Reply to Possible for Trump to move federal agencies to "flyover country"?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I know feds who own second homes (New Jersey, South Carolina), boats (not yachts, boats). To be fair, they're married, so there're two incomes. But they also have children, elderly parents, and all other typical MC expenses. They live on income, not investments.

The feds I know in DC don't suffer. Some live far out, but only if a huge house with a backyard is important. Plenty of younger (both single and married) people in the city who can afford condos and apartments. They generally don't complain about life at the GS-13 level and above.

So, to paint all feds as living hand-to-mouth is not entirely correct. I'm sure people's circumstances differ, but those who know how to handle money (even a little bit of it) do fairly well. Generally better than their counterparts in the private sector, IMO.[/quote]

Depends who you think of as their counterparts. Federal employees are older and more highly educated than th general population, we have a much higher percentage of employees with graduate degrees than the rest of the labor force. So if you're comparing them with the average American with no college completion they do make more $ but same occupation comparisons with the private sector show federal employees making less than their similarly situated private sector peers. For example, the federal government is the largest single employer of doctors in the country, mostly due to the high VA and DOD healthcare systems plus the medical research community at NIH. Comparing the salaries of VA doctors and those with similar specialties in the private sector show that VA doctors make considerably less, but their low 6 figure salaries are certainly higher than the average American. [/quote]

I am speaking from personal experience. I am fully aware that the federal government is bottom heavy. I do observe somewhat older workers, but most of them have 4 years of college at most. Many only have high-school diplomas. The hiring mechanisms changed in the recent years. We do have opportunities to hire college grads for entry-level positions. However, the majority of hires are veterans with very limited education, usually high school plus any occupational training they got in the military. I do not compare them to average Americans, whatever that may mean. I compare them to the people with similar educational background and experience, myself included. I have friends with the exact (advanced) degree I have. I'm blessed to be a fed, I kid you not. (Obviously, I am not an MD. I agree that highly specialized professionals make more money in the private sector.)[/quote]

Not sure what agency you work for but that's not the case in mine.  My group is mainly IT and project management - only a handful of people just have a high school diploma, and they are support staff.  We have a huge number of people with Masters' and several with a PhD.  Many people have certifications, like PMP, COR, et cetera.  We have just shy of 15% that are vets, it's not the majority of hires but they do get preference.  Most of the vets we have working for us have degrees.  One guy I work closely with is a combat vet who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, he has his Masters and is getting ready to go for his PhD.  Many of us came in from the private sector where we were making more (I myself was a fed contractor for many years, I was making more outside but got tired of the constant proposal-writing cycle and wanted to just focus on the mission), we've also had people poached away from us by the private sector where they ended up making more than they did as govies.  I've had several tempting offers from outside, but I'm not in it for the money.  But if the Trump administration makes my work untenable I will likely start taking a closer look at those outside offers.[/quote]

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