Anyone work for the government?

Raised by a single mom that worked a government desk job for 30 years. She was mostly bored at work non stop but her retirement from 30 years is 92k a year. I've asked her quite a few times if she feels like it was worth it and she says, "I needed the security of not being able to be fired raising you two hellions alone".
 
Well, I was in the navy, so I used to work for the federal government. I wouldn't recommend it honestly.
 
I work for the secret services. Don't you guys?

Taking out the bad guys and keeping the world safe for our children?
 
Friend does. The pay is on the lower end but you get every single holiday off and there doesn't seem to be a lot of pressure. It's low paced, low stress. Still, you can get furloughed and laid off like any job but they are usually pretty stable.

The big issue is always pay and how you get the job. You typically have to test for the job and then end up in a pool of applicants. Then you wait and wait. If you are out of work, you'd be waiting 6+ months. If you want a government job, do it while you are already have a job.
 
Myself and a lot of my friends got jobs with government contractors after college because there are tons of positions in our area. Quite a few went to the government side after building their resumes. I also have a few ex-coworkers who made the jump as well.

Based on what I’ve seen the stereotype about it being impossible to get fired is mostly true. I have one buddy who goes to the driving range in the middle of the day all the time. It’s kind of hilarious. Another friend said there’s a group of people in her office who disappear for several hours to go to the gym and people regularly take 2 hour lunches. One ex-coworker who is a complete moron and almost got fired from her previously position went over for the job security and from what I understand is just coasting along now happy as can be.

But conversely, one of my good friends took a pay cut for a manager position and while his work life balance is better it’s not completely stress-free. I think his issue is not only is he herding cats all day but the guidance and direction from his leadership poor and inconsistent.
 
I get paid by the government but don't work for the government.
The best of two worlds.
 
Dinkin_Flicka said:
I work for the Department of the Navy at a naval shipyard. Salary is pretty comfortable and benefits are great. All of our hiring is done through https://www.usajobs.gov/
You can search for management positions then filter by payband and location. You can also load a resume and make it searchable for departments looking to fill positions.
Click to expand...
Me too.
I think the FERS 1.1% per year of service pension is underrated. Of course that depends on your potential time in service. I'll have over 20 at the end, so that adds up. No one gives pensions anymore.
Daverisimo said:
Well, I was in the navy, so I used to work for the federal government. I wouldn't recommend it honestly.
Click to expand...
Active duty and DOD federal employment are very different. I'm guessing the things you didn't like about the Navy are the usual things- long hours, working conditions, forced separation from family, arbitrary rules (and forced compliance). Civilians are treated better, with normal hours, overtime pay, lots of holidays, safe work environments (OSHA), So one person mentioned Furlough, and I'll have say that does suck. Just the arbitrary nature of the possibility. It depends a lot on having an approved federal budget, and if you pay any attention to politics you know that isn't easy. So no matter what you do, what your boss does (or they're boss, or Sec Def, or President), the specter of it can linger. Absolutely the antithesis of the security I took this job for. That said, in my 15 years furloughs were implemented twice and both times some things / departments were still funded or partially funded. So I actually was "furloughed" once for like 3 days before I was called back and we were excepted from jump the other time. And in both cases pay was restored in full to those who got the temporary cut.
 
Cyrano200 said:
Me too.
I think the FERS 1.1% per year of service pension is underrated. Of course that depends on your potential time in service. I'll have over 20 at the end, so that adds up. No one gives pensions anymore.
Active duty and DOD federal employment are very different. I'm guessing the things you didn't like about the Navy are the usual things- long hours, working conditions, forced separation from family, arbitrary rules (and forced compliance). Civilians are treated better, with normal hours, overtime pay, lots of holidays, safe work environments (OSHA), So one person mentioned Furlough, and I'll have say that does suck. Just the arbitrary nature of the possibility. It depends a lot on having an approved federal budget, and if you pay any attention to politics you know that isn't easy. So no matter what you do, what your boss does (or they're boss, or Sec Def, or President), the specter of it can linger. Absolutely the antithesis of the security I took this job for. That said, in my 15 years furloughs were implemented twice and both times some things / departments were still funded or partially funded. So I actually was "furloughed" once for like 3 days before I was called back and we were excepted from jump the other time. And in both cases pay was restored in full to those who got the temporary cut.
Click to expand...

yeah, FERS isn’t shabby at all if you have the time in. It’s no where near as lucrative as the old CSRS retirement, but I came in at 20, so depending on when I retire I’ll be at around 40% of my high 3, plus my TSP earnings. My wife is a teacher so she’ll get a state pension along with mine. We won’t be rich, but we are very comfortable.

Also, working in ships maintenance we don’t have a lot of fat in our positions so we typically don’t see the stereotypical lazy government workers. We have tight schedules for ships repair and we’re resource constrained so it’s very busy. I’m not on the deck plates anymore turning wrenches, but even on the white collar side of things everyone in my sphere is very busy.
 
I joined the Air Force in the 80s as a Nuclear Missile Crew Member. Was underground controlling Minuteman III missiles waiting for the Soviets to try a fast one. It was kinda fun. My friends all busted on me for taking a govt job as I made less money. The benefits were fantastic though, and through all the financial downturns I stayed employed while my friends from college were all in and out of work. The Air Force then PAID me to go to medical school. After 25 years I retired with no debt from school. Had a great career afterwards. The health insurance I have forever is cheap and very good. I never have to worry about benefits. The retirement is great as well. I have done way better in life than almost all of my college friends. I have no regrets about it. I got to fly jets, drive tanks and armored personnel carriers, fire a bazooka (Light Anti-tank Weapon) and fly helicopters--all without formal training. I can of course take apart an M-16 and .50 cal in my sleep. I also had my finger on the button for ICBMs. It was pretty rewarding. Definitely unusual to have this breadth of experience.
 
Government jobs are fine if you have no ambition and are not adverse to rewards going to seniority over talent.
 
tuckermaclain said:
I joined the Air Force in the 80s as a Nuclear Missile Crew Member. Was underground controlling Minuteman III missiles waiting for the Soviets to try a fast one. It was kinda fun. My friends all busted on me for taking a govt job as I made less money. The benefits were fantastic though, and through all the financial downturns I stayed employed while my friends from college were all in and out of work. The Air Force then PAID me to go to medical school. After 25 years I retired with no debt from school. Had a great career afterwards. The health insurance I have forever is cheap and very good. I never have to worry about benefits. The retirement is great as well. I have done way better in life than almost all of my college friends. I have no regrets about it. I got to fly jets, drive tanks and armored personnel carriers, fire a bazooka (Light Anti-tank Weapon) and fly helicopters--all without formal training. I can of course take apart an M-16 and .50 cal in my sleep. I also had my finger on the button for ICBMs. It was pretty rewarding. Definitely unusual to have this breadth of experience.
Click to expand...
Wow you retired after 25 years with a medical degree? Nice. Are you a practicing doctor now?
 
I used to work for US government in Texas. It was pretty bad because of you guessed it, people high on power trips. Now, depending on the service you will be pursuing it can be ok. After my chief resigned it was very bad. All the powerful families already had their person campaigning for his position. I was approached directly and openly threatened. I resigned some months later after attempting to train my replacement. I don't know much about other countries' governments, I was approached by a few but I had enough by that time. I picked up a job at the attorney general's afterwards doing data analysis and such so maybe that's something you might look into.
 
I don't but my company sells to the government. Great business, their financial viability is guaranteed, most projects are quite stress free generally.
 
Lol being burnt out and wanting to work for the gov. Benefits are hands down the best but it's very monotonous so it'll come down to how fun your coworkers are.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
1,237,771
Messages
55,516,194
Members
174,806
Latest member
hardscarf

Share this page

Back
Top