You have to know what you’re getting into and what you’re going to get out of it. I’ve been a GS-15 supervisor for over 5 years. For the first year I loathed it and was sure I’d made a mistake. Then I gradually realized how much better I could make the place in terms of reforming and creating policies, and replacing poor performers. It was gradual. 5+ years in I have a great team who all work well together and work hard, and a well functioning office. It took a lot to get here. I don’t like supervising just for the sake of supervising - I’m not someone who enjoys being the center of attention- but I do like making the decisions and achieving goals. I think my team likes and respects me - and I certainly like and respect them.

I would never ever go for SES. That’s pure management. No thanks. As a first line supervisor I still do and teach the subject matter area and that’s what I like.

Absolutely not. Supervising employees, especially civil servants, is a nightmare. HR will tie your hands, and upper management will drop all their problems on your lap. You might consider a Program Management position (eg taking responsibility for executing a bigger chunk of your agency’s mission with commensurate budget authority). But don’t manage people.

The way government employees talk about retirement is sad. “Only 15 years to retirement.” That’s a lot time and you could accomplish a lot.

Being a supervisor is like a having a whole other job on top of your normal job. And none of it is fun, it's a ton of admin and people problems.

I am doing that right now OP - went from a non-sup 15 to a supervisory 15. I hate every min of it. Long story but i really didn't have a choice... be careful. people suck and they will stress you out.

I’m a non-sup GS 15. I’m going to milk this role until MRA or VERA or FIRE, whichever comes first.
Supervisory positions are NEVER worth it

Put it this way: you got to gs 15 and you’re arguably a subject matter expert. You’re doing what you arguably enjoy and know about. Why would you stop doing that, to take a job in management? For more stress and not more pay (in dollars per hour)? Nah.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. DH has been pushing for me to gun for SES, which means I need more experience than my current role. But last time I was on a high-pressure project, I was incredibly stressed and didn’t deal with it well.

The only reason I would want to make a move is because I don’t really like my current role.

Since you don’t like your current role, you should *definitely* move to a new role! However, there are probably other GS-15 non-supervisory positions that would be better. The supervisory position almost certainly isn’t better. Not that I would know: I have been a GS-15 for over a decade and I’m still 10 years for retirement and every so often have the idea of doing a stint as a supervisor so that I can become SES… Then I wake up and realize that it would be much more stress and basically no more money and I wouldn’t be as close to the work I actually like. Quality of life matters!

Agree with others who recommended treading very carefully before giving up a non supervisory GS 15 position I discovered the hard way how difficult it could be as a supervisory GS 15 if your organization ends up developing drama - which can happen either above or below you — that you are then stuck being accountable for given your “leadership” role but without enough authority to really solve with it. And even in the best of circumstances, it’s always a lot of work to manage and motivate your subordinates - and so absent more pay you have find some sort of intangible enjoyment from it. The only way I’d say it was a good idea would be if you are the type of person who dislikes being directly supervised and also who loves the status and feeling of being and manager and the ability to be in charge of people. Don’t get me wrong, the government desperately needs good supervisors and leaders - I have always appreciated how a good boss versus a bad boss can make all the difference in an employee’s happiness and career trajectory. If you think you can be that sort of manager to people, and also that you’ll enjoy it without losing sleep, then it might be worth considering. But otherwise, the safe answer is to just enjoy the lucky spot you’re in - where for the same salary you get to do rewarding work but without the hassle of supervisory responsibilities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. DH has been pushing for me to gun for SES, which means I need more experience than my current role. But last time I was on a high-pressure project, I was incredibly stressed and didn’t deal with it well.

The only reason I would want to make a move is because I don’t really like my current role.

Why is he pushing? The money? How much does he make? If you get stressed by high-pressure projects, it doesn't seem worth it for you, and the SES role may have more of what you don't like.

+1 It’s not like you’d make significantly more as an SES, and you lose some of your job protections if you go that route, so I’m curious why he’d be pushing you to do this. My SES manager is living the life “supervising” a small staff of high-performing attorneys, but she had a couple decades of absurdly stressful supervising situations before this, and she’s the only supervisor in our agency I’ve met that works a reasonable schedule.

I’ve loved being a non-supervisory 15 for all these years, but my work is admittedly interesting and fairly variable, so there are always new challenges. If you are finding yourself not sufficiently challenged at work, I’d look for something more meaningful to do in your free time.

Are you an attorney?

No way. Non supervisory 15 is the dream. Managing people is a pain in the butt, especially in government.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. DH has been pushing for me to gun for SES, which means I need more experience than my current role. But last time I was on a high-pressure project, I was incredibly stressed and didn’t deal with it well.

The only reason I would want to make a move is because I don’t really like my current role.

Why is he pushing? The money? How much does he make? If you get stressed by high-pressure projects, it doesn't seem worth it for you, and the SES role may have more of what you don't like.

No

Anonymous wrote:No, you a non supervisory 15 is a unicorn position. The one exception would be if you ever want to move to SES, you'll probably need supervisory experience.

+1

OP here. DH has been pushing for me to gun for SES, which means I need more experience than my current role. But last time I was on a high-pressure project, I was incredibly stressed and didn’t deal with it well.

The only reason I would want to make a move is because I don’t really like my current role.