Reply to See hy do so many want Federal government jobs?

Forum Index » Jobs and Careers

Reply to "See hy do so many want Federal government jobs?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here. It’s interesting that there’s a pretty consistent narrative for seeking federal government work.

So, I have a follow up question. Most of you seem pretty happy with your federal government gig, yet you still complain A LOT. Square that for me. How can you be so aware of how good you have it and yet complain that you’re underpaid, for instance? When you say such things, do you temporarily forget the cost of your pension, days off, etc. The whining makes you seem ungrateful for what many of you have described as a pretty desirable situation. [/quote]

1) this is an anonymous message board, why do you assume it's the same people saying they're happy and complaining? For instance, there is a huge range of pay in the government. I know people with relevant master's degrees stuck in GS-05 to GS-09 jobs (about 40-65k in the DC area). They ARE underpaid and SHOULD complain. On the other hand, there are people on this thread making 200k, which is twice my salary! That's like saying "people who work in companies shouldn't complain about being underpaid" - you know they don't all have the same job or pay structure, right?

2) defensiveness. There is a very widespread perception that we don't do anything. Many of us aren't allowed to work overtime without prior written approval, but we do work full-out for our 40 hours and feel like we do meaningful work.

3) newer feds aren't in the same situation as older ones. The pension is worse (4.4%!), and the vacation days aren't really better than private sector (13 a year). I don't complain about them, but they also aren't something to be "grateful" for, they're pretty basic employment benefits, and they wouldn't keep me in the government if I got a competitive offer elsewhere. Someone who's been a fed for 15+ years pays less toward the pension, has more time kn service for a bigger payout, and gets twice as much time off.

4) note that not one person has complained about their work being pointless, but a lot have mentioned mission. That's what keeps people in these jobs sometimes *despite* all the above. [/quote]

Great response! I pay .8% into my salary and make over $150K and I don’t complain about my pay. I also have great FinReg benefits. I do complain that my coworkers don’t all seem to know how good they have it, but most didn’t work at other agencies so they aren’t reliable  sources of what it’s like to be in Federal Service in general. Plus, if you come mid-career you don’t have as much leave and that pension isn’t really that much, since the amount multiplies by your years in service and costs 4.4% every check. That’s why the health care in retirement and job security are the main draws at that point.[/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