Reply to Current non supervisory GS14. Should I become GS15 supervisor?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]What kind of work do you do?  Do you like the broader mission  of your agency and want to try other things or would you expect to stay with your group the remainder of your career?

I am a senior manager at my agency and an attorney.  When I took my first supervisory job I would never have imagined all the opportunities I have had.  If you are only doing the job for the money then maybe say no, but if you enjoy having more of a leadership role maybe say yes.  I started as a GS-13 and am now SES.

I have been here over 25 years and still love lots of things about my job, and I have never regretted becoming a manager.  [/quote]

NP. I'm an attorney too, non-supervisory GS-15. In my experience, very few supervisors or SES I know say that it is worth it. I am glad that you are happy, but you are atypical.

OP, I think it depends on what you want out of life. I am very happy to spend the next 15 years I have until retirement as SME non-supervisory attorney, simply because I am unwilling to sacrifice the time I have with my wife and kids. I love having the flexibility to be a PTA dad, take multiple vacations each year, etc. It is very rare I have to work more than 40 hrs/week, and rarer still when I have to work a weekend. I invest that time in my family.

I know it is difficult to find a non-supervisory GS-15 job, and I feel grateful and blessed. The extra money helps, but if I had to be a supervisor to get it, I would NEVER do it.

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wow, this ^ post comes of as quite all-knowing from someone who has never been a supervisor, decides based on some nebulous conversations he may or may not have with supervisors or SES that becoming a supervisor isn't worth it, and that the PP who said that becoming a supervisor has been worth it to them and actually explained why is "atypical."  major eyeroll.

OP, you say you have 19 years left at your agency.  that is a loooong time.  at some point, when someone has been in a non-supervisory role for quite a long time without taking steps to become a supervisor, it gets harder and harder to do so if you change your mind, as you get pigeonholed where you are at.  if you think that you may want to be a supervisor at some point, it is better to go for it before you get "stuck."

there are definitely headaches with being a supervisor, but there are some really great things as well.  you learn a different set of skills and have to be comfortable with letting go of the details and delegating - otherwise it really is too much to handle.  i have only been a federal supervisor for about a year and delegating is the hardest thing for me to learn - but now i'm burned out because i've done too many things myself, so i'm learning how to protect myself and get the job done through delegating to my very competent staff.  you have to also be interested in learning how to take more of a birds-eye view of the issues and brief up the highlights rather than the details.

of course there are also personnel issues, but you have to learn where your supporting resources are at and use them (people and policies) for guidance in tricky situations regarding conduct and performance.  that is what will get you through.

i have been a fed for a dozen years and decided to become a supervisor because i will likely leave federal service for NGO work and to be more marketable i really needed to get some supervisory experience under my belt - so i had a very specific reason for taking the leap.  if i end up not departing federal service, i'm not sure that being a federal supervisor is a long-term thing for me, but in the end i'm glad i did it.

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