What federal agencies are the best to work for?

[Anonymous]

Can anyone speak to HHS, Peace Corps, or NCCC?

[Anonymous]

I have worked as a federal contractor for NASA for over 20 years and I'll say that there is a reason that it is at the top. It is a fantastic agency to work for. I've known people who left NASA for better opportunities and then struggled for years to get back to a position at NASA. Excellent work-life balance. But also a fantastic commitment to the work. We commit to the work when we have to, but we usually know in advance when we'll need to commit more (like flight mission schedules).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am surprised Treasury is ranked so highly. My spouse works there and it is horrible for work-life balance. Horrible.

exit opportunities

work at treasury, move to goldman or jpm to make a truckload.

[Anonymous]

I don't work in the government, but I've worked with many agencies in my downtown job over the last 15 years. I can tell you that I am always hugely impressed with everyone I've ever worked with at USTR. Seriously, those guys are terrific. Of course, I don't know if they enjoy their jobs.

[Anonymous]

I love DoJ

[Anonymous]

^^ caveat: the manager makes the biggest difference!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have worked as a federal contractor for NASA for over 20 years and I'll say that there is a reason that it is at the top. It is a fantastic agency to work for. I've known people who left NASA for better opportunities and then struggled for years to get back to a position at NASA. Excellent work-life balance. But also a fantastic commitment to the work. We commit to the work when we have to, but we usually know in advance when we'll need to commit more (like flight mission schedules).

But what does the future hold for NASA now that the Space Shuttle program has ended? Read that most of the best and brightest have already left for greener pastures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have worked as a federal contractor for NASA for over 20 years and I'll say that there is a reason that it is at the top. It is a fantastic agency to work for. I've known people who left NASA for better opportunities and then struggled for years to get back to a position at NASA. Excellent work-life balance. But also a fantastic commitment to the work. We commit to the work when we have to, but we usually know in advance when we'll need to commit more (like flight mission schedules).

But what does the future hold for NASA now that the Space Shuttle program has ended? Read that most of the best and brightest have already left for greener pastures.

Not really. NASA is working on the next generation of space flight vehicles, the James Webb Space Telescope which is the long term replacement for Hubble, more projects to go to the International Space Station and have a lot of projects for Earth Observation. What many people don't know is that the Earth Science division has a lot of very practical instruments that study conditions here on Earth. NASA Earth Science instruments were critical in helping the Army Corp of Engineers see and repair the damaged levee during Hurricane Katrina. The satellite imagery helped show where and how large the damage was when it was too dangerous to send divers down and when it would have been very difficult for the divers to have determined the size of the damage in good enough measurements for the engineers to design the necessary repairs. NASA equipment ties in with NOAA equipment for hurricane and tsunami watches worldwide and have been used to save lives in many places by predicting and monitoring dangerous weather situations.

As for best and brightest, not as far as I've seen. Much of the downsizing that I've seen include middle level management and IT staff that have left as contracts reorganize. Many of the strong scientists have a lot of research grants that support them, so they are somewhat removed from the vagaries of annual budgeting. Many of the engineers who "leave" the agency move to contract companies like Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grummond, etc and come back as contractors making more money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fda is great. Attorney with a reasonable boss and flexible schedule.

What Center are you with at FDA?

If the person really is working as an attorney then OCC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fda is great. Attorney with a reasonable boss and flexible schedule.

What Center are you with at FDA?

If the person really is working as an attorney then OCC

And support staff at OCC (administrative operations) are treated miserably... Attorneys make the big bucks there and BONUSES. Others get screwed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:EPA is pretty good. Very educated, committed work force overall, progressive policies regarding telecommuting, fitness centers, bike rooms, etc. Work load is high, especially at supervisory or attorney level but rewarding most of the time.

EPA used to be pretty good. I retired a few mos. ago after 26 yrs.

Morale sucks. Politics has been more and more rampant the past 15 yrs or more. Management is full of incompetents and yes-men ( and women). - and I was management for 23 yrs., a sr. Manager in a large national office.

Not a happy place now and, unfortunately, getting worse,

Very true. One specific EPA division O has very poor morale E and senior management M is worthless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GAO is generally very family friendly, open to part time and flexible arrangements, and is promoting the use of telework more and more. Many of its people are smart and nice, too. It's pretty great in a lot of ways.

+1 Love it here for all the reasons above plus many others, including onsite daycare, gym, laid-back atmosphere, interesting work (mostly) and leadership. They have certainly earned their top 3 spot over the years.

[Anonymous]

Depends on what you're looking for. At USAID, people are passionate about their work, so that makes it an overall happier place than some of the other agencies I've worked for. In terms of work life balance, that really varies so much based on your office. My office doesn't involve a lot of overtime, but I know people who are logged into their work email at all times and are expected to be available at pretty much any hour and they don't get comp time for weekends worked. That would suck major for me, but my portfolio is pretty much an 8 hr day, M-F job. Perks specific to our agency: 5 days of subsidized back up childcare, hospital grade pumps in the lactation room, subsidized (though not free) 3rd trimester parking, generally telework friendly depending on your portfolio, a ton of training opportunities - you really can develop your knowledge and skillset here. Internal rotations/assignments overseas are relatively common, so people get to do developmental assignments for 1-6 months. Also, tons of moms in high ranking positions, so the general culture towards work-life issues is more understanding than others.

Commerce is a bit more depressing in that most people don't really feel a sense of purpose in their work and that shows but if it's just a job to you, Commerce is an easy place for coasting by - you can advance while just doing the minimum and showing up on time. The upsides are that HR is actually pretty decent here - better than others for sure - so your stuff gets processed timely, it's easy to get some one to talk to in person about how to navigate a certain process, etc; on-site daycare, CommerceKids, isn't as expensive as other centers that are just a block or two away; flexible work schedules are common (compressed, early hours, late hours, regular telework, job share, part time, etc). No parking, building itself is pretty gross. Overall, I'd recommend it for some one with a lot going on personally who needs a job they can just dial in to each day without getting too invested.

EPA has a lot of passionate people as well. They are dispersed across a few different buildings in DC though, so they're not in a position to offer agency-specific things like other big agencies that occupy an entire building. For example, I don't think they have an EPA-specific childcare facility but if you're in the Reagan building, you can get priority at Triangle Tots along with the other agencies in the building and they seem to subsidize the gym membership in Reagan too, but I don't know what the employees in other buildings get.

HUD has a mix of people passionate about their work and others less so. It's such a huge, mega bureaucracy that HR and getting any internal process done can be an absolute nightmare, but I have met people happy to work there and finding a promotion in house seems easier so you don't have to agency hop just to get to the next GS level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have worked as a federal contractor for NASA for over 20 years and I'll say that there is a reason that it is at the top. It is a fantastic agency to work for. I've known people who left NASA for better opportunities and then struggled for years to get back to a position at NASA. Excellent work-life balance. But also a fantastic commitment to the work. We commit to the work when we have to, but we usually know in advance when we'll need to commit more (like flight mission schedules).

But what does the future hold for NASA now that the Space Shuttle program has ended? Read that most of the best and brightest have already left for greener pastures.

Not really. NASA is working on the next generation of space flight vehicles, the James Webb Space Telescope which is the long term replacement for Hubble, more projects to go to the International Space Station and have a lot of projects for Earth Observation. What many people don't know is that the Earth Science division has a lot of very practical instruments that study conditions here on Earth. NASA Earth Science instruments were critical in helping the Army Corp of Engineers see and repair the damaged levee during Hurricane Katrina. The satellite imagery helped show where and how large the damage was when it was too dangerous to send divers down and when it would have been very difficult for the divers to have determined the size of the damage in good enough measurements for the engineers to design the necessary repairs. NASA equipment ties in with NOAA equipment for hurricane and tsunami watches worldwide and have been used to save lives in many places by predicting and monitoring dangerous weather situations.

As for best and brightest, not as far as I've seen. Much of the downsizing that I've seen include middle level management and IT staff that have left as contracts reorganize. Many of the strong scientists have a lot of research grants that support them, so they are somewhat removed from the vagaries of annual budgeting. Many of the engineers who "leave" the agency move to contract companies like Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grummond, etc and come back as contractors making more money.

I recently applied for a position with NASA (attorney). Hoping that I get called for an interview soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fda is great. Attorney with a reasonable boss and flexible schedule.

What Center are you with at FDA?

If the person really is working as an attorney then OCC

Strange comment. Why would someone lie about being an attorney on an anonymous forum?