Take SES or Stay Commercial

[Anonymous]

My husband has the opp. to transition from a high paying private sector job to a lower paying SES position that offers great experience. He's torn and I'm not sure what to tell him. Anyone out there have experience with a similar transition & who can provide a recommendation one what he should do? The job would be stressful and the schedule would be no better than what he has now.

[Anonymous]

was he actually offered the SES?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband has the opp. to transition from a high paying private sector job to a lower paying SES position that offers great experience. He's torn and I'm not sure what to tell him. Anyone out there have experience with a similar transition & who can provide a recommendation one what he should do? The job would be stressful and the schedule would be no better than what he has now.

But, would the job security be better? Now SES can get fired more easily, but my agency is still keeping them on! Also, govt benefits are excellent. I absolutely love BCBS federal. Especially, now that I'm pregnant.

[Anonymous]

OP here - insurance doesn't factor into the decision because I (fortunately) already have good insurance at a very low cost through my job, and he'll stay on that. I never thought about agencies firing SES though.

[Anonymous]

Is his field something where government experience would be an asset (e.g. consulting with government clients)? If so I would say absolutely do it; he'll have great experience on his resume and will make good contacts for the future. PP are correct that SES can more easily be fired than your typical govt employee, and they can also be more easily moved around too. But if he's already private sector that's not new to him.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the agency, but in DoD, it's not worth it. Long hours, you're some flag officer's b****, all the headaches of being the boss without the benefits. If he is established enough interest private sector, then don't do it. All the career GS-15s I know feel the same way.

If not DoD, ask him what the next job after that will be. This could be tolerable as a stepping stone to something big. But he needs to have a plan in mind. I know SESs who are more or less stuck because they want to stay govt, but there aren't THAT many jobs. I'm talking a dozen waiting for one guy to leave so that they can fight for his billet.