Official Government Shutdown 2023 Thread

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I HATE government employees. There are a LOT of people that contract for the government that won't get paid. You are so selfish wishing for a shutdown when the people who actually DO YOUR JOB for you won't get paid.

Very few Feds want a shutdown, and OP is a pretty obvious troll. You hear people "wishing" for a shutdown because talking about the solver lining is more fun than worrying about the hit to the mission, the mess to dig out when we return, or the income of our contractor spouses.

I don't hate contractors as people but I do hate that so much has been outsourced. I'd much rather your job was Federal. The whole concept of using contractors (and then having Feds monitor them) is a mess. Don't be mad at Feds for a system we don't like and didn't create.

When the government makes it easier for someone who is not disabled, not an underserved minority, and not a veteran to get a Federal job, then perhaps my job will be federal. But until then, I'll keep applying and getting rejected for jobs like yours. I refuse to lie about being disabled, I won't do it. So I'll stay a contractor.

Where I am we’ve gone 100% to direct hires. I’ve been on a number of hiring committees and seen very few disabled/veteran candidates, and we’ve not yet hired any of them. So try applying to jobs like ours instead of jobs like yours.

We do a lot of direct hires too and we often hire our contractors. I’ve had several contractors approach me or my team and ask how they can come on as feds, we post a direct hire and bring them on. None are disabled vets. I can’t remember the last time my office hired someone off a cert that no one in the office knew prior to the posting.

Don’t you think this is also unfair?

NP - I understand "hired off a cert" to mean they advertised. So, no, not unfair: everybody had a chance. There is this myth that brilliant applicants are out there but getting overlooked for unfair reasons, as if the person already doing the job (whether as a detailee or contractor or person with the same job at another agency) isn't going to have a wealth of demonstrated qualifications and experience.

Every time I've been involved in hiring, there are like 2 really qualified applicants per hundred applications. And I've had people I know personally get overlooked because there were better applicants who were strangers (which is a fair outcome).

People also have terrible resumes!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I HATE government employees. There are a LOT of people that contract for the government that won't get paid. You are so selfish wishing for a shutdown when the people who actually DO YOUR JOB for you won't get paid.

Very few Feds want a shutdown, and OP is a pretty obvious troll. You hear people "wishing" for a shutdown because talking about the solver lining is more fun than worrying about the hit to the mission, the mess to dig out when we return, or the income of our contractor spouses.

I don't hate contractors as people but I do hate that so much has been outsourced. I'd much rather your job was Federal. The whole concept of using contractors (and then having Feds monitor them) is a mess. Don't be mad at Feds for a system we don't like and didn't create.

When the government makes it easier for someone who is not disabled, not an underserved minority, and not a veteran to get a Federal job, then perhaps my job will be federal. But until then, I'll keep applying and getting rejected for jobs like yours. I refuse to lie about being disabled, I won't do it. So I'll stay a contractor.

Where I am we’ve gone 100% to direct hires. I’ve been on a number of hiring committees and seen very few disabled/veteran candidates, and we’ve not yet hired any of them. So try applying to jobs like ours instead of jobs like yours.

We do a lot of direct hires too and we often hire our contractors. I’ve had several contractors approach me or my team and ask how they can come on as feds, we post a direct hire and bring them on. None are disabled vets. I can’t remember the last time my office hired someone off a cert that no one in the office knew prior to the posting.

Don’t you think this is also unfair?

My agency won't do direct hires so we don't do this, but I don't think it's unfair to hire someone with direct experience on the job and known work quality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I HATE government employees. There are a LOT of people that contract for the government that won't get paid. You are so selfish wishing for a shutdown when the people who actually DO YOUR JOB for you won't get paid.

Very few Feds want a shutdown, and OP is a pretty obvious troll. You hear people "wishing" for a shutdown because talking about the solver lining is more fun than worrying about the hit to the mission, the mess to dig out when we return, or the income of our contractor spouses.

I don't hate contractors as people but I do hate that so much has been outsourced. I'd much rather your job was Federal. The whole concept of using contractors (and then having Feds monitor them) is a mess. Don't be mad at Feds for a system we don't like and didn't create.

When the government makes it easier for someone who is not disabled, not an underserved minority, and not a veteran to get a Federal job, then perhaps my job will be federal. But until then, I'll keep applying and getting rejected for jobs like yours. I refuse to lie about being disabled, I won't do it. So I'll stay a contractor.

Where I am we’ve gone 100% to direct hires. I’ve been on a number of hiring committees and seen very few disabled/veteran candidates, and we’ve not yet hired any of them. So try applying to jobs like ours instead of jobs like yours.

We do a lot of direct hires too and we often hire our contractors. I’ve had several contractors approach me or my team and ask how they can come on as feds, we post a direct hire and bring them on. None are disabled vets. I can’t remember the last time my office hired someone off a cert that no one in the office knew prior to the posting.

Don’t you think this is also unfair?

Not really. We have a lot of contractors doing jobs very similar to the feds in my office. If I have a contractor with 3 years of experience doing the same job very well in my office why would I take a chance on someone I don’t know with a nice looking resume?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The last shut down was like a vacation…but coming back to work that just piled up. We were understaffed and swamped. I became demoralized and burnt out which is part of the goal I suppose.

Agree it’s such a headache to have to reschedule and catch up. I’d rather it not happen.

[Anonymous]

from a work perspective, these shutdowns are annoying af. it creates more pressure and inefficiency.

From a personal perspective, I consistently work 60-65 hours a week. so I could use a 10 -20 day shutdown just to breathe and reset.

[Anonymous]

My agency (DHS) has very few job openings that are open to the public that are not specific cybersecurity jobs. We have a hard time filling those, even with generous cyber pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I HATE government employees. There are a LOT of people that contract for the government that won't get paid. You are so selfish wishing for a shutdown when the people who actually DO YOUR JOB for you won't get paid.

Very few Feds want a shutdown, and OP is a pretty obvious troll. You hear people "wishing" for a shutdown because talking about the solver lining is more fun than worrying about the hit to the mission, the mess to dig out when we return, or the income of our contractor spouses.

I don't hate contractors as people but I do hate that so much has been outsourced. I'd much rather your job was Federal. The whole concept of using contractors (and then having Feds monitor them) is a mess. Don't be mad at Feds for a system we don't like and didn't create.

When the government makes it easier for someone who is not disabled, not an underserved minority, and not a veteran to get a Federal job, then perhaps my job will be federal. But until then, I'll keep applying and getting rejected for jobs like yours. I refuse to lie about being disabled, I won't do it. So I'll stay a contractor.

Where I am we’ve gone 100% to direct hires. I’ve been on a number of hiring committees and seen very few disabled/veteran candidates, and we’ve not yet hired any of them. So try applying to jobs like ours instead of jobs like yours.

We do a lot of direct hires too and we often hire our contractors. I’ve had several contractors approach me or my team and ask how they can come on as feds, we post a direct hire and bring them on. None are disabled vets. I can’t remember the last time my office hired someone off a cert that no one in the office knew prior to the posting.

Don’t you think this is also unfair?

Not really. We have a lot of contractors doing jobs very similar to the feds in my office. If I have a contractor with 3 years of experience doing the same job very well in my office why would I take a chance on someone I don’t know with a nice looking resume?

DP. I was hired "off the street" with 3 interviews and a comprehensive reference check (hiring manager spoke to my references an average of 15-30 minutes about my working style), so not just a "nice resume." I don't begrudge the idea of hiring the person who already does the job well, but you should never go into the hiring process without at least an open mind.

[Anonymous]

I think we probably won't have a shutdown but at this stage I'm stoic about it because it's beyond my control. If we shut down, I may have to work anyway. If I don't have to work, I'll do some chores around the house. The work will pile up in the meantime, though, so I will have to work late nights and weekends when we reopen. So the "pleasure" of some time off is just going to lead to lots of stress in the end.

[Anonymous]

We have to do SO MUCH extra working leading up to a possible shut down so that the excepted/essential people can continue operations. I’d like to have a shut down just so all of that extra lead up work isn’t for nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do we think the odds are of a shutdown?

My goal would be to have a staycation - gym, relax, TV, and unwind. What about you?

How nice for you. You realize that the federal workforce is only about 25-35% civil service. There are about 65-75% of the federal workforce that are contractors. While the civil service gets backpay virtually always, the federal contract workforce only gets paid when they work. In many cases, work stops at the shutdown and they are officially furloughed until work resumes. And they don't get back pay.

We are lucky in my household that we have one civil servant and one contractor. So even though I make more income as the contractor, my spouse is guaranteed back pay. But I know plenty of dual federal contractor families who lose all household income during a shutdown.

F the conservative wing who don't care about the federal workforce.

I agree with the last line of your rant. But—contractors are paid more than most civil servants for the same work, and have more career flexibility. I hate shutdowns, I think they are absurd, but taking your ire out on civil servants just because they get paid and you don’t, is stupid. You’re welcome to find a federal job, if you want one. Lots of positions opening up!

SOME contractors are paid more, but that is not universal across the government. Maybe it’s more common in National security? I work in an environmental field and when I was a govt contractor we were definitely paid less than our federal colleagues with very little room for promotion beyond meager COL raises, benefits were worse too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I HATE government employees. There are a LOT of people that contract for the government that won't get paid. You are so selfish wishing for a shutdown when the people who actually DO YOUR JOB for you won't get paid.

Very few Feds want a shutdown, and OP is a pretty obvious troll. You hear people "wishing" for a shutdown because talking about the solver lining is more fun than worrying about the hit to the mission, the mess to dig out when we return, or the income of our contractor spouses.

I don't hate contractors as people but I do hate that so much has been outsourced. I'd much rather your job was Federal. The whole concept of using contractors (and then having Feds monitor them) is a mess. Don't be mad at Feds for a system we don't like and didn't create.

When the government makes it easier for someone who is not disabled, not an underserved minority, and not a veteran to get a Federal job, then perhaps my job will be federal. But until then, I'll keep applying and getting rejected for jobs like yours. I refuse to lie about being disabled, I won't do it. So I'll stay a contractor.

Where I am we’ve gone 100% to direct hires. I’ve been on a number of hiring committees and seen very few disabled/veteran candidates, and we’ve not yet hired any of them. So try applying to jobs like ours instead of jobs like yours.

We do a lot of direct hires too and we often hire our contractors. I’ve had several contractors approach me or my team and ask how they can come on as feds, we post a direct hire and bring them on. None are disabled vets. I can’t remember the last time my office hired someone off a cert that no one in the office knew prior to the posting.

Don’t you think this is also unfair?

Every time I've been involved in hiring, there are like 2 really qualified applicants per hundred applications. And I've had people I know personally get overlooked because there were better applicants who were strangers (which is a fair outcome).

I've had a similar experience, except it's more like 5 out of 100, but by the time we make an offer 2 of those people have already accepted positions elsewhere... so the result is we really only get a few choices. Every time I see people post about government jobs being 100x oversubscribed I have no idea what they're thinking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do we think the odds are of a shutdown?

My goal would be to have a staycation - gym, relax, TV, and unwind. What about you?

How nice for you. You realize that the federal workforce is only about 25-35% civil service. There are about 65-75% of the federal workforce that are contractors. While the civil service gets backpay virtually always, the federal contract workforce only gets paid when they work. In many cases, work stops at the shutdown and they are officially furloughed until work resumes. And they don't get back pay.

We are lucky in my household that we have one civil servant and one contractor. So even though I make more income as the contractor, my spouse is guaranteed back pay. But I know plenty of dual federal contractor families who lose all household income during a shutdown.

F the conservative wing who don't care about the federal workforce.

Cry me a river. If you don't like it, actually work for the private sector. You wouldn't last.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do we think the odds are of a shutdown?

My goal would be to have a staycation - gym, relax, TV, and unwind. What about you?

How nice for you. You realize that the federal workforce is only about 25-35% civil service. There are about 65-75% of the federal workforce that are contractors. While the civil service gets backpay virtually always, the federal contract workforce only gets paid when they work. In many cases, work stops at the shutdown and they are officially furloughed until work resumes. And they don't get back pay.

We are lucky in my household that we have one civil servant and one contractor. So even though I make more income as the contractor, my spouse is guaranteed back pay. But I know plenty of dual federal contractor families who lose all household income during a shutdown.

F the conservative wing who don't care about the federal workforce.

I agree with the last line of your rant. But—contractors are paid more than most civil servants for the same work, and have more career flexibility. I hate shutdowns, I think they are absurd, but taking your ire out on civil servants just because they get paid and you don’t, is stupid. You’re welcome to find a federal job, if you want one. Lots of positions opening up!

I'm not taking out my ire on civil servants in general. As I said, my spouse is a civil servant. What I object to is the civil servants who wish for shutdowns because they are guaranteed back pay. It's a very selfish attitude considering a furlough to be a paid staycation. The OP's attitude and language show just how self centered she is.

Well the OP could be a troll trying to whip things up. DH and I are both Feds at different agencies who end up working during shutdowns- I’d get paid most likely (did in 2018), he’d get the back pay later in. I was a contractor during the shutdown 10ish years ago and yeah it sucks, although in my case we were still allowed to work and got paid so that was good.

Shutdowns are a joke and a waste of time.

Unlikely. Trolls don't usually come back, apologize and say that they learned from the chastisement. If they come back, they usually try to double-down on the offensive comments, like some of the people on page 7.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my agency has always used carry over funds to continue working. even during shut-downs we always had to report. i suspect the same this time.

Same here. My supervisor has already said we will continue working with no-year funds.

Same.

[Anonymous]

They’ll pass a CR. I don’t recall the details but I thought a CR in place on April 30 basically cuts total discretionary funding to FY 2022 levels, which is what the freedom caucus wants. An annualized CR is a more likely outcome than getting the Senate to enact appropriations below the levels agreed to in May.