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Staying in DC area or going elsewhere?
What do you think are the odds that you'll really leave? |
| I'm staying right where I am. My agency doesn't even have leadership yet. Transition team never even showed up. |
| Why leave? Trump and Co. will be gone eventually. |
| Exactly. |
Do Feds get unemployment? Can they cash out their TSP accounts? Do any have transferable skills? Will the local job market absorb them? Will there be a new sub class of the poor comprised of former Feds? Will daycare costs go down to address lack of demand? Will housing prices decrease? Will wages for low skill jobs be depressed as the Feds are forced to enter that job market? |
Ditto. And our mission is actually nonpolitical and based on various legal cases. Congress can change the laws we apply and how they apply them, but it would take agency leadership a very long time to do it via internal administrative case law, and if they did, so be it. Case law rules our lives. Plus, we are required to have a bipartisan board, so unless the president plans to leave spots open, he has to appoint some Democrats (or supposed Democrats) or he can't have a complete rulemaking body. I'm more worried about whether my new boss (I report directly to a political appointee) will be a raging asshole. Nothing I can do about it though so we'll wait to see who shows up. If they ever do. |
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So Trump has appointed people to these agencies - and they just don't go to their jobs?
Did he - Trump - intend for these to be no-show jobs, or are the appointees just treating them that way? |
Yes, Feds can collect unemployment if they are forced out. No they can't cash out their TSP unless they are retirement age. Yes they have transferrable skills - most of the people I work with are project or program managers, most have graduate degrees, many have subject matter expertise in various areas (science, engineering, law, etc), many of them have prior private sector experience. Most of them could do quite well in private sector, and chose to become public servants because they believe in the mission or because they wanted to serve their country. I think you are mistaken if you think they equate to low-wage/unemployable outside federal service. |
+1000 The best feds would get "scooped up" right away. It's a huge mistake to make federal service untenable because the first ones to go will be the ones we should be trying to keep. I'm married to one who spent years in private sector before coming to federal service. He is extremely dedicated. This area has been good for my career as well (not a fed). Our country needs these people. Please, federal workers, don't leave yet. Trump is a blip on the radar screen. He will not last. Just a matter of time. |
Do you know any federal workers?
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Oh yes, that's what we need. More project and program managers that talk a lot and do very little except review charts all day. |
What do you do?
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I move data from point A to point B, hands on. I deal with PMs (contractors and government) and their BS politics and rice bowls all day, because they can't do the technical work. I never have seen a bigger group of assholes than people who spend 5 hours a day in meetings "planning" and doing very little except talk... but they sure can generate useless emails and meeting notes. Funny thing is, the plans never actually work. Everything goes as it would naturally go without plans... and the work gets done by workers, not PMs. |
| In short, PMs are overhead and should be cut. |
Private is cutting these people. Too many middlemen. |