Reply to Federal job vs contractor job in mid-40s

Forum Index » Jobs and Careers

Reply to "Federal job vs contractor job in mid-40s"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I've worked in the corporate sector and as a federal contractor for most of my career, and may have the opportunity to take a government job for the first time.  A close friend is recruiting me for a position within his agency and he seems confident that I have a good shot at the position.

On one hand, as a single 46 year old mom with kids, I love the idea of having a stable fed job with a pension.  But the stability and pension are the only advantages that I'm seeing.  At my current job, I'm paid slightly more (guessing the fed job would be 15-20K less), and the commute is better, but the main reason I hesitate to take a fed job is being forced to stay within the government just to get a pension.  I enjoy working and hope to work for 15-20 more years, but I'm ambitious and hard-working, and the idea of being stuck in a bureaucracy isn't that appealing.  I like the option of being able to move around to different positions and challenges with different people (in a new job) if I want to.

So here's my question:  given my preference for dynamic, challenging environments, but then my need for stability/retirement income as a single mom, would it make sense for me to consider this fed job?  Would the pension be worth it at my age?  I know age discrimination is real, but I also know that [b]corporations and private firms desperately want women in leadership positions, so I also think being an older woman can be an advantage. [/b] Appreciate advice from anyone who's been on either side of this decision.  [/quote]

Hahah, this is hilarious.

Sorry, you are falling for their PR. They are desperate to appear to pay lip service to equality.  I would not count this as an advantage.

BTW, I believe the present value of the pension is like $20k/yr (you have to put aside $20k in a CD like investment now to ensure risk free annuity payment in the future) so the compensation you are getting is no better than the Fed job except it’s in cash.

For my math, I expect at least a $40k bump to be worth leaving my Fed job, b/c at 50 I put a premium on stability and immunity from age discrimination. [/quote]

Not to mention regardless of whether it is true or not there are far fewer leadership positions then people wanting to fill them so you're being very optimistic to assume you would be selected.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics