Will Fed Workers be much better quality in the 2030s?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do not think anyone benefits by treating the federal workforce as a monolith. All the things can be true. (Disclosure: I am a former Fed.)

Are there federal employees with unique and exceptional skills and areas of expertise who work hard and have incredible value to the government? Yes.

Are there federal employees who are grifters and doing next to nothing and taking up space and a paycheck? Yes.

Is the federal government allowed to operate in an insane and unhealthy environment where they have no obligation to live within their means, unlike state and local governments? Yes. Does this lead to bloat and dysfunction? Yes.

Have federally employees historically been a very difficult group of employees to hold accountable or trim down? Yes.

Trump took a hammer to it and destroyed everything in an inhumane and boorish fashion. He did not follow rules or norms or even basic common sense. Who knows what it will look like in 10 years after this. No one knows. It will probably be different.

There were so many easy fixes for this. We STILL cannot let underperforming feds go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would any competent person take a job with the federal government knowing they will be paid under market and subject to being fired if some political flunky doesn't like the way they look?

It is only incompetent people who mainly care about job security. I worked at a amazing innovative start up and everyone was underpaid and there was zero job security yet it was very hard to get a job there as tons wanted to work there. Was an incubator for young talent who wanted to work on cutting edge things and have autonomy, work with best people using the latest IT and given mgt. roles at young ages based on ability rather than seniority.

None of the bright young people want to work as Feds not due to pay or job security or insecurity but due to it is older people, using dated systems and antiquated ways not open to change.

I think Trump cleaning house and dismantling Fed agencies and freezing hiring and firing is like in the late 1970s when the whole South Bronx pretty much burned to the ground via massive Arson fires set over a few years. Once the buildings all burnt to ground it allowed a rebuilding phase and the South Bronx in those very crackhead infested sections of abandoned buildings with Pitt bulls and gun shots are now Single Family Homes, Condos, Coops and newly built affordable rental projects and thriving stores.

Sometimes you have to burn it to the ground. And in 2030s our children and our children children will fix what Boomers and Millennials destroyed. Our Grandparents the Greatest Generation made Govt great and show what it could do in WWII and sadly you destroyed it. Time to rebuild.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Younger people are much dumber and don't know how to do anything but use apps.

Agreed, and they lack wisdom, which they don't seem interested in obtaining. Rapid ascent is a bad idea, but I am seeing it at my agency with 20-somethings being placed in roles they aren't emotionally ready for. Lots of children masquerading as adults.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:the first step is to get rid of the genx/boomers they are the problem holding down everyone else

And Milenials, They are too busy making Craft beer, eating Avocado toast, sipping starbucks and playing video games to get work done

I've worked with some great millennials, but some of them need an awful lot of hand holding. On the technical side, and this isn't very technical, many of millennials have no idea how to properly manage date storage and basic file management. My generation was from the movie "Dude, Where's My Car!" Today, it's more like "Dude, Where's My File!" For as tech savvy as they claim to be, the simple stuff sure seems hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I took the DRP and now earn 10x what I earned in gov. When the disparity is that big, going to gov makes no sense.

10x your fed salary...sure. And it took DRP for you to get smart and move on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Younger people are much dumber and don't know how to do anything but use apps.

Agreed, and they lack wisdom, which they don't seem interested in obtaining. Rapid ascent is a bad idea, but I am seeing it at my agency with 20-somethings being placed in roles they aren't emotionally ready for. Lots of children masquerading as adults.

Boomers mad they are replaced by an app

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would any competent person take a job with the federal government knowing they will be paid under market and subject to being fired if some political flunky doesn't like the way they look?

It is only incompetent people who mainly care about job security. I worked at a amazing innovative start up and everyone was underpaid and there was zero job security yet it was very hard to get a job there as tons wanted to work there. Was an incubator for young talent who wanted to work on cutting edge things and have autonomy, work with best people using the latest IT and given mgt. roles at young ages based on ability rather than seniority.

None of the bright young people want to work as Feds not due to pay or job security or insecurity but due to it is older people, using dated systems and antiquated ways not open to change.

I think Trump cleaning house and dismantling Fed agencies and freezing hiring and firing is like in the late 1970s when the whole South Bronx pretty much burned to the ground via massive Arson fires set over a few years. Once the buildings all burnt to ground it allowed a rebuilding phase and the South Bronx in those very crackhead infested sections of abandoned buildings with Pitt bulls and gun shots are now Single Family Homes, Condos, Coops and newly built affordable rental projects and thriving stores.

Sometimes you have to burn it to the ground. And in 2030s our children and our children children will fix what Boomers and Millennials destroyed. Our Grandparents the Greatest Generation made Govt great and show what it could do in WWII and sadly you destroyed it. Time to rebuild.

There is so much wrong with your post that I don’t even know where to begin.

Maybe let’s start with the idea that government is full of a bunch of inflexible dinosaurs. 🦕

Can you name an organization that has a complete change of upper management and priorities every four years and carries forward without a hitch? Because that’s what government and the military do.

Naturally this limits “autonomy.” If every individual has “autonomy” the organization cannot flex every few years to meet new goals. Government is about structure and following the law. This isn’t a weakness; it’s a strength. People in the private sector fundamentally don’t understand this.

Further, you state that everyone wanted to work at your startup because you had the latest tech- this requires investment that voters and Congress are simply not willing to make. Federal buildings are not even adequate.

I actually question the premise of investing in “tech” rather than people. Maybe that works for some fly by night startup that no one depends on but government needs to work. It can’t be “burnt to the ground” as you say because actual human beings depend on government services. Companies can screw up and burn themselves to the ground because no one actually needs them and there are always competitors waiting in the wings. There’s no competitor for government and it needs to be run with a seriousness of purpose that honestly, I am not seeing in private sector people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My college professor friends tell me students’ reading, writing, and analysis skills are poorer than ever. So, no, OP, I don’t think so.

Yes, and their math skills are middle school level.

This is very true. I had an intern two summers ago who could not write. I had him draft a very short email with one or two sentences and had to send it back three times for corrections. The corrections were bizarre errors, such as using numbers for letters. He spelled words with the letters "e and o" with the numbers "3 and 0." For example, G00d M0rning Ms. L33

I was so confused, but I felt an overwhelming sense of doom for humanity. My general impression is that most of them are cheating their way through college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My college professor friends tell me students’ reading, writing, and analysis skills are poorer than ever. So, no, OP, I don’t think so.

Yes, and their math skills are middle school level.

This is very true. I had an intern two summers ago who could not write. I had him draft a very short email with one or two sentences and had to send it back three times for corrections. The corrections were bizarre errors, such as using numbers for letters. He spelled words with the letters "e and o" with the numbers "3 and 0." For example, G00d M0rning Ms. L33

I was so confused, but I felt an overwhelming sense of doom for humanity. My general impression is that most of them are cheating their way through college.

This, or the fact that everyone is an honors student and if you're a teacher, you have to fight mom, dad and school administration to fail a kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would any competent person take a job with the federal government knowing they will be paid under market and subject to being fired if some political flunky doesn't like the way they look?

It is only incompetent people who mainly care about job security. I worked at a amazing innovative start up and everyone was underpaid and there was zero job security yet it was very hard to get a job there as tons wanted to work there. Was an incubator for young talent who wanted to work on cutting edge things and have autonomy, work with best people using the latest IT and given mgt. roles at young ages based on ability rather than seniority.

None of the bright young people want to work as Feds not due to pay or job security or insecurity but due to it is older people, using dated systems and antiquated ways not open to change.

I think Trump cleaning house and dismantling Fed agencies and freezing hiring and firing is like in the late 1970s when the whole South Bronx pretty much burned to the ground via massive Arson fires set over a few years. Once the buildings all burnt to ground it allowed a rebuilding phase and the South Bronx in those very crackhead infested sections of abandoned buildings with Pitt bulls and gun shots are now Single Family Homes, Condos, Coops and newly built affordable rental projects and thriving stores.

Sometimes you have to burn it to the ground. And in 2030s our children and our children children will fix what Boomers and Millennials destroyed. Our Grandparents the Greatest Generation made Govt great and show what it could do in WWII and sadly you destroyed it. Time to rebuild.

I bet there were huge stock options in that start up and that’s why people wanted to work there.

[Anonymous]

Anyone with an advanced degree who wasn't close to retirement at my former fed workplace quit and went to private industry.

I'm sure if the current administration collapses the economy (which looks probable) there will be plenty of qualified potential federal employees.

[Anonymous]

Your jobs should be offshored to Bangalore

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For all the downsides of Trump forcing current Fed workers out, doing hiring freezes and making it miserable so you quit will this be bright side?

A hiring spree in 2030s of much younger, AI skilled and IT savvy Fed workers.

The Boomers, GenX and most of millennial gone by 2030 to be replaced by Gen Z and Gen alpha people from 2030 to 2040.

Imagine it is 2035 and a Democratic President and Fed offices are filled wirh young, cool and trendy people with Google like offices.

Why would they want to work for the federal government? It certainly would not be for pay, benefits, work-life balance, pension, or security reasons. It would probably be the third or fourth choice for most, but rarely the first. Unfortunately, I believe Miller and company have destroyed the federal government for decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For all the downsides of Trump forcing current Fed workers out, doing hiring freezes and making it miserable so you quit will this be bright side?

A hiring spree in 2030s of much younger, AI skilled and IT savvy Fed workers.

The Boomers, GenX and most of millennial gone by 2030 to be replaced by Gen Z and Gen alpha people from 2030 to 2040.

Imagine it is 2035 and a Democratic President and Fed offices are filled wirh young, cool and trendy people with Google like offices.

Kristi is on a serious hiring spree. Do you think these are the type of hiring recruits responding to her plea to come wok for the federal government.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a lot of fat with some of the fed agencies and their support contractors. Our work is actually more efficient after some of the dead weight is gone.

Name the agency, your occupation, and the contracts.

Defense agency, program manager and all kinds of contracts. Tons of people are around that should not be there and noone can ask them to leave. DRP did let some of them to get retirement but a few are still around and they openly say that it is easy work and they would just hang around for a few more years. We have to give them 1-2 support contractors since they can't even do basic work under their PD.

Why do you not do your job and put them on a PIP and then take the necessary steps to terminate them. And please, do not tell me that BS that it cannot be done. I have done it on more than one subordinate at DON and Commerce. Of course as a supervisor, you have to be okay with not being well-liked by all your subordinates and shareholders. Many people take the promotion, fail to do the job as a supervisor by doing the hard stuff like using the pen, and then complain about subordinates not doing their job. The irony.

There is no reason to hire contractors to perform the work of salaried employees.