Reply to Feeling like a tremendous loser bc of my career path

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have similar feelings. I’m 48, my best friend from college and I graduated with similar grades. I went into the federal government and he went into marketing, similar salaries to start. We’ve both risen toward the top of our fields, I make just over $200k and he’s in the millions. I know this is incredibly naive but I never thought about my trajectory when I was 22 and how limited my choices would be later compared to going into business field. I’m very envious of people who chose a more lucrative path.[/quote]

You realize you can leave federal service, right?  If you're north of $200, you're either an SES, at CISA with cyberpay, a medical professional, or at a regulator.  Any of which has lucrative exit options into the private sector.

I left the government a year ago and now make seven figures.  Which is rare, I admit, but I've changed career paths about four times to find my way here.  Sitting around and waiting for it to happen to me wasn't going to cut it.[/quote]

I’m an SES and I could probably make a bit more in consulting but I also hear about rounds of layoffs lately so that seems risky. It’s fine, I could be doing worse and should stop comparing myself to the wrong people[/quote]

PP who left government here.

There are plenty of incremental increases available, for sure, and there are some (but far fewer) very substantial increases available.  The transition from gov to the private sector isn't always an easy one, and plenty of people won't be able to land a materially better job.  And, to your point, there are risks and timing to consider.  But your options are specific to you, and you should never fall for the trap of assuming that your current state and trajectory are the only ones available to you.  [/quote]

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