Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$150k with lots of leave and not that much stress (in many but not all positions).

What % of feds ever see $150k? I would bet less than 5% or 10%.

… Now, there are other scales, including SE, but even on those scales, guesstimate that only about 1-1.5% of the workforce would be over $150K. I would say it is highly unlikely that there is more than 4% of the workforce that makes over $150K.

This may be an underestimate. Only something like 70% of the federal workforce is on the General Schedule. There are some lower-paid Wage Grade employees, but also all the SES (and SL and ST) and the special pay plans for SEC, Fed, FDIC, plus all the augmentations for medical professionals and IT professionals across many agencies. Most of those other scales exist explicitly to provide higher levels of compensation than the GS. So I suspect there are a lot of highly paid federal employees missed by this data.

There are 7000 SES in the federal government, compared to 50,000 TSA agents. We are skewed in DC since half the SES are here but if you look at the total federal workforce around the world there are a lot more GS7 DOD supply clerks and GS9 VA nurses than high level DC bureaucrats.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$150k with lots of leave and not that much stress (in many but not all positions).

What % of feds ever see $150k? I would bet less than 5% or 10%.

… Now, there are other scales, including SE, but even on those scales, guesstimate that only about 1-1.5% of the workforce would be over $150K. I would say it is highly unlikely that there is more than 4% of the workforce that makes over $150K.

This may be an underestimate. Only something like 70% of the federal workforce is on the General Schedule. There are some lower-paid Wage Grade employees, but also all the SES (and SL and ST) and the special pay plans for SEC, Fed, FDIC, plus all the augmentations for medical professionals and IT professionals across many agencies. Most of those other scales exist explicitly to provide higher levels of compensation than the GS. So I suspect there are a lot of highly paid federal employees missed by this data.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$150k with lots of leave and not that much stress (in many but not all positions).

What % of feds ever see $150k? I would bet less than 5% or 10%.

Less than 5%. You can see the 2023 annual GS schedule here: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/23Tables/pdf/GS.pdf

As you can see, on the regular GS scale, only 15, step 10 makes over $150K base. If you add in locality pay, then most 15, step 7 and higher and 14 step 10 can make over $150K.

https://ourpublicservice.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/FedFigures_19Shutdown.pdf
There are 2.25M federal civilian civil service employees. Nationwide only about 4.2% of the work force is GS-15 and only 8.8% of the work force is GS-14. So about 2% is GS-15, step 7 and higher. Plus about 0.8% of GS-14 step 10. So, only about 2.8% of the work force makes $150K or higher on the GS scale. Now, there are other scales, including SE, but even on those scales, guesstimate that only about 1-1.5% of the workforce would be over $150K. I would say it is highly unlikely that there is more than 4% of the workforce that makes over $150K.

My spouse is a GS-14, step 10 (non-sup) with locality pay that makes over $150K. They have been in the work force for 33 years, and is one of the most sought after SME. They do the work of about 1.5 others and have way too much work that others won't or can't do, dumped on them. So, they get the high end, but they work very hard for their salary.

oh, i am in top 2%. i must be special

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$150k with lots of leave and not that much stress (in many but not all positions).

What % of feds ever see $150k? I would bet less than 5% or 10%.

Less than 5%. You can see the 2023 annual GS schedule here: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/23Tables/pdf/GS.pdf

As you can see, on the regular GS scale, only 15, step 10 makes over $150K base. If you add in locality pay, then most 15, step 7 and higher and 14 step 10 can make over $150K.

https://ourpublicservice.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/FedFigures_19Shutdown.pdf
There are 2.25M federal civilian civil service employees. Nationwide only about 4.2% of the work force is GS-15 and only 8.8% of the work force is GS-14. So about 2% is GS-15, step 7 and higher. Plus about 0.8% of GS-14 step 10. So, only about 2.8% of the work force makes $150K or higher on the GS scale. Now, there are other scales, including SE, but even on those scales, guesstimate that only about 1-1.5% of the workforce would be over $150K. I would say it is highly unlikely that there is more than 4% of the workforce that makes over $150K.

My spouse is a GS-14, step 10 (non-sup) with locality pay that makes over $150K. They have been in the work force for 33 years, and is one of the most sought after SME. They do the work of about 1.5 others and have way too much work that others won't or can't do, dumped on them. So, they get the high end, but they work very hard for their salary.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in Finance and make 700K in the private sector with a 7% 401K contribution 100% matching. My colleagues who do similar jobs at the SEC make around 250K. Not everyone wants a job in the government.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing totally useless and irrelevant information.

The point is not everyone is obsessed with working for the Fed when it is better in the private sector.

But the question was why do so many want FEDERAL jobs and not, can you make more in the private sector. We already know you can - most feds came from the private sector. Start a new thread.

I went through a few years in my 30s when I tried to make the shift from a federal contractor to federal employment, without success. At 50 my employer got bought out and all the individual contributors above a certain age were laid off (no surprise - upper management did just fine).

I had been warned that the workplace would be unkind when I hit middle age but brushed it off. I understand why so many people are drawn to federal employment and wish I had made the jump.

But I'm just another one of those cogs in the machine. No doubt, those in management, high end individual contributors and others who've been making six figures since their 20s have a different perspective.

This seems like a troll post to argue that federal government works are overpaid. It's common knowledge that many lawyers are unhappy in biglaw, particularly those in super boring subject matter areas/ general litigation, and want to find something with more interesting work and better hours. For many, the long-term plan was to go into federal government, but they find out that the transfer isn't necessarily easy.

My policy job is much more interesting and fulfilling that working in my subject area in the private sector. And my coworkers are similarly mission/ policy driven.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$250k base+$25k employer contribution to 401k+pension+great health benefits
Potentially base up to $300k (if you want to be/become a manager).

Are you a physician? I'm guessing a lawyer, but what lawyers make this much as a fed?

at a finreg. none of the above.

Anonymous wrote:$250k base+$25k employer contribution to 401k+pension+great health benefits
Potentially base up to $300k (if you want to be/become a manager).

Are you a physician? I'm guessing a lawyer, but what lawyers make this much as a fed?

Everyone believes in "the mission" of their agencies? Do all agencies have distinct, belief-worthy "missions"?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stability
No billable hours
No need to do development
Post retirement health insurance and some pension
Mission-driven
As a young attorney, got way more immediate hands-on litigation work than I ever would have at a big firm. I was first-chairing trials within two years.

Being first chair is also a ton of work, though. Are you getting overtime or something when you work nights and weekends to prepare for trial? Also, no need to do development, but do you lost out on not having that skill when/if you move to the private sector?

Also, someone above mentioned a bonus. Feds get bonuses?

Litigators at my former agency got comp time for hours worked over 40 hrs.

Yes, fed get bonuses or awards. I’ve gotten cash and time off awards.

Can the comp time be used hour-for-hour whenever you want? So there is a pot of money for fed lawyers to get discretionary bonuses? Is this true for other fed employees?

I guess if you don't like a law firm environment and don't want to go in-house or can't, fed work pays decently well compared to other gov't work (state or local).

For a lot of people the government is the only place you can do certain types of work. Also, many get more responsibility faster than in the private sector. And, the work can be more interesting depending on the area.

Anonymous wrote:I work in Finance and make 700K in the private sector with a 7% 401K contribution 100% matching. My colleagues who do similar jobs at the SEC make around 250K. Not everyone wants a job in the government.

Considering the burn out rate and culling in finance, it’s possible that a SEC employee that works till 65 might exceed a finance bro making $700k. But sure you get to retire earlier, but unless you are the rare few to climb higher on income $700k isn’t f u money at all.

What work do finance companies do that the SEC does as well?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$150 after a decade is not great money. You would do better than that with almost any graduate professional degree.

Where does someone with a Ph.D. in humanities make more than that after a decade?

Happy with my pay and happy with my mission-driven job in a cultural institution. No interest in working a job that numbs my mind even if it's for twice or three times the pay. We're all different and it's a good thing because if people like me didn't exist, then there'd be a lot less great stuff in this world. Imagine if no one wanted to work at the Smithsonian or the Kennedy Center simply because the pay is crappy compared to private industry.

You're welcome.

You missed “graduate professional” — they mean the vocational minded grad schools - Med, Law, Business. Academic graduate school is a fools errand financially.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in Finance and make 700K in the private sector with a 7% 401K contribution 100% matching. My colleagues who do similar jobs at the SEC make around 250K. Not everyone wants a job in the government.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing totally useless and irrelevant information.

The point is not everyone is obsessed with working for the Fed when it is better in the private sector.

But the question was why do so many want FEDERAL jobs and not, can you make more in the private sector. We already know you can - most feds came from the private sector. Start a new thread.