Are Federal Workers Overpaid?

[Anonymous]

The title of the article is so misleading when in the body it says Feds with advanced degrees earn less than their private sector counterparts. All it does is further the myth that all Feds are overpaid and the government is bloated. Which is obviously thinking that some here subscribe to. Sigh.

[Anonymous]

Then why are griping about how much he could make in private practice? Just as I said, he is one lazy govt. lawyer, he'd rather play than work. I do feel sorry for him though being married to a shrew like you.

What an idiotic comment. I'm a lawyer in a mid-size firm who routinely works 70 hours a week. I certainly would rather play than work. Do you know anyone who wouldn't? I say good for anyone who has managed to arrange their life to maximixe their enjoyment, and that of their families.

[Anonymous]

All I can say is argh. Congress is willing to let taxpayers reimburse federal contractor's for up to $700k of their salaries, but they are not willing to approve a 1/2% COLA for Federal employees.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/post/obama-calls-again-for-capping-government-contractor-pay/2012/01/30/gIQACE5XdQ_blog.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All I can say is argh. Congress is willing to let taxpayers reimburse federal contractor's for up to $700k of their salaries, but they are not willing to approve a 1/2% COLA for Federal employees.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/post/obama-calls-again-for-capping-government-contractor-pay/2012/01/30/gIQACE5XdQ_blog.html

Unbelievable. Thanks for sharing.

[Anonymous]

I don't see how the govt. can afford to pay a snot nosed 26 year old fresh out of law school, never used a copy machine before associate $160k with a $20k/yr bonus. But get thee to BigLaw and you'll find this everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At DHS, where a 25 year old straight out of grad school can be a GS-13, hell yes they are overpaid.

Whoa, that's nuts! I started at my agency right out of grad school and was a GS-9. You can't start any higher here without prior work experience. How can there be such a difference between agencies?

[Anonymous]

My husband works for DoL. He's been "acting" in a GS-15 position for 18 months, but he's only getting paid as a GS-14. Yes, that is illegal, but what is he really going to do about it? Complain and he'll never move up in the agency. He loves his job and the substance of his work, that is why he stays.

The private companies he works with have given him mulitple offers. One of them would have required 50% travel. When he told the company that his wife wouldn't appreciate him being gone so frequently with the kids being so young, their response was "How much would you need to make so your wife could stay at home with the kids? Tell us your number."

I am a GS-14 at another agency. The number they came up with for him was more than double BOTH our salaries. But, he turned it down. Quality of life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At DHS, where a 25 year old straight out of grad school can be a GS-13, hell yes they are overpaid.

Whoa, that's nuts! I started at my agency right out of grad school and was a GS-9. You can't start any higher here without prior work experience. How can there be such a difference between agencies?

Yeah, it's a good question. When DH started, he was still in grad school but had almost 11 years of work experience. They started him at an 11, even though he had no grad degree in hand. I know other people were annoyed with that.

[Anonymous]

My husband works for DoL. He's been "acting" in a GS-15 position for 18 months, but he's only getting paid as a GS-14. Yes, that is illegal, but what is he really going to do about it? Complain and he'll never move up in the agency. He loves his job and the substance of his work, that is why he stays.

The private companies he works with have given him mulitple offers. One of them would have required 50% travel. When he told the company that his wife wouldn't appreciate him being gone so frequently with the kids being so young, their response was "How much would you need to make so your wife could stay at home with the kids? Tell us your number."

I am a GS-14 at another agency. The number they came up with for him was more than double BOTH our salaries. But, he turned it down. Quality of life.

So, just lowballing the estimated salaries here, if you each make ~$100K (below GS 14-1), the private employer offered him more than double the both of them, so he was offered more than $400K, and he declined?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At DHS, where a 25 year old straight out of grad school can be a GS-13, hell yes they are overpaid.

Whoa, that's nuts! I started at my agency right out of grad school and was a GS-9. You can't start any higher here without prior work experience. How can there be such a difference between agencies?

Yeah, it's a good question. When DH started, he was still in grad school but had almost 11 years of work experience. They started him at an 11, even though he had no grad degree in hand. I know other people were annoyed with that.

It is possable for a 25 yo to have military experiance and that would change the GS level they come in at, especially at DHS.

[Anonymous]

I have always worked in the private sector and had no idea that fed. employees were given a bonus. This is outrageous and needs to stopped immediately.

Yes, this is truly outrageous. Private sector employees count on receiving bonuses because they often make up a good-sized chunk of their total compensation. I got a whopping $500 bonus last year (that's before taxes, of course). And some years there isn't any money for bonuses at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At DHS, where a 25 year old straight out of grad school can be a GS-13, hell yes they are overpaid.

Whoa, that's nuts! I started at my agency right out of grad school and was a GS-9. You can't start any higher here without prior work experience. How can there be such a difference between agencies?

Yeah, it's a good question. When DH started, he was still in grad school but had almost 11 years of work experience. They started him at an 11, even though he had no grad degree in hand. I know other people were annoyed with that.

It is possable for a 25 yo to have military experiance and that would change the GS level they come in at, especially at DHS.

Very true. But everyone in my office fresh out of law school -unless there are overriding circumstances such as you describe or prior relevant work experience- is paid at the GS-11 rate. There are no other perks (e.g. student loan reimbursement, signing bonuses, recruitment bonuses, etc.)

I'm just amused by all the fed haters. A jealous lot, you are.

[Anonymous]

I am a GS-14 at another agency. The number they came up with for him was more than double BOTH our salaries. But, he turned it down. Quality of life.



So, just lowballing the estimated salaries here, if you each make ~$100K (below GS 14-1), the private employer offered him more than double the both of them, so he was offered more than $400K, and he declined?

Yes. He declined. I actually LIKE my job and my family, and no amount of money would make me satisfied with staying home and living as a single mom 50% of the time. We had a family so we could raise them together, not so I could do it by myself while my husband travels. Husband agreed - he tried to negotiate with them for less travel - see if he could get it down to 25% travel, but that just wasn't possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I am a GS-14 at another agency. The number they came up with for him was more than double BOTH our salaries. But, he turned it down. Quality of life.



So, just lowballing the estimated salaries here, if you each make ~$100K (below GS 14-1), the private employer offered him more than double the both of them, so he was offered more than $400K, and he declined?

Yes. He declined. I actually LIKE my job and my family, and no amount of money would make me satisfied with staying home and living as a single mom 50% of the time. We had a family so we could raise them together, not so I could do it by myself while my husband travels. Husband agreed - he tried to negotiate with them for less travel - see if he could get it down to 25% travel, but that just wasn't possible.

Similar situation here, turned down for same reason.

[Anonymous]

I work with a lot of feds and know that they could be paid more in the private sector.

Every now and then a fed bugs and and I play my favorite game: How much money is this specific person wasting?

http://php.app.com/fed_employees/search.php

Have fun.

I DO wish there was an equivalent for the private sector.