Reply to Should I take a big pay cut for a government job offer?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Absolutely not. I've worked 20 years in the type of work you're considering. When you call it a dream job, realize that is a correct term- your dream, not your reality.

It can be enormously interesting and you certainly can be empowered to make a significant difference. However it is not worth the pay cut you're considering.  You also believe your relative age is an advantage, and you are wrong. While it won't hurt you, it also won't weigh in your favor. You'll be facing genuine competition from 23 year olds. For example, I made 15 by age 30, and not because there was a lack of older competition.

I think more broadly, you have a good job, good benefits, good boss- you are not promised that. Federal compensation degrades every year. Ask them how much you'll be paying into the pension plan. Unless you're on an unusual pay plan, you'll get sticker shock. Example- as someone who has been in and grandfather into the old system, I pay about $50 every 2 weeks. A new person making the same amount pays $600 every 2 weeks.  That's just for the pension- you'll also need to fund your TSP. Oh, and check out the premiums on health insurance.

As a private sector person, you're probably also used to things like having coffee at the office, at a minimum. Literally nothing is free in the government. You will pay all your own coffee and if the water is unsuitable in your building (ours is often brown) you'll need to bring your own water. My agency won't even pay for dishsoap in the breakroom to wash up after lunch- that's an item for "personal use" so you'll pay for that too.

And unlike the private sector where you can wear relatively inexpensive and comfortable clothing like jeans and a sweater, you'll likely need suits for daily wear, and they will need to be dry cleaned.

And most places make you pay for parking.

By the time you've paid into your pension, tsp, health care, etc and the recurring expenses of parking, buying jackets and laundering them, etc, you'll see very little of that 87k.

Also, you can do very little work from home in this field.  You can't even have your cell phone with you most of the day. You're literally lucky to see a window or sunlight in some cases.  
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OP again - just noticed this comment. Thanks for your insights and perspective - really appreciate it. I do think that with a little more time in my current position + some luck I will be competitive for higher grade government positions than this one, so I may stay the course, especially given my satisfaction with most aspects of my current job (other than being a contractor just sucks for many reasons). I definitely hear you on competing with 23 year-olds - have worked long and hard (and stuck it through some truly distasteful work situations) to get to where I am now - not interested in a repeat.

A couple comments - as a gov contractor I am subject to the same stuff you mentioned - I wear a dry cleaned suit and tie to work every day, no free coffee, no free water, not much of a Christmas party, no kitchen at work, cramped cubicles, no pension, high premiums for health care - and all that minus the respect, job security, and flexibility of the government folks (plus constant pressure to produce revenue for the company on nights and weekends on top of serving the client).  [/quote]

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