard, are very dedicated, and are certainly under rewarded for what we do and there’s so much contempt for us.

I’m a Federal Employee and so is my husband and we do take 2 week European vacations! If this were not anonymous I’d PM you with tips and tricks.

PP. I’d love to hear those! But why are these tips and tricks not anonymizable?

They’re more appropriate for the Travel board, but it mostly involves optimizing travel awards and treating vacation travel deals like a constant daily hobby. I enjoy doing it, though. I have friends who take those vacations and it’s like several times more than we pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. It’s interesting that there’s a pretty consistent narrative for seeking federal government work.

So, I have a follow up question. Most of you seem pretty happy with your federal government gig, yet you still complain A LOT. Square that for me. How can you be so aware of how good you have it and yet complain that you’re underpaid, for instance? When you say such things, do you temporarily forget the cost of your pension, days off, etc. The whining makes you seem ungrateful for what many of you have described as a pretty desirable situation.

I’m pretty happy as a fed and I don’t complain here, but I can think of reasons why I would given my situation.

For a long time I was a government scientist. I had to do “development” and scrape for billable hours all the time and it was a constant struggle to support my salary and the people working for me. I used to work 60hr weeks and there’s zero comp time or bonuses. Now I’m in a senior management role elsewhere in the government and I have a more manageable schedule but my pay is capped (which means declining real income) and I see my peers outside the government eclipsing my compensation. Living in the DMV I have a lot of fed friends at similarly high levels. They all have a similar story. They get offers for 50% more in private business. But things like the sense of doing good for the nation or just the retirement health care (we’re old enough that that’s near for us) is enough to keep us in government. And we watch our non-fed friends taking two-week European vacations that yes, we have enough time off for, but which we can’t afford. And we see the trolls on DCUM complaining that we’re lazy and have it easy when clearly they have no idea what it’s like. And people in the military who, by and large, have better pay and better benefits, are considered exemplars while civil servants are considers leeches even though we often work side by side.

So I get why people complain. We love our work (or at least tolerate it in the sense of public service). A lot of feds in the DMV work very hard, are very dedicated, and are certainly under rewarded for what we do and there’s so much contempt for us.

I’m a Federal Employee and so is my husband and we do take 2 week European vacations! If this were not anonymous I’d PM you with tips and tricks.

Same, and we also take vacations to Europe, although not every year. We use miles and credit card points, or go at less popular times. It’s also just possible to save up for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$150k with lots of leave and not that much stress (in many but not all positions).

What % of feds ever see $150k? I would bet less than 5% or 10%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$150k with lots of leave and not that much stress (in many but not all positions).

What % of feds ever see $150k? I would bet less than 5% or 10%.

NP and I think median pay for feds is around $80K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$150k with lots of leave and not that much stress (in many but not all positions).

What % of feds ever see $150k? I would bet less than 5% or 10%.

NP and I think median pay for feds is around $80K.

Just looked on FedScope, and it’s around 10%.

[Anonymous]

Well I’m a fed at a specialized agency and make $228K with a flexible schedule and good health care, that’s why. My pension won’t be that much, maybe like $30K after 12 years, and I’d be making at least that much more in the private sector so that’s not really a huge draw but the job security is as I get older—if it’s true.

I do think future administrations are going to trim the benefits though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well I’m a fed at a specialized agency and make $228K with a flexible schedule and good health care, that’s why. My pension won’t be that much, maybe like $30K after 12 years, and I’d be making at least that much more in the private sector so that’s not really a huge draw but the job security is as I get older—if it’s true.

I do think future administrations are going to trim the benefits though.

The pension is always the biggest threat. When they’ve done it in the past, it’s been for new hires. So, CSRS changed to FERS under Regan. That was a huge change and they gave people the option to switch over. It seems nuts now, but at the time some people did switch. The employee contribution changed under Obama, but only for new hires. If they removed the benefits from people who’ve had them, very many would leave and take their retirement before they could change the paperwork. It’s never been worth that instant shift. Of course they could do it, but it’s not considered likely for people who are already vested.

[Anonymous]

Oh and of course Trump’s Schedule F is a real threat for some positions too.

[Anonymous]

I'm a lower paid Fed and for the most part, it's easy money for the type of work involved and interesting enough.

[Anonymous]

If you’re actually interested, find that list of the satisfaction rates by government agency. No big surprise that the best ranked are NASA and the IC. You get benefits, job security, etc, but what you do is really really interesting. There’s plenty of BS, but at many of the top rated agencies there’s also very few politicals. We may be subject to politically-driven priorities or stupid ideas from the White House or Congress, but we’re not staffed by short term political appointees who may not know much about the mission and are only worried about satisfying the person who gave them the job in the very short term.

The $90k pension I will get (special scale and program) and lifetime insurance is just gravy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$150k with lots of leave and not that much stress (in many but not all positions).

Please. It’s not like everyone makes that.

Only gs 15s or maybe GS14s if you’re at the very top steps (which take a decade to get to)

Ding ding ding. Doing very little other than staying employed you are making 150k in a decade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$150k with lots of leave and not that much stress (in many but not all positions).

Please. It’s not like everyone makes that.

Only gs 15s or maybe GS14s if you’re at the very top steps (which take a decade to get to)

Ding ding ding. Doing very little other than staying employed you are making 150k in a decade.

Again, only 10% of all federal employees are GS-14 or 15, and most will never make it to that level. You also don’t get there just by sitting around doing nothing.

[Anonymous]

A federal job is like being retired by 40, but still having to show up for another 25 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$150k with lots of leave and not that much stress (in many but not all positions).

Please. It’s not like everyone makes that.

Only gs 15s or maybe GS14s if you’re at the very top steps (which take a decade to get to)

Ding ding ding. Doing very little other than staying employed you are making 150k in a decade.

In NYC locality you make 140 after a year as a 14. If the raise goes through it will be close to 150 at step 3.