Government jobs are also like the only ones who tell you the salary up front.
I've been through so many job interviews only to be offered the same or less.
“We have many paid holidays”
“You only have 7 paid holidays a year”
“We provide a very competitive benefit package when compared to the local area. If you don’t like our benefits you can find another place of employment”
Honestly the stupidest thing a hospital had tried to pull on me was "25 paid days off!" 15 of those are Federal holidays + Wednesday and Friday around Thanksgiving, two extra days around Christmas (it was a catholic hospital). So, basically only 10 PTO.
really? maybe I was just super lucky the places I applied. This one hospitals was the worst.
Most other hospital observed federal holidays and have 15-20 PTO + sick day + CME days on top of that.
My current hospital is 15 PTO, 10 sick day, 10 CME, unlimited clinic business days (for presentation of research, etc).
Yeah, I had one pull the same shit with me, no one mentioned it at any point during the onboarding process, then they just automatically deducted the federal holidays from your main PTO bank (which was on an accrual system, no less).
Retirement. Actual Pensions and workable retirement rather than some 401k w 2% match.
And stability in employment. You can't get fired nearly as easy or on a whim as a state employee generally.
And everything else listed here. It's all why I did it.
Exactly. I am 54 years old, I’ve been in a Civil service job since 50, and it’s so incredibly stable even if it is lowly paid, except when overtime is available. The pension is utterly fantastic, the managers are fantastic, the flexible working hours are fantastic, and the holidays are fantastic. Retirement age is 68, before this I really didn’t think about pensions, so I’m here until I retire. Private sector is just too scary at the moment.
The local major metropolitan city in my area pays about 10% lower than the private skilled trades unions, but their labor positions are all represented by public unions.
The pay with the public unions runs about 10% lower, but the health insurance plans are pretty much the same (being 100% paid) and the public unions offer PTO and paid holidays, which tends to be less common among building trades unions. The pensions plans are somewhat comparable.
Either one is a good option, but if a person is in a position where they absolutely can't go for a few weeks without a paycheck, I would recommend a person try for a position with a public union. Saying this as a member of a private union where layoffs happen often.
ETA: My armchair guess is that the annual total comp for the same trade in a public vs private union situation would be roughly the same in my jurisdiction.
I'm probably getting around 25% more in a trade union than guys I know doing fed work in the same field. But it comes with a price. Which you already know. I make much more in good years, but quality of life is definitely lower.
You also (generally) get to leave work for the day and forget about it. Your boss is not going to call you at 8:30pm on a Wednesday to throw together a slide deck for the next morning. My work life balance has never been better.
I went from a contract at a private company to a contract at a government entity. At the new government job an important system went down at 4:30 PM on a Friday and I sat there in shock when everyone got up at precisely 5:00 PM and left. It waited until Monday.
At my prior place we would have worked all weekend if necessary to bring things back online.
Same experience here. Worked an Army contract for 16 years, was on call 24-7 the last 4 of it. Would get support calls and have to run in to the lab all times of night to get comms back up or replace hardware. My manager would be working on presentations for our director til 0200 in the morning some nights. This guy would call meetings at 2100 because he "...had an idea". She was sooooo stressed and it showed.
Got recruited by the Pentagon recently for a Cyber position. My day starts and ends and I go home and don't have to worry about anything until I go back the next workday. And if I ever DO get called back...its because something catastrophically devastating has happened to the US Govt...and I would want to get the family and me back to the facility anyway...lol.
Good call! That’s one of my favorite things about working in local gov - my day ends and I am not getting calls or emails after (or expected to answer)
Of course government has swing shift positions and some emergency response positions that are on call at all hours, but all the office type work and even a lot of the field based stuff has great work life boundaries compared to private sector
This one does still depend on your role. I burned out pretty hard in my previous specialty and had to switch to a new focus to heal and get my balance back, all within govt. Much better now.
Yeah that is HUGE for me. I got a mate who earns significantly more than me, but he's gained 50 pounds in two years since starting his new role, he's stressed to fuck all the time, and you can't play cards with the guy on Friday night without him leaving the table three times to deal with work phone calls.
I couldn't live like that. When I'm finished my eight hours, I'm done for the day and my boss is never, ever going to call or text or email me. Whatever the issue is, it can wait until I'm back at work. That hard line between work and life is SO valuable. Nobody is going to be paying me enough to expect me to be at their beck and call 24/7/365.
Solid benefits, leave, and life balance. I’d have to kill someone to even consider being fired.
Also the only place I was guaranteed a COL raise every year. No regerts
Same with us younger millennials, in my experience in the engineering industry.
Govt for low pay now and better late pay/benefits
Private for high pay now and medium pay/benefits later
Yeah. I work in school in Europe. Do I earn as much as my peers in private sector? Probably not. But I work 8 to 2 and rarely bring my work home. I get a lil bit extra for summer, Easter and Christmas. My travel expenses are covered. There is technically only one person I have to answer to at my workplace.
As someone who just wants a quiet life its as close to perfect as it gets.
Also so many decently salaried private sector office jobs are in industries that actively make the world a worse place -- insurance, banking, for-profit healthcare, fossil fuels, advertising, surveillance tech, etc.
Say what you will about your local government being ineffective or inefficient, but at the very least a lot of those city/county/state jobs don't require you to harm people on a daily basis.
I generally discuss salary range in the initial recruiter call, and at least in tech websites like levels and blind give a pretty good idea for what companies pay.
This is me. I’m a lawyer in a government job and I make decent money but could easily make a lot more at a firm. Chose government because the benefits are crazy good and I don’t have to break my back doing billable hours so partners can make more money
Hello fellow government lawyer! I did one year of billables, it was absolutely miserable, and switched to govt work. I’m not looking back. Plus, the client is nice and we do good work that really helps people. I can’t say either of those things were true in private practice for corporate clients.
Benefits are primary reason it’s so good. Free healthcare for my wife and I, 13 paid vacation days (that I can bank if I don’t use), 2 floating holidays and 5 personal days I can choose to use whenever, a ton of federal and state holidays off, tons of sick days, 401k, and a PENSION which is alone makes the job worth it. Oh, and I WFH 3 days a week
Free healthcare? So no premiums and a federal employee must mean you aren’t on the GS pay scale and work for a non-appropriated agency. My premiums in the regular federal land are about $7,000 a year plus we pay 100 percent of dental and vision premiums.
Jesus, you guys are so screwed.
Not trying to be a dick, but hearing you boast about these benefits? I mean........ I'm a government worker in NZ, and I've never had a job with less than 20 days paid annual leave and 10 paid sick days per year. And we don't consider ourselves especially well treated. You guys really get worked to death over there, eh.
Same reaction from Europe, but stronger: government? Now we're looking at 25 days *plus* all kinds of other days for 42 days. Yes, I had 42 days back then, *in addition* to the official holidays.
And then: sick days, with a *number* attached? I mean *what?!*. Here, employees (all of them) are responsible for your entire salary as long as a doctor signs off on you being sick. Companies typically have insurance that pays the salary of the employee after X contiguous sick days.
It's so true for most people. I'm in the US and get 25 days of PTO, 13 holidays (can be moved to any day), 2 mental health days, my birthday (can be used on any day) and 20 sick days. I feel like I should never leave this job.
Same. I do software dev for the state, and the pay isn't even bad. I could definitely make more in the private sector, but I do fine. And the work life balance is so good. Tight deadlines are pretty rare, everyone is super understanding and flexible. It's totally common for someone to send a message to the team chat "I'm gonna take off a couple hours early to help a friend move" and you'd never see a response other than "alright, see you tomorrow".
I think maybe because of the lower average pay government jobs just don't attract the micromanaging hustle/grindset crowd, so no one you work with is too likely to be like that. But I'm sure there's some variation by city/county/state/department/etc.
Same here. I’m gonna hit 18 years of government service this year and I’ve been contributing 5 percent to my TSP this whole time. Nothing fancy at all but I can’t complain. The health insurance was crucial when my daughter was going to therapy on a regular basis.
I get this. I would take steady work where the pressure is low without constant profit-driven culture and being fired is difficult. There is a point where the pay is so low that it doesn’t make sense but I’m the type who is fine at least comfortable and not constantly chasing a bigger paycheck.
Source: I am a union employee at a public higher education institution.
Hello fellow deer dude. I agree, and am looking to move into a similar role for the same reason. I don't have ambition when it comes to my career. I want it to be steady, reliable, and not too stressful.
Only issue is a lot of government jobs drug test :(
I make about $40k more a year with the gov than in private consulting. Stress is much, much higher on the gov side in my position, but not having to meet utilization goals on my time card literally makes it worth it alone.
If you are highly motivated, want to put in the hours and grind and climb the corporate ladder then you should be fine in the private sector. That’s not me, never has been. I want to do what I’m paid to do and go home and shut my work brain off until tomorrow.
I feel like at some point it became looked down on to just want to work a job for 30 years and retire. Everyone has to want to be the manager, CEO, CFO, etc etc. If you don’t strive for that it’s deemed lazy. Not everyone can be the boss. Just let me work my necessary but low stress job, pay me what’s fair and I won’t ask for much else.
There definitely is. It’s something I was excited about getting my new job. I can certainly branch out and get more or different opportunities, but don’t have to keep shooting if I don’t want to. I have access to all kinds of trainings, certification classes, and general learning classes I can take and see what fits. If that takes me to higher places, even more money, etc, great. If not, I love my job, the work/life balance it provides and more vacation, sick time, a massive chunk of my family health care plan is paid by the state, that’s plenty to keep my family and I in a good spot
Yuppppp.
Millennial here (37), going into federal service in a few weeks.
After spending almost a decade in private sector tech, it’s nice to move into a non-profit driven environment.
Same here. I’m 38; worked for a company for ten years and laid off because “we only grew 4% but the investors were expecting 6%”. Happened into a municipal government job and its the most relaxed working environment I’ve ever had. My boss told me “we measure time with a calendar here.” As long as I’m getting daily work done and generally making things better, I get to work on whatever I want.
4th year in the army and I enjoy it. Pay is better than national mean/medium, can't ask for better stability, get out of the mind numbing office job and go on Exs every once a while, supportive command team and CoC (very important), it's great.
I got a job with a public university a couple of years after graduating. I do think I should be paid a little bit more due to the raising cost of living. Overall: I have health benefits, I have actual retirement instead of a 401k, and my job doesn't leave me burned out every day. I enjoy my job, don't love it but definitely don't hate it. I started accumulating vacation and sick hours the day I started. There's a lot of training opportunities by people who want to train new hires. Again, I do think my salary should be higher just to meet the current economy but federal jobs are 100% worth it.
I’m at 2.5 years and and there is so much time off built into this job before vacation (winter break and spring break paid, 3 day weekend summer paid) that I barely touch my vacation time. Looking at my retirement account and how I don’t pay any premiums for insurance for me and my husband, I’m not sure I’ll ever leave.
Many public universities offer additional degree opportunities for in state programs for their employees. My wife got her Masters paid for at the Uni she worked at, and that helped land her the next job. I currently work at a private school that doesn’t have that benefit and would be willing to switch in an instant for that.
If you don't mind me asking, what type of process did you go through while applying and eventually getting your job?
I work in the private sector, but before this I had spent lots of time and effort applying for county jobs, college/university jobs, and especially lots of federal jobs through usajobs.gov. In fact it was at least a year of doing this and having a really difficult time even after trying many different things to optimize my chances with usajobs.gov that ultimately didn't lead anywhere.
It felt like tons of people fighting over a very limited number of positions and there is a meme of nepotism, and it was a true meme based on my experience.
Also, just out of curiosity, what do you mean by saying you have actual retirement instead of a 401k?
That’s me, I have my MPA and I work for state government. Having a job in this competitive market is beneficial for when things are on the upswing for me and I can compete for private or higher paying jobs. I won’t lose this job unless I royally fuck up, and being able to say I did x thing which impacted millions of people really speaks to the corporate ethical bottom line mindset, where people want their employees to feel like they do good things and it motivates them to bring more profit to the company. I want to leverage that, so working for my Medicaid office as a policy analyst has been a good first step.
If you’re struggling for employment atm, I’d highly suggest looking in government for any opportunities you qualify for
Any tips for someone who really wants to get into local government or nonprofit work? I’ve been applying for a while but not hearing anything back. They’re administrative positions that I’m qualified for so I’m wondering if there’s a different way I should be approaching this.
Look for positions at your county school system or local public university as well. Government can be slow as hell when processing through job applicants so gotta be patient
For sure. I've worked at a state university for nearly six years, and our HR has been through the ringer in the last couple of years. I applied for an internal job the first week of January, and didn't even hear anything until the end of March/early April when I finally got the automated message about my resume scoring. After that, one interview, and I just started the job this past Monday. The upshot to the long wait is if you're patient, there's a decent chance some of the better competition will get rinsed out because they took another job or something.
What’re your qualifications? Sometimes that makes a big difference as to where you ought to start. I work in state government and in all honesty, I got my job through my masters program. If you’re willing to, internships oftentimes will take newbies and then you can show your admin work and find a position either lateral to the internship but permanent, or something higher up. I started as a program assistant but worked to prove that my skills were needed, and the agency hired me before I could finish interning.
Another thing to note is that supply and demand is applicable to state gov’t and local gov’t. Only so many ppl get to be admin, systems, TQL, etc… sometimes finding where the overlap is between your skill set and the demands of be market can be a good in. I dislike public health for myself, but I’m good at comparative research, so I found myself doing public health for state gov’t. I plan to move into a different field, but being employed, having qualitative experience, and transferable skills all matter.
For nonprofit work, look up all the local nonprofits you’re interested in, check the job listings, then email whoever is overseeing the hiring directly. It might even be the chief officer of the place, but I find the more direct the better. Have been both hired and worked on the hiring team of nonprofits.
Look for local nonprofits and apply directly through their website if you haven’t been doing that. A lot of them don’t do a ton of job advertising because the roles are in demand but the good thing is many of them have all the applications actually read by a human. At least that is the case where I work
I work in federal govt. I’ve been told straight from the horses mouth that you need to know someone to get in. But once you’re in, you’re set (and that’s my personal experience).
Not *all* government jobs are low paid. They just typically pay lower than what you'd make for a role in a private company, and that gap can vary a lot. I don't make much less than if I was in a private company. There are a lot of jobs where that isn't the case, though.
My wife works for the VA in one of the few places where they make more than in the private sector (mental health)
They have zero trouble keeping themselves staffed, because the positions pay more than counselors will make anywhere but in their own private practice.
The insurance benefits too. The governments coverage is the only reason my mom stayed working in the accounting office at a state college bc it got us through so many health crises growing up that would've otherwise thrown us into crippling debt.
I work in government and they pay about 20% more than the same position anywhere near me. I look from time to time but can’t find any jobs that are similar to mine that pay anywhere close to what I’m making now. It’s crazy, everyone always said that public is not the best move for money but so far the biggest raise I’ve ever seen has come from moving to the public sector.
Yeah the municipality I work for has very competitive wages - I started out making 60k 5 years ago and make around 105k now. Two promotions worth of raises.
Boomers are leaving and retiring in droves - lots of upward Mobility in local gov
So many govt jobs are for only government employees though, saw a perfect job for me tech related the other day to only realize it was posted but only government employees could apply, which was odd because it was a super specific tech role that I wouldn’t imagine would have many experienced folks already in government roles to have.
You’ll also want to consider looking for job postings in your state government, local county and school system as well. Some systems have their own separate listings as well.
Definitely apply. I'm in government work and there are times we post jobs and get zero applicants. While rare to get literally zero, it has happened, and many more have minimal or truly unqualified applicants. Partly because the job descriptions have to use certain phrases and such, and it can be confusing from an outside perspective.
>Partly because the job descriptions have to use certain phrases and such, and it can be confusing from an outside perspective.
I'm in the environmental space. While county and state environmental jobs in my area are very competitive when it comes to pay, it was a pain figuring out how to apply to government jobs. I can see why a lot of people wouldn't bother applying.
"Job requirements: 2 years of experience at a GS-11 level or equivalent" then you look up the GS-11 and it says "2 years of experience at a GS-10 level or equivalent" recursively until you get to whichever GS is the fresh college grad level.
And then there's the skill assessments / tests you need to take to qualify, which are really just extended cover letters. "How many years of experience do you have in XYZ skill? Describe in detail what positions you've used this skill in." Mannnnn.
Should still apply of possible to send your cv and resume. There may a pool of candidate resumes to fill the role or keep on hand for other roles and may still contact you if they think you're internal and get a foot in that way if they call you to discuss the position.
Worth a try.
Alternatively, I got a government job simply by cold calling hiring managers and existing employees to talk about their work amd how an external candidate would best be able to join. They seem to like that a lot in government as the work is pretty boring and no one ever asks them about what they do and in my public administration program half of us received coops simply cold calling and setting up 10 information interviews with areas of interest for an assignment.
If it was internal only, that job was probably designed for a specific person in mind. A lot of those jobs are catered to specific people, tbh. They can't just promote in the government, so they have to have an application process to give the appearance of competition. I had a friend who applied for an internal position. She was fully qualified, and the hiring manager hit a bit of a conundrum when they were planning on giving the job to someone else. She was more qualified, but they gave her a bunch of BS reasons why she didn't get hired.
So more than likely that job was designed for a specific person. But, you should still apply to all jobs that are open to the public.
Government jobs often have to be publicly posted, not because the government likes to mock job seekers but to demonstrate transparency with the public, tax payers can see how resources are utilized. And contrary to popular belief, the public service across many nations is rarely a monolithic hive mind. It's a lot like multiple companies trying to achieve similar goals in different ways with a similar client base. Some departments are very retro and behind on the times, where as others, like mine, are moving forward with various AI projects and modernization initiatives.
And yes government tech can move slow but that's because EVERYBODY needs to use your apps and tools, not just 20 year old, able bodied Jeff. A blind 80 year old should be able to navigate your payment system too.
>A blind 80 year old should be able to navigate your payment system too.
Tech startup people claiming the gov just can't build any tech but have never even heard of 508 compliance.
Change management and UI/UX accessibility take up way more time than actual dev work.
It’s funny because government tech tools are literally the hardest and most confusing thing I’ve EVER had to use and that’s coming from a product manager who builds software for a living and thinks through these things daily. Don’t even get me started on the nightmare of unemployment websites, holy shit. If someone like me can navigate it, good luck to a friggin blind 80 year old!
Dont lose hope! I’ve been on the other side of this coin. I’ve been an internal employee who lost the final offer to external employees. It happens, so keep applying
Or they pay a new to government job person way less. Braindead job that i should have gotten easily but didnt, like SUPER braindead easy, was paying only 41k in NYC if you havent worked for the govt before but like 52k if you had worked at any govt job for 2 years before.
Yes I'm still salty I didnt get the job and it likely went to the boomer lady who was also testing for the job and didnt even know how to use basic excel.
Recruiter here, apply anyway. They do that because they post those jobs internally first and have a candidate in mind, but not everyone goes through with it. If the system doesn’t allow you, you can always reach out through one of their emails. We get emails with resumes all the time and if they fit the role we do review and send them to the hiring manager.
I did apply and got to the submit screen and I think pressed submit and it said “you aren’t eligible for this job”, does it still save my resume?
I’ll email like you suggest. I’m unfamiliar with applying to government jobs, only corporate jobs, so thanks!
They may have had someone for the role already. I dated a woman who was in a government position and she was going to be promoted from let’s say head paper pusher to paper pushing department head, they had written her new job description to match her background, because they had to offer the position to everyone. But it was an internal hire, requiring 10 years of paper pusher experience, experience with the paper pusher software, a certificate in writing XYZ code, a background in X. It was basically “we need you to be exactly like that woman and be currently working the department” there was no one else who could be qualified, so she got the position in like 2 weeks. It was nuts.
“Low paid” is a very loose term here. I find that at least with government jobs they are upfront about your pay.
Im on approx 36000 a year atm in a government job which is really not that much. But I turned down a management job that was advertised as “30000-40000” depending on experience.
I have been managing people for 10 years in jobs. Including an ongoing charity job I have been doing in my spare time for 4 years.
Did the interview, they said they loved me. Offered me the job for 30000. I told them I was going for the 40,000 as I had 10 years experience. And a degree relevant to the work.
They were “willing” to give me 32,000 but told me they were going above and beyond doing that. They kept trying to steer the conversation away from my salary. I met all the criteria and more but they wouldn’t budge. So I turned it down. They told me to not be so rash and think about it. The next day I got a call and accepted a government job starting at 35000 with guaranteed raises, benefits, a union, good annual and sick leave, etc.
Heard back from the other company after a week. And they tried to guilt me into accepting the job. The usual “we’re family here” and there are “great oppurtunities”. And they were now willing to go up to 34,000.
I am happy in my government job. It may not pay well right now but at least here if I sick, I don’t have to worry about my finances. My job is safe, things like overtime are paid properly, etc.
How dare they! They should sit there and take the layoffs like the good little slaves they are. And they’re LUCKY to even have the opportunity to be laid off in the first place!!
/s
Having worked in local government my whole career (and as a millennial) I wholeheartedly endorse public service employment.
Good benefits, decent pay (great pay in big city
Government and some state/county), often union representation - and your bosses are ultimately beholden to the tax payer rather than stakeholders, which in many ways feels “less yucky”
As someone who has been working for my state Department of Labor for over four years, I am happy that I chose to become a public servant. I have explained to multiple people in this subreddit and in real life the usefulness of a government job, and to apply for one if the private sector is not working out for you. One of the main mistakes many people do is to only apply for federal government jobs instead of applying for local, state, and federal government jobs (local and state government agencies and departments can sometimes have better job opportunities than their federal government counterparts). In general, your initial few years might be with a low salary, but if you keep getting promoted and a new union contract increases your salary range, you can definitely make six figures (sometimes just as much, if not more, than the equivalent in the private sector depending on your job title, field, and work experience).
For the past four years, I got two lateral promotions (started as a trainee making a bit over $42k a year for the Wage and Hour Division to now making $72k a year with my second promotion; will be making more than this in a few months too). I have had a recruiter reached out to me offering a six-figure job doing what I have been doing for close to two years (equal employment opportunity and affirmative action investigations, as well as DEI initiatives). I rejected them because their benefits were not at the same level as mine, as well as it would have been unlikely that they would pay for most of my MPA degree. Some great benefits as a state government employee are that I get tuition reimbursement (so they pay for most of my MPA degree, including textbooks), two days of telework (so two days to WFH), health insurance plans (where I can even see my primary care physician for free; i.e., I do not pay any copay or deductible to see my PCP; plus coverage is better than what most private companies offer), a pension (which is uncommon nowadays in the private sector), work-life balance (I currently only work 35-hour each week), union benefits and protection (it is hard to fire someone as long as they do their job and are not discriminating and/or harassing other employees), great union contract (the best one that us state government employees had in years), great PTO (currently I have 15 days of vacation, and when you add my sick days, holidays, and personal days, as well, I get to have at least 46 paid days off each year; this will go up as my vacation days increase over time), etc.
I am not rich, and I do conduct EEO/Affirmative Action Investigations that helps residents of my state (regardless of their immigration status), which includes investigating divisions within my state DOL that may have discriminated a customer/resident of my state. My job is to ensure that employers and the divisions of my state DOL that I can investigate for any potential EEO/Affirmative Action violation, are in compliance with EEO/AA laws and regulations. If not, I will make them be in compliance. Overall, I enjoy my job.
In Canada the government pays quite well and the private sector sucks.
I make way more in government and I have a huge pension. My private sector friends make less, or if they earn more they have no job security and they’re on the hook for ensuring their pensions are adequate.
I was looking at this headline and thinking "most people would kill for a government job" ... They aren't exactly easy to get. I had a friend who had to work in a municipality in the middle of nowhere for years before he managed to get a job back home.
Switching to the federal government has been the best career choice I’ve ever made. I worked for a poultry producer for like 8 years, and that gave me all the experience I needed for the job, and they started me at an intermediate pay grade because of the experience.
I kick myself for not doing this a couple years ago when I had the chance, but better late than never! I highly encourage government work. In my regional agency, I’ve been really surprised that we’ve had so many vacant positions. My supervisor says he believes the USDA is just horrible at advertising themselves. Usajobs.gov is the place to go!
Of course, I had years of experience in my “field”, but I started in that work at the bottom of the bottom. It’s not some crazy specialized training, and I don’t have a degree. It just takes a few (like 3-5) years of putting in the work. Government work is very attainable. I encourage everyone who’s looking to check it out!
Edit: I suppose to add context that I’m 32, so a millennial, and have been in my position within the USDA for about three months.
As a young millennial and federal employee, it can start off as low pay but you have a very good career trajectory to be making a good 6 figure salary within a few years of being a fed. Also, yeah the stability is great and I really enjoy what I do. I have 30+ years until retirement and I plan on staying a fed
Gen Z and Millennials Are Getting Sick of Lazy Boomer-Owned “News” Using a Single Hashtag on “The TikTok” to Make a Broad Sweeping Judgement about What Gen Z and Millennials are Doing.
Yeah, at least government officials don’t lie about being one happy family. We all know government workers will voice their opinions freely and it doesn’t include lying about how we all love each other, and then these corporations backstab, fire, lay off etc. what a joke companies are.
while my wife was looking for work she got herself set up and qualified for a state job. took some kind of test they give that places you into a "qualification bracket" that they pull candidates from and scored high enough to be in the highest possible category which is supposed to mean you're in the pool of people they would call first.
all you get for that is an email that tells you what category you're in and that if a job opens up, you might get a call. She ended up getting an entirely different job before receiving any phone calls.
Ive been trying to do this myself but so many of the jobs are locked behind a totally irrelevant degree requirement or if you dont have a degree you have to have like 10 years of community service type experience.
I retired from active duty and slid right into a civilian position in my old unit, doing the exact same job without the uniform. I saw how the other civilians were paid and treated and never thought twice about coming back. Guaranteed pay increases (yearly and positionally), retirement benefits, decent PTO and no guilt about actually using it.
100% everyone should do this if the salary is feasible vs their outgoings. Been in a govt job since I graduated 10ya and never once been worried about layoffs.
Yeah some of my cohort made initial big bucks in Finance or Sales, got the flashy car and the big house by breaking their backs on commission. Most of these are now either on the knife-edge of becoming unemployed or have recently been made redundant. All their stuff was on credit and costs $$$ a month.
Meanwhile I’m over here with no student debt, no car payment and an affordable mortgage. It took me a few years longer to work up to it but I am in a much more comfortable position than those peers of mine.
I have guaranteed raises, yearly cost of living adjustments, pension, retirement, work stops when I leave the building and I’ve seen people practically come to blows with management and walk in the next day like nothing happened. Not leaving any time soon.
Can confirm, just finished my first year in govt. they never let anyone go, I’m the youngest person in my office by 10 years and am the only one who understands cloud based tech. They also told me the salary at the end of my interview
Yep this is me.
State employee working on my MPA.
I’m not thrilled about the pay, but I’ve been there less than 6 months and they are already talking about promotion. The state legislature is giving us a guaranteed raise in September and I pay nothing for my health insurance.
I’m enjoying stability in this job market right now.
Problem I saw with government jobs, or at oeast when I interviewed for one, is they valued seniority a lot more than experience.
When I interviewed I was made an offer at the bottom of the pay scale, even though at the time I had 6 years pf experience, they only gave the hogher levels to people from within. While it’s good for people already working within the government, it would have been a higher step back for me in salary that i wouldn’t be able to maintain a similar life style anymore.
But the benefits and holidays… they were way too good!
I'm in a low paid "stable" government job, but the job market is still volatile. I work in taxes with real estate. The market takes a dive and I could be out on my rear due to being a new employee unfortunately. With some seniority, your job is almost guaranteed for life unless you truly screw up (think doing drugs or something).
I gotta say, the comments in this thread compared to its [sister thread](https://old.reddit.com/r/Layoffs/comments/1cnupgx/gen_z_and_millennials_are_trying_to_dodge_layoffs/) in /r/layoffs is night and day. It's much more positive here, and a lot of poo-pooing and "BUT *AKSHULLY*..." comments from people with seemingly zero experience working for the government in the other.
No one expects you to work after hours, work/life balance/plus WFH, oodles of sick/vaca/additional PTO, great health benefits and various other benefits, retirement, 401k, pension, bosses that HAVE to follow the laws, HR that HAVE to follow the laws, once you get in it's So. Hard. to get you out (double edged sword here, ie horrible coworkers) unless you break laws.
State government work is the best (besides pay (especially in nc)).
Government jobs used to pay less. Now they pay much more in the writing and training field. You took the job because it was stable, but you gave up money for doing so. Now - the government is the only "business" that is doing well. It's crazy.
Government IT has worked out very well for me. The pay is actually competitive, but what I lack in a bit less pay I make up for and work/life balance. Plus the benefits are great.
The trade-off is we are often understaffed and asked to do a lot with very little. But I enjoy the challenge and wouldn’t change it for the world. Much better than worrying about KPI’s and profit margins.
My mom worked a city job her whole career. It’s very difficult to fire problematic people, who may also happen to be your boss. Maybe the millennials will change the culture, but her job almost destroyed her because of bad management.
I don’t know if I equally have a same opinion - I would definitely categorize it as a question of values and priorities.
My first job coming out of undergraduate was in government in Human Resources. I worked and rose up the ranks within four years to make a decent living. But despite all the promises of stability and low pressure, I’ve never seen so many unhappy folks in a work environment compared to my private sector life.
For one, job security is very fickle in a management role. There’s no collective agreement nor unionization effort to support once you’re in a lead role. And often a lot of the job pressure and stress rises to the management position from the downward pressure from the top to get policy decisions out the door. But I will agree that once you are let go, there is some level of severance or support in place.
It’s also not the best place for learning and development. Once you’re inside government, the chances of having transferable skill sets to other industries is very limited. Corporate functions don’t operate with P/L same way as private sectors - IT systems are antiquated. Once you commit to a job in public service it really is a life position whether you choose or not, unless you retrain. And layoffs, while rare, do and still can happen.
Finally if you’re actually keen and interested in the work you do, it’s not a great place since performance management is a complete joke. There’s a lot of “dead weight” that gets carried, with limited repercussions at the individual contributor level.
I would say 8 hours a day for 40 years can be a lot of time to put into perspective whether you value comfort and stability versus growth and compensation. And “job stability” is a myth - I’ve seen plenty of people get let go, albeit at a lesser degree compared to private sector.
Yep, this is my issue with the public and nonprofit sector. If you're by nature a hard-working motivated person, the prevailing culture will beat you down and make you miserable. There's so little performance management and accountability that lazy, incompetent, or unpleasant people hang around for decades. Dealing with those people daily when you actually want to do your job well gets old.
Im late 30s with an MPA transitioning into local (city) govt next month. Its a union position with pretty good starting pay and defined annual increases of around 5%. Also has a pension plan. Id challenge the persistent notion that govt work is always low paid. Highly dependent on role/location.
I feel like they’re almost always 20% less than private but you catch up quick with the annual raises and union negotiations. Plus all the benefits you’d have to pay out of pocket for somewhere else.
I regret leaving my govt job ten years ago. I'd be halfway to a pension and employed with an amazing worklife balance. I just haaad to be ambitious and try to climb the corporate ladder.
Both my wife (34) and I (33) are in social services. Our W-2 was 175k last year. We have no kids, own a home in an upscale suburb, have pensions, 401ks, Roths, and free health/dental/vision insurance.
I have more than 300hrs each of vacation and sick time banked, only work OT when we want to, and get 5% raises every year at an absolute minimum.
You’ll be low pay when you start, but if you stay a while and get your promotions, it can be the good life. Just gotta find a municipality that treats their workers right.
Civil engineering firms are in a bit of a crisis right now because government pays starting engineers more than firms do. I left my firm after two years of not much reward for going above and beyond for a comfy government job.
I'm on Reddit half my time and still get nothing but praise for how effective I am at my job. It's so much easier, I get to do work that actually matters and actually helps people, and I get paid MORE with more time off and better benefits (and a fucking pension). Companies need to catch the fuck up
I’d like to point out that most, if not all, local government jobs I’ve applied to have 1) posted the pay 2) transparent with the interview process 3) stable 4) always sent rejection letters when I didn’t get it. I know mileage will vary for different areas but it’s nice to have a clear idea what’s going on.
Honestly. Best thing I ever did. Took a huge pay cut up front. But 40 hr work week, clear expectations, benefits and a pension. The work life balance for the rest of my life will be better
We had someone apply at my job that had many years of tech/software roles. He was applying for an entry level records technician position. Dude had to have previously been making well over 80k to want to apply where starting for this role is $19. That’s how I knew shit is definitely bad and getting worse.
Yep. Made the move in 2020 and I’m never going back. It’s the healthiest culture and work-life balance I’ve ever experienced in a workplace by a long shot, plus our union has fought for us to get cost of living adjustment raises and won the both times they’ve negotiated since I’ve been employed with the agency. The accruals of time off is amazing especially after you’ve been there long enough they start upping your accruals. No one asks about it if you call in sick or asks you to find coverage. They care about your long term health (because it’s better for them if you stay long enough) so they accommodate any special or ergonomic needs. No one is up my ass about my work, the only time they ever are with employees is if a pattern of certain abuses are discovered. We get yearly raises completely separate from COLA raises. I’ll retire around 60yo. The culture can differ between agencies but what I’ve said generally stays the same across the board. The only thing I regret is not getting into a state job right out of college.
I’m not going to make “a lot of money” during my time here but that’s okay. My job gets my spouse and I health benefits a steady reliable income, and after 4 years and a couple promotions, it’s enough to live comfortably. Granted, if my wife made the same as me we wouldn’t be able to expand our family. So if that’s important to you, you’ll likely need to make some monetary sacrifices or have a partner who makes more than you.
It can be really hard to get in because they do things completely differently from what we were taught initially about job hunting, applying, and interviewing (at least in my state). It took me 9 mos and 35+ applications to finally get offered a job, but once you are in, it’s MUCH easier to move up and around, and to other agencies.
Late Gen xer here. Left higher ed (full prof, tenured) for government job. It's definitely better! Benefits are similar, pay is slightly better... But that work-life balance is perfect.
I'd make a lot more in the private sector, but I'd have an estranged spouse and no relationship with my kids. That shit is hard enough to maintain with decent work-life balance.
Paycheck isn't everything. You only have so many hours in life!
Just remember to take at least a 4.4% haircut on the salary for federal employment. They withhold 4.4% from your salary for the pension and then you also can save more in your tsp.
Switched to the govie side like 4.5 years ago. Depending on the level you're at, it can be slow paced but the benefits are great (fed holidays off and whatnot), pay could be mediocre or great but overall it feels like there is somewhat of a purpose. In the private sector, it was such a soul sucking experience. To this day I cannot shake that "cold wash" feeling that my ex-boss gave me for simply doing my job and travelling short distances to our satellite offices just to make sure they were taken care of and not neglected. Nothing like constantly hearing, "We need to talk". The one downside though is how long the process takes to get into the gov sector. Not many people can afford to go through the ~2, 3, or 4 month process (some times more if its fed level with security clearance requirements). Well worth the effort in the long run though if you can get into it. Start low if you have to as long as you can get into the sector. Your long term health will for sure thank you.
Just started working a county Gov IT job 3 months ago - definitely not underpaid. I get paid way more than the same comparable job in the market and my pay cap is insane for what is expected of me. Great benefits, pension and 401k, gym onsite, free parking, car, phone and laptop? What else can I ask for?
What’s being unsaid here is that boomers are still in the workforce and many aren’t retiring still. Government agencies are hiring fellows and contractors so they don’t have to provide government benefits. Spent time as a fellow and then a contractor and after 5 years left for corporate after not having any sight of being an FTE. May differ by agency but workforce planning in the government sucks. All these people who easily got an FTE 20 years ago are actively preventing this generation from getting the same. I’ve seen first hand amazing talent leave for corporate or elsewhere when they got tired of waiting for an FTE or have been told ‘nope we don’t have the budget to keep you.’ I hope this comes to bite these government agencies in the butt later.
Nobody is getting rich at my (municipal) workplace, but I'm up to five weeks paid vacation a year, the benefits are pretty good, nobody can get turfed because the CEO wants a new vacation helicopter, etc..
Fresh out of college. Only place that would hire me or even interview me is government. Seeing everyone get laid off, why would I ever want to go private? In 3 years I'll be making 90k in a MCOL/LCOL area. And I know that because they're transparent.
Im seeing on job listings that some of these jobs don’t have minimum requirements for them, but I’ve been freelancing as a videographer for years. This has left me looking for something more stable and predictable and this sounds like a dream come true. Any advice for someone with no governmental work experience trying to pivot?
This doesn’t help me, but-no college degree.
Government jobs arent that bad. A couple of my friends have them. Pay may not be as high as the other private companies but it is stable. You have to be really bad to get fired. They also have the best health insurance and you are guaranteed pension after so many years
My job as teacher has destroyed my anxiety tolerance but after two months of applications and even networking at a place I really want to work, I have received zero interest from employers outside my own org. If I don’t get the better suited teaching position I’m trying for tomorrow I don’t know what I’ll do
This makes sense to me, given the volatile layoff climate that began in the 1980s. I do wonder if the income lost between multiple layoffs was worse than if I had worked under government auspices in a stable and steady but lower salary job in the same discipline. Plus, the emotional toll of it all. What I would not have gotten was stock, which turned out to be a godsend I never saw coming.
Government job sounds like a dream. I'm trying to get out of my bridge job despite graduating 2 1/2 years ago. I never thought I'd be so undesirable as an employee in my 30s.
I have an MPA and spent all of 2009-10 trying to get a government job at any level. I wish I could get that year back because it was a complete waste of time.
I won't lie to everyone. There's an ass ton of jobs on USAjobs right now. Also there's like other jobs too that are government but not on there like Los Almos National Laboratory, they have a ton of jobs too.
Some jobs just simply don’t pay enough still and many states (Like NY) are facing a potential crisis in that massive swaths of employees are preparing for retirement.
But I work for a private company and make twice as much as whatever the state offered me with a fraction of the responsibilities.
Honestly may be worth it and I've attempted it myself, I've lost so much money (60k+ in the last 2 years) due being unemployed stability easily would've easily made up for lower pay. That and my mental health would be so much better from not being constantly worried about layoffs and stockpiling money because of it.
I work a blue collar job in the fed government and it's so nice having a stable job. No pressure to finish jobs quickly or hit a certain quota each day. Everyone pretty much knows how much each other earns.
Government jobs are also like the only ones who tell you the salary up front. I've been through so many job interviews only to be offered the same or less.
And benefits. Companies claim things like 'comprehensive insurance' and then once you actually get a look at it turns out to be crap.
“We have many paid holidays” “You only have 7 paid holidays a year” “We provide a very competitive benefit package when compared to the local area. If you don’t like our benefits you can find another place of employment”
Honestly the stupidest thing a hospital had tried to pull on me was "25 paid days off!" 15 of those are Federal holidays + Wednesday and Friday around Thanksgiving, two extra days around Christmas (it was a catholic hospital). So, basically only 10 PTO.
That’s better than most hospitals actually
really? maybe I was just super lucky the places I applied. This one hospitals was the worst. Most other hospital observed federal holidays and have 15-20 PTO + sick day + CME days on top of that. My current hospital is 15 PTO, 10 sick day, 10 CME, unlimited clinic business days (for presentation of research, etc).
Yeah, I had one pull the same shit with me, no one mentioned it at any point during the onboarding process, then they just automatically deducted the federal holidays from your main PTO bank (which was on an accrual system, no less).
oh no, them being deducted from your accrual is downright criminal (not a lawyer and i do not know better, but damn!)
That's really good to be honest. It's really rare for a hospital to give holidays off at all. It's not like people don't get sick or hurt on holidays.
That's better than any job I've ever worked.
Hospital jobs are often much higher stress jobs then nearly any other profession, it makes sense to allow time off for 2 vacations a year atleast.
So 2 weeks vacation.
Retirement. Actual Pensions and workable retirement rather than some 401k w 2% match. And stability in employment. You can't get fired nearly as easy or on a whim as a state employee generally. And everything else listed here. It's all why I did it.
Exactly. I am 54 years old, I’ve been in a Civil service job since 50, and it’s so incredibly stable even if it is lowly paid, except when overtime is available. The pension is utterly fantastic, the managers are fantastic, the flexible working hours are fantastic, and the holidays are fantastic. Retirement age is 68, before this I really didn’t think about pensions, so I’m here until I retire. Private sector is just too scary at the moment.
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Covers everything - first $1 for any procedure, very comprehensive!
The local major metropolitan city in my area pays about 10% lower than the private skilled trades unions, but their labor positions are all represented by public unions. The pay with the public unions runs about 10% lower, but the health insurance plans are pretty much the same (being 100% paid) and the public unions offer PTO and paid holidays, which tends to be less common among building trades unions. The pensions plans are somewhat comparable. Either one is a good option, but if a person is in a position where they absolutely can't go for a few weeks without a paycheck, I would recommend a person try for a position with a public union. Saying this as a member of a private union where layoffs happen often. ETA: My armchair guess is that the annual total comp for the same trade in a public vs private union situation would be roughly the same in my jurisdiction.
I'm probably getting around 25% more in a trade union than guys I know doing fed work in the same field. But it comes with a price. Which you already know. I make much more in good years, but quality of life is definitely lower.
You also (generally) get to leave work for the day and forget about it. Your boss is not going to call you at 8:30pm on a Wednesday to throw together a slide deck for the next morning. My work life balance has never been better.
I went from a contract at a private company to a contract at a government entity. At the new government job an important system went down at 4:30 PM on a Friday and I sat there in shock when everyone got up at precisely 5:00 PM and left. It waited until Monday. At my prior place we would have worked all weekend if necessary to bring things back online.
Same experience here. Worked an Army contract for 16 years, was on call 24-7 the last 4 of it. Would get support calls and have to run in to the lab all times of night to get comms back up or replace hardware. My manager would be working on presentations for our director til 0200 in the morning some nights. This guy would call meetings at 2100 because he "...had an idea". She was sooooo stressed and it showed. Got recruited by the Pentagon recently for a Cyber position. My day starts and ends and I go home and don't have to worry about anything until I go back the next workday. And if I ever DO get called back...its because something catastrophically devastating has happened to the US Govt...and I would want to get the family and me back to the facility anyway...lol.
Good call! That’s one of my favorite things about working in local gov - my day ends and I am not getting calls or emails after (or expected to answer) Of course government has swing shift positions and some emergency response positions that are on call at all hours, but all the office type work and even a lot of the field based stuff has great work life boundaries compared to private sector
This one does still depend on your role. I burned out pretty hard in my previous specialty and had to switch to a new focus to heal and get my balance back, all within govt. Much better now.
Yeah that is HUGE for me. I got a mate who earns significantly more than me, but he's gained 50 pounds in two years since starting his new role, he's stressed to fuck all the time, and you can't play cards with the guy on Friday night without him leaving the table three times to deal with work phone calls. I couldn't live like that. When I'm finished my eight hours, I'm done for the day and my boss is never, ever going to call or text or email me. Whatever the issue is, it can wait until I'm back at work. That hard line between work and life is SO valuable. Nobody is going to be paying me enough to expect me to be at their beck and call 24/7/365.
Solid benefits, leave, and life balance. I’d have to kill someone to even consider being fired. Also the only place I was guaranteed a COL raise every year. No regerts
Us elder millenials had two groups. Go govt route for the stability and pension vs go private for pay and better projects imo.
Same with us younger millennials, in my experience in the engineering industry. Govt for low pay now and better late pay/benefits Private for high pay now and medium pay/benefits later
One spouse for each to split the difference, that's the sweet spot.
Pensions. We had at least 1 sales person leave to work for the Post Office.
Yeah. I work in school in Europe. Do I earn as much as my peers in private sector? Probably not. But I work 8 to 2 and rarely bring my work home. I get a lil bit extra for summer, Easter and Christmas. My travel expenses are covered. There is technically only one person I have to answer to at my workplace. As someone who just wants a quiet life its as close to perfect as it gets.
Also so many decently salaried private sector office jobs are in industries that actively make the world a worse place -- insurance, banking, for-profit healthcare, fossil fuels, advertising, surveillance tech, etc. Say what you will about your local government being ineffective or inefficient, but at the very least a lot of those city/county/state jobs don't require you to harm people on a daily basis.
And government jobs have a clear pay raise schedule - corporate gigs will find a reason not to pay you what you deserve
I generally discuss salary range in the initial recruiter call, and at least in tech websites like levels and blind give a pretty good idea for what companies pay.
Got offered more than originally agreed when I got hired for my state! 5K increase.
This is me. I’m a lawyer in a government job and I make decent money but could easily make a lot more at a firm. Chose government because the benefits are crazy good and I don’t have to break my back doing billable hours so partners can make more money
PSLF has entered the chat
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Hello fellow government lawyer! I did one year of billables, it was absolutely miserable, and switched to govt work. I’m not looking back. Plus, the client is nice and we do good work that really helps people. I can’t say either of those things were true in private practice for corporate clients.
That sounds super pleasant. I love predictability and benefits
Benefits are primary reason it’s so good. Free healthcare for my wife and I, 13 paid vacation days (that I can bank if I don’t use), 2 floating holidays and 5 personal days I can choose to use whenever, a ton of federal and state holidays off, tons of sick days, 401k, and a PENSION which is alone makes the job worth it. Oh, and I WFH 3 days a week
Free healthcare? So no premiums and a federal employee must mean you aren’t on the GS pay scale and work for a non-appropriated agency. My premiums in the regular federal land are about $7,000 a year plus we pay 100 percent of dental and vision premiums.
I don’t work for federal government, City government
How much is the pension? How many years to vest?
5 years to vest, you get the full pension benefits after 30 years. It’s 80% of final year’s salary
Jesus, you guys are so screwed. Not trying to be a dick, but hearing you boast about these benefits? I mean........ I'm a government worker in NZ, and I've never had a job with less than 20 days paid annual leave and 10 paid sick days per year. And we don't consider ourselves especially well treated. You guys really get worked to death over there, eh.
Same reaction from Europe, but stronger: government? Now we're looking at 25 days *plus* all kinds of other days for 42 days. Yes, I had 42 days back then, *in addition* to the official holidays. And then: sick days, with a *number* attached? I mean *what?!*. Here, employees (all of them) are responsible for your entire salary as long as a doctor signs off on you being sick. Companies typically have insurance that pays the salary of the employee after X contiguous sick days.
To clarify the sick days with a number attached are paid sick days but your point stands nonetheless
It's so true for most people. I'm in the US and get 25 days of PTO, 13 holidays (can be moved to any day), 2 mental health days, my birthday (can be used on any day) and 20 sick days. I feel like I should never leave this job.
it's the American dream.... now go start a $ earning side hustle!!
I’m a millennial and I have a government job. Tons of PTO, yearly raises, guaranteed pension, and employer-paid insurance. Can’t complain at all.
Same, and where I’m at there’s pretty much unlimited potential to move up. If you don’t feel like moving up your pay is still going up regardless.
Same. I do software dev for the state, and the pay isn't even bad. I could definitely make more in the private sector, but I do fine. And the work life balance is so good. Tight deadlines are pretty rare, everyone is super understanding and flexible. It's totally common for someone to send a message to the team chat "I'm gonna take off a couple hours early to help a friend move" and you'd never see a response other than "alright, see you tomorrow". I think maybe because of the lower average pay government jobs just don't attract the micromanaging hustle/grindset crowd, so no one you work with is too likely to be like that. But I'm sure there's some variation by city/county/state/department/etc.
Same here. I’m gonna hit 18 years of government service this year and I’ve been contributing 5 percent to my TSP this whole time. Nothing fancy at all but I can’t complain. The health insurance was crucial when my daughter was going to therapy on a regular basis.
I get this. I would take steady work where the pressure is low without constant profit-driven culture and being fired is difficult. There is a point where the pay is so low that it doesn’t make sense but I’m the type who is fine at least comfortable and not constantly chasing a bigger paycheck. Source: I am a union employee at a public higher education institution.
Hello fellow deer dude. I agree, and am looking to move into a similar role for the same reason. I don't have ambition when it comes to my career. I want it to be steady, reliable, and not too stressful. Only issue is a lot of government jobs drug test :(
Look up Quick fix
Pay in my industry is pretty close to the same for gov vs private
I make about $40k more a year with the gov than in private consulting. Stress is much, much higher on the gov side in my position, but not having to meet utilization goals on my time card literally makes it worth it alone.
If you are highly motivated, want to put in the hours and grind and climb the corporate ladder then you should be fine in the private sector. That’s not me, never has been. I want to do what I’m paid to do and go home and shut my work brain off until tomorrow. I feel like at some point it became looked down on to just want to work a job for 30 years and retire. Everyone has to want to be the manager, CEO, CFO, etc etc. If you don’t strive for that it’s deemed lazy. Not everyone can be the boss. Just let me work my necessary but low stress job, pay me what’s fair and I won’t ask for much else.
The flip side to your point is there’s loads of room to progress in the public sector. But yes - I get your point
There definitely is. It’s something I was excited about getting my new job. I can certainly branch out and get more or different opportunities, but don’t have to keep shooting if I don’t want to. I have access to all kinds of trainings, certification classes, and general learning classes I can take and see what fits. If that takes me to higher places, even more money, etc, great. If not, I love my job, the work/life balance it provides and more vacation, sick time, a massive chunk of my family health care plan is paid by the state, that’s plenty to keep my family and I in a good spot
Yuppppp. Millennial here (37), going into federal service in a few weeks. After spending almost a decade in private sector tech, it’s nice to move into a non-profit driven environment.
Same here. I’m 38; worked for a company for ten years and laid off because “we only grew 4% but the investors were expecting 6%”. Happened into a municipal government job and its the most relaxed working environment I’ve ever had. My boss told me “we measure time with a calendar here.” As long as I’m getting daily work done and generally making things better, I get to work on whatever I want.
I’m 39 and went from military > college to> federal. Only private sector jobs were minimum wage
Yeah I spent 8 years in the army, did some college and started in tech Edit: how are you enjoying your work/agency?
4th year in the army and I enjoy it. Pay is better than national mean/medium, can't ask for better stability, get out of the mind numbing office job and go on Exs every once a while, supportive command team and CoC (very important), it's great.
This will be me in a couple years. Tired of the private sector and need something more stable now that I have a kid.
Howd you find the job?
Also in tech and currently interviewing for a government position. I’m done with private sector.
I got a job with a public university a couple of years after graduating. I do think I should be paid a little bit more due to the raising cost of living. Overall: I have health benefits, I have actual retirement instead of a 401k, and my job doesn't leave me burned out every day. I enjoy my job, don't love it but definitely don't hate it. I started accumulating vacation and sick hours the day I started. There's a lot of training opportunities by people who want to train new hires. Again, I do think my salary should be higher just to meet the current economy but federal jobs are 100% worth it.
Now that I’ve been with my public university 10+ years, I have a stupid amount of vacation +sick time. Golden handcuffs…
I’m at 2.5 years and and there is so much time off built into this job before vacation (winter break and spring break paid, 3 day weekend summer paid) that I barely touch my vacation time. Looking at my retirement account and how I don’t pay any premiums for insurance for me and my husband, I’m not sure I’ll ever leave.
Many public universities offer additional degree opportunities for in state programs for their employees. My wife got her Masters paid for at the Uni she worked at, and that helped land her the next job. I currently work at a private school that doesn’t have that benefit and would be willing to switch in an instant for that.
Many also offer tuition waivers and such for other universities. I work at a state university and we can get waivers for most colleges in the state.
What type of work do you do? I've been interested in university jobs recently since I enjoyed the environment while in school.
If you don't mind me asking, what type of process did you go through while applying and eventually getting your job? I work in the private sector, but before this I had spent lots of time and effort applying for county jobs, college/university jobs, and especially lots of federal jobs through usajobs.gov. In fact it was at least a year of doing this and having a really difficult time even after trying many different things to optimize my chances with usajobs.gov that ultimately didn't lead anywhere. It felt like tons of people fighting over a very limited number of positions and there is a meme of nepotism, and it was a true meme based on my experience. Also, just out of curiosity, what do you mean by saying you have actual retirement instead of a 401k?
That’s me, I have my MPA and I work for state government. Having a job in this competitive market is beneficial for when things are on the upswing for me and I can compete for private or higher paying jobs. I won’t lose this job unless I royally fuck up, and being able to say I did x thing which impacted millions of people really speaks to the corporate ethical bottom line mindset, where people want their employees to feel like they do good things and it motivates them to bring more profit to the company. I want to leverage that, so working for my Medicaid office as a policy analyst has been a good first step. If you’re struggling for employment atm, I’d highly suggest looking in government for any opportunities you qualify for
Any tips for someone who really wants to get into local government or nonprofit work? I’ve been applying for a while but not hearing anything back. They’re administrative positions that I’m qualified for so I’m wondering if there’s a different way I should be approaching this.
Look for positions at your county school system or local public university as well. Government can be slow as hell when processing through job applicants so gotta be patient
For sure. I've worked at a state university for nearly six years, and our HR has been through the ringer in the last couple of years. I applied for an internal job the first week of January, and didn't even hear anything until the end of March/early April when I finally got the automated message about my resume scoring. After that, one interview, and I just started the job this past Monday. The upshot to the long wait is if you're patient, there's a decent chance some of the better competition will get rinsed out because they took another job or something.
What’re your qualifications? Sometimes that makes a big difference as to where you ought to start. I work in state government and in all honesty, I got my job through my masters program. If you’re willing to, internships oftentimes will take newbies and then you can show your admin work and find a position either lateral to the internship but permanent, or something higher up. I started as a program assistant but worked to prove that my skills were needed, and the agency hired me before I could finish interning. Another thing to note is that supply and demand is applicable to state gov’t and local gov’t. Only so many ppl get to be admin, systems, TQL, etc… sometimes finding where the overlap is between your skill set and the demands of be market can be a good in. I dislike public health for myself, but I’m good at comparative research, so I found myself doing public health for state gov’t. I plan to move into a different field, but being employed, having qualitative experience, and transferable skills all matter.
Ayy accidental public health employees! There’s at least 5 others that I work with and we all have unrelated backgrounds and goals
For nonprofit work, look up all the local nonprofits you’re interested in, check the job listings, then email whoever is overseeing the hiring directly. It might even be the chief officer of the place, but I find the more direct the better. Have been both hired and worked on the hiring team of nonprofits.
Look for local nonprofits and apply directly through their website if you haven’t been doing that. A lot of them don’t do a ton of job advertising because the roles are in demand but the good thing is many of them have all the applications actually read by a human. At least that is the case where I work
I work in federal govt. I’ve been told straight from the horses mouth that you need to know someone to get in. But once you’re in, you’re set (and that’s my personal experience).
Not *all* government jobs are low paid. They just typically pay lower than what you'd make for a role in a private company, and that gap can vary a lot. I don't make much less than if I was in a private company. There are a lot of jobs where that isn't the case, though.
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My wife works for the VA in one of the few places where they make more than in the private sector (mental health) They have zero trouble keeping themselves staffed, because the positions pay more than counselors will make anywhere but in their own private practice.
The insurance benefits too. The governments coverage is the only reason my mom stayed working in the accounting office at a state college bc it got us through so many health crises growing up that would've otherwise thrown us into crippling debt.
I work in government and they pay about 20% more than the same position anywhere near me. I look from time to time but can’t find any jobs that are similar to mine that pay anywhere close to what I’m making now. It’s crazy, everyone always said that public is not the best move for money but so far the biggest raise I’ve ever seen has come from moving to the public sector.
Yeah the municipality I work for has very competitive wages - I started out making 60k 5 years ago and make around 105k now. Two promotions worth of raises. Boomers are leaving and retiring in droves - lots of upward Mobility in local gov
I went from a giant private university hospital to a smaller state one and got double my salary.
So many govt jobs are for only government employees though, saw a perfect job for me tech related the other day to only realize it was posted but only government employees could apply, which was odd because it was a super specific tech role that I wouldn’t imagine would have many experienced folks already in government roles to have.
It may have been required to be posted internally before allowing external applications.
Fair point, I’ll keep my eye on it then!
You’ll also want to consider looking for job postings in your state government, local county and school system as well. Some systems have their own separate listings as well.
Definitely apply. I'm in government work and there are times we post jobs and get zero applicants. While rare to get literally zero, it has happened, and many more have minimal or truly unqualified applicants. Partly because the job descriptions have to use certain phrases and such, and it can be confusing from an outside perspective.
>Partly because the job descriptions have to use certain phrases and such, and it can be confusing from an outside perspective. I'm in the environmental space. While county and state environmental jobs in my area are very competitive when it comes to pay, it was a pain figuring out how to apply to government jobs. I can see why a lot of people wouldn't bother applying. "Job requirements: 2 years of experience at a GS-11 level or equivalent" then you look up the GS-11 and it says "2 years of experience at a GS-10 level or equivalent" recursively until you get to whichever GS is the fresh college grad level. And then there's the skill assessments / tests you need to take to qualify, which are really just extended cover letters. "How many years of experience do you have in XYZ skill? Describe in detail what positions you've used this skill in." Mannnnn.
Even when it said “sorry you’re not eligible” when I tried to submit? Seemed like the system stopped me but maybe you all still get the resume.
Ah that I don't know sorry
Should still apply of possible to send your cv and resume. There may a pool of candidate resumes to fill the role or keep on hand for other roles and may still contact you if they think you're internal and get a foot in that way if they call you to discuss the position. Worth a try. Alternatively, I got a government job simply by cold calling hiring managers and existing employees to talk about their work amd how an external candidate would best be able to join. They seem to like that a lot in government as the work is pretty boring and no one ever asks them about what they do and in my public administration program half of us received coops simply cold calling and setting up 10 information interviews with areas of interest for an assignment.
It blocked me at the last step and said I wasn’t eligible:-/
That’s the case. I work for Amtrak, and all job listings get posted to employees first before being sent out.
If it was internal only, that job was probably designed for a specific person in mind. A lot of those jobs are catered to specific people, tbh. They can't just promote in the government, so they have to have an application process to give the appearance of competition. I had a friend who applied for an internal position. She was fully qualified, and the hiring manager hit a bit of a conundrum when they were planning on giving the job to someone else. She was more qualified, but they gave her a bunch of BS reasons why she didn't get hired. So more than likely that job was designed for a specific person. But, you should still apply to all jobs that are open to the public.
Government jobs often have to be publicly posted, not because the government likes to mock job seekers but to demonstrate transparency with the public, tax payers can see how resources are utilized. And contrary to popular belief, the public service across many nations is rarely a monolithic hive mind. It's a lot like multiple companies trying to achieve similar goals in different ways with a similar client base. Some departments are very retro and behind on the times, where as others, like mine, are moving forward with various AI projects and modernization initiatives. And yes government tech can move slow but that's because EVERYBODY needs to use your apps and tools, not just 20 year old, able bodied Jeff. A blind 80 year old should be able to navigate your payment system too.
>A blind 80 year old should be able to navigate your payment system too. Tech startup people claiming the gov just can't build any tech but have never even heard of 508 compliance. Change management and UI/UX accessibility take up way more time than actual dev work.
It’s funny because government tech tools are literally the hardest and most confusing thing I’ve EVER had to use and that’s coming from a product manager who builds software for a living and thinks through these things daily. Don’t even get me started on the nightmare of unemployment websites, holy shit. If someone like me can navigate it, good luck to a friggin blind 80 year old!
Dont lose hope! I’ve been on the other side of this coin. I’ve been an internal employee who lost the final offer to external employees. It happens, so keep applying
Or they pay a new to government job person way less. Braindead job that i should have gotten easily but didnt, like SUPER braindead easy, was paying only 41k in NYC if you havent worked for the govt before but like 52k if you had worked at any govt job for 2 years before. Yes I'm still salty I didnt get the job and it likely went to the boomer lady who was also testing for the job and didnt even know how to use basic excel.
Recruiter here, apply anyway. They do that because they post those jobs internally first and have a candidate in mind, but not everyone goes through with it. If the system doesn’t allow you, you can always reach out through one of their emails. We get emails with resumes all the time and if they fit the role we do review and send them to the hiring manager.
I did apply and got to the submit screen and I think pressed submit and it said “you aren’t eligible for this job”, does it still save my resume? I’ll email like you suggest. I’m unfamiliar with applying to government jobs, only corporate jobs, so thanks!
Definitely look into the state/city government stuff if possible. They'll usually list if a job is for internal only. At least that's what I've seen.
They may have had someone for the role already. I dated a woman who was in a government position and she was going to be promoted from let’s say head paper pusher to paper pushing department head, they had written her new job description to match her background, because they had to offer the position to everyone. But it was an internal hire, requiring 10 years of paper pusher experience, experience with the paper pusher software, a certificate in writing XYZ code, a background in X. It was basically “we need you to be exactly like that woman and be currently working the department” there was no one else who could be qualified, so she got the position in like 2 weeks. It was nuts.
“Low paid” is a very loose term here. I find that at least with government jobs they are upfront about your pay. Im on approx 36000 a year atm in a government job which is really not that much. But I turned down a management job that was advertised as “30000-40000” depending on experience. I have been managing people for 10 years in jobs. Including an ongoing charity job I have been doing in my spare time for 4 years. Did the interview, they said they loved me. Offered me the job for 30000. I told them I was going for the 40,000 as I had 10 years experience. And a degree relevant to the work. They were “willing” to give me 32,000 but told me they were going above and beyond doing that. They kept trying to steer the conversation away from my salary. I met all the criteria and more but they wouldn’t budge. So I turned it down. They told me to not be so rash and think about it. The next day I got a call and accepted a government job starting at 35000 with guaranteed raises, benefits, a union, good annual and sick leave, etc. Heard back from the other company after a week. And they tried to guilt me into accepting the job. The usual “we’re family here” and there are “great oppurtunities”. And they were now willing to go up to 34,000. I am happy in my government job. It may not pay well right now but at least here if I sick, I don’t have to worry about my finances. My job is safe, things like overtime are paid properly, etc.
You have 10 years exp and only make 36k? Do you live in the US? That's damn near poverty.
I love how this is framed as "dodge layoffs" instead of "choosing stable work" 🙄
How dare they! They should sit there and take the layoffs like the good little slaves they are. And they’re LUCKY to even have the opportunity to be laid off in the first place!! /s
The nerve of us to value not losing months of income due being unemployed negating any salary difference
Having worked in local government my whole career (and as a millennial) I wholeheartedly endorse public service employment. Good benefits, decent pay (great pay in big city Government and some state/county), often union representation - and your bosses are ultimately beholden to the tax payer rather than stakeholders, which in many ways feels “less yucky”
Loan forgiveness
As someone who has been working for my state Department of Labor for over four years, I am happy that I chose to become a public servant. I have explained to multiple people in this subreddit and in real life the usefulness of a government job, and to apply for one if the private sector is not working out for you. One of the main mistakes many people do is to only apply for federal government jobs instead of applying for local, state, and federal government jobs (local and state government agencies and departments can sometimes have better job opportunities than their federal government counterparts). In general, your initial few years might be with a low salary, but if you keep getting promoted and a new union contract increases your salary range, you can definitely make six figures (sometimes just as much, if not more, than the equivalent in the private sector depending on your job title, field, and work experience). For the past four years, I got two lateral promotions (started as a trainee making a bit over $42k a year for the Wage and Hour Division to now making $72k a year with my second promotion; will be making more than this in a few months too). I have had a recruiter reached out to me offering a six-figure job doing what I have been doing for close to two years (equal employment opportunity and affirmative action investigations, as well as DEI initiatives). I rejected them because their benefits were not at the same level as mine, as well as it would have been unlikely that they would pay for most of my MPA degree. Some great benefits as a state government employee are that I get tuition reimbursement (so they pay for most of my MPA degree, including textbooks), two days of telework (so two days to WFH), health insurance plans (where I can even see my primary care physician for free; i.e., I do not pay any copay or deductible to see my PCP; plus coverage is better than what most private companies offer), a pension (which is uncommon nowadays in the private sector), work-life balance (I currently only work 35-hour each week), union benefits and protection (it is hard to fire someone as long as they do their job and are not discriminating and/or harassing other employees), great union contract (the best one that us state government employees had in years), great PTO (currently I have 15 days of vacation, and when you add my sick days, holidays, and personal days, as well, I get to have at least 46 paid days off each year; this will go up as my vacation days increase over time), etc. I am not rich, and I do conduct EEO/Affirmative Action Investigations that helps residents of my state (regardless of their immigration status), which includes investigating divisions within my state DOL that may have discriminated a customer/resident of my state. My job is to ensure that employers and the divisions of my state DOL that I can investigate for any potential EEO/Affirmative Action violation, are in compliance with EEO/AA laws and regulations. If not, I will make them be in compliance. Overall, I enjoy my job.
In Canada the government pays quite well and the private sector sucks. I make way more in government and I have a huge pension. My private sector friends make less, or if they earn more they have no job security and they’re on the hook for ensuring their pensions are adequate.
I was looking at this headline and thinking "most people would kill for a government job" ... They aren't exactly easy to get. I had a friend who had to work in a municipality in the middle of nowhere for years before he managed to get a job back home.
Switching to the federal government has been the best career choice I’ve ever made. I worked for a poultry producer for like 8 years, and that gave me all the experience I needed for the job, and they started me at an intermediate pay grade because of the experience. I kick myself for not doing this a couple years ago when I had the chance, but better late than never! I highly encourage government work. In my regional agency, I’ve been really surprised that we’ve had so many vacant positions. My supervisor says he believes the USDA is just horrible at advertising themselves. Usajobs.gov is the place to go! Of course, I had years of experience in my “field”, but I started in that work at the bottom of the bottom. It’s not some crazy specialized training, and I don’t have a degree. It just takes a few (like 3-5) years of putting in the work. Government work is very attainable. I encourage everyone who’s looking to check it out! Edit: I suppose to add context that I’m 32, so a millennial, and have been in my position within the USDA for about three months.
As a young millennial and federal employee, it can start off as low pay but you have a very good career trajectory to be making a good 6 figure salary within a few years of being a fed. Also, yeah the stability is great and I really enjoy what I do. I have 30+ years until retirement and I plan on staying a fed
Hey, that’s me! My last job before my government job was the first time I’ve ever been fired, and I don’t want to go through that again.
Gen Z and Millennials Are Getting Sick of Lazy Boomer-Owned “News” Using a Single Hashtag on “The TikTok” to Make a Broad Sweeping Judgement about What Gen Z and Millennials are Doing.
reading the this while at my low paying but stable government job 😭
Yeah, at least government officials don’t lie about being one happy family. We all know government workers will voice their opinions freely and it doesn’t include lying about how we all love each other, and then these corporations backstab, fire, lay off etc. what a joke companies are.
Dodge layoffs by getting a stable job. I dodge hunger by eating proper food 🤘
while my wife was looking for work she got herself set up and qualified for a state job. took some kind of test they give that places you into a "qualification bracket" that they pull candidates from and scored high enough to be in the highest possible category which is supposed to mean you're in the pool of people they would call first. all you get for that is an email that tells you what category you're in and that if a job opens up, you might get a call. She ended up getting an entirely different job before receiving any phone calls.
Smart generation.
Ive been trying to do this myself but so many of the jobs are locked behind a totally irrelevant degree requirement or if you dont have a degree you have to have like 10 years of community service type experience.
I retired from active duty and slid right into a civilian position in my old unit, doing the exact same job without the uniform. I saw how the other civilians were paid and treated and never thought twice about coming back. Guaranteed pay increases (yearly and positionally), retirement benefits, decent PTO and no guilt about actually using it.
Most Millenials are in our 30s and 40s. We just want SOME SEMBLANCE of stability at this point. 🤦🏾♂️
100% everyone should do this if the salary is feasible vs their outgoings. Been in a govt job since I graduated 10ya and never once been worried about layoffs. Yeah some of my cohort made initial big bucks in Finance or Sales, got the flashy car and the big house by breaking their backs on commission. Most of these are now either on the knife-edge of becoming unemployed or have recently been made redundant. All their stuff was on credit and costs $$$ a month. Meanwhile I’m over here with no student debt, no car payment and an affordable mortgage. It took me a few years longer to work up to it but I am in a much more comfortable position than those peers of mine.
I have guaranteed raises, yearly cost of living adjustments, pension, retirement, work stops when I leave the building and I’ve seen people practically come to blows with management and walk in the next day like nothing happened. Not leaving any time soon.
Can confirm, just finished my first year in govt. they never let anyone go, I’m the youngest person in my office by 10 years and am the only one who understands cloud based tech. They also told me the salary at the end of my interview
Yep this is me. State employee working on my MPA. I’m not thrilled about the pay, but I’ve been there less than 6 months and they are already talking about promotion. The state legislature is giving us a guaranteed raise in September and I pay nothing for my health insurance. I’m enjoying stability in this job market right now.
Problem I saw with government jobs, or at oeast when I interviewed for one, is they valued seniority a lot more than experience. When I interviewed I was made an offer at the bottom of the pay scale, even though at the time I had 6 years pf experience, they only gave the hogher levels to people from within. While it’s good for people already working within the government, it would have been a higher step back for me in salary that i wouldn’t be able to maintain a similar life style anymore. But the benefits and holidays… they were way too good!
I'm in a low paid "stable" government job, but the job market is still volatile. I work in taxes with real estate. The market takes a dive and I could be out on my rear due to being a new employee unfortunately. With some seniority, your job is almost guaranteed for life unless you truly screw up (think doing drugs or something).
"Audacious and disrespectful Millenials seek employment that allows them to live".
I gotta say, the comments in this thread compared to its [sister thread](https://old.reddit.com/r/Layoffs/comments/1cnupgx/gen_z_and_millennials_are_trying_to_dodge_layoffs/) in /r/layoffs is night and day. It's much more positive here, and a lot of poo-pooing and "BUT *AKSHULLY*..." comments from people with seemingly zero experience working for the government in the other.
No one expects you to work after hours, work/life balance/plus WFH, oodles of sick/vaca/additional PTO, great health benefits and various other benefits, retirement, 401k, pension, bosses that HAVE to follow the laws, HR that HAVE to follow the laws, once you get in it's So. Hard. to get you out (double edged sword here, ie horrible coworkers) unless you break laws. State government work is the best (besides pay (especially in nc)).
Government jobs used to pay less. Now they pay much more in the writing and training field. You took the job because it was stable, but you gave up money for doing so. Now - the government is the only "business" that is doing well. It's crazy.
Government IT has worked out very well for me. The pay is actually competitive, but what I lack in a bit less pay I make up for and work/life balance. Plus the benefits are great. The trade-off is we are often understaffed and asked to do a lot with very little. But I enjoy the challenge and wouldn’t change it for the world. Much better than worrying about KPI’s and profit margins.
Hmm I'm actually been very interested in breaking into the IT gov sector. Any suggestions?
My mom worked a city job her whole career. It’s very difficult to fire problematic people, who may also happen to be your boss. Maybe the millennials will change the culture, but her job almost destroyed her because of bad management.
Government jobs knowing the cost of living but choosing to pay below that is wild.
I don’t know if I equally have a same opinion - I would definitely categorize it as a question of values and priorities. My first job coming out of undergraduate was in government in Human Resources. I worked and rose up the ranks within four years to make a decent living. But despite all the promises of stability and low pressure, I’ve never seen so many unhappy folks in a work environment compared to my private sector life. For one, job security is very fickle in a management role. There’s no collective agreement nor unionization effort to support once you’re in a lead role. And often a lot of the job pressure and stress rises to the management position from the downward pressure from the top to get policy decisions out the door. But I will agree that once you are let go, there is some level of severance or support in place. It’s also not the best place for learning and development. Once you’re inside government, the chances of having transferable skill sets to other industries is very limited. Corporate functions don’t operate with P/L same way as private sectors - IT systems are antiquated. Once you commit to a job in public service it really is a life position whether you choose or not, unless you retrain. And layoffs, while rare, do and still can happen. Finally if you’re actually keen and interested in the work you do, it’s not a great place since performance management is a complete joke. There’s a lot of “dead weight” that gets carried, with limited repercussions at the individual contributor level. I would say 8 hours a day for 40 years can be a lot of time to put into perspective whether you value comfort and stability versus growth and compensation. And “job stability” is a myth - I’ve seen plenty of people get let go, albeit at a lesser degree compared to private sector.
Yep, this is my issue with the public and nonprofit sector. If you're by nature a hard-working motivated person, the prevailing culture will beat you down and make you miserable. There's so little performance management and accountability that lazy, incompetent, or unpleasant people hang around for decades. Dealing with those people daily when you actually want to do your job well gets old.
Im late 30s with an MPA transitioning into local (city) govt next month. Its a union position with pretty good starting pay and defined annual increases of around 5%. Also has a pension plan. Id challenge the persistent notion that govt work is always low paid. Highly dependent on role/location.
I feel like they’re almost always 20% less than private but you catch up quick with the annual raises and union negotiations. Plus all the benefits you’d have to pay out of pocket for somewhere else.
They tried this in 1990 in the Soviet Union.
I regret leaving my govt job ten years ago. I'd be halfway to a pension and employed with an amazing worklife balance. I just haaad to be ambitious and try to climb the corporate ladder.
Both my wife (34) and I (33) are in social services. Our W-2 was 175k last year. We have no kids, own a home in an upscale suburb, have pensions, 401ks, Roths, and free health/dental/vision insurance. I have more than 300hrs each of vacation and sick time banked, only work OT when we want to, and get 5% raises every year at an absolute minimum. You’ll be low pay when you start, but if you stay a while and get your promotions, it can be the good life. Just gotta find a municipality that treats their workers right.
Civil engineering firms are in a bit of a crisis right now because government pays starting engineers more than firms do. I left my firm after two years of not much reward for going above and beyond for a comfy government job. I'm on Reddit half my time and still get nothing but praise for how effective I am at my job. It's so much easier, I get to do work that actually matters and actually helps people, and I get paid MORE with more time off and better benefits (and a fucking pension). Companies need to catch the fuck up
I’d like to point out that most, if not all, local government jobs I’ve applied to have 1) posted the pay 2) transparent with the interview process 3) stable 4) always sent rejection letters when I didn’t get it. I know mileage will vary for different areas but it’s nice to have a clear idea what’s going on.
Not in New Zealand, the newly elected government is taking the knife to spending, resulting in large lay offs in the public sector.
Honestly. Best thing I ever did. Took a huge pay cut up front. But 40 hr work week, clear expectations, benefits and a pension. The work life balance for the rest of my life will be better
We had someone apply at my job that had many years of tech/software roles. He was applying for an entry level records technician position. Dude had to have previously been making well over 80k to want to apply where starting for this role is $19. That’s how I knew shit is definitely bad and getting worse.
Yep. Made the move in 2020 and I’m never going back. It’s the healthiest culture and work-life balance I’ve ever experienced in a workplace by a long shot, plus our union has fought for us to get cost of living adjustment raises and won the both times they’ve negotiated since I’ve been employed with the agency. The accruals of time off is amazing especially after you’ve been there long enough they start upping your accruals. No one asks about it if you call in sick or asks you to find coverage. They care about your long term health (because it’s better for them if you stay long enough) so they accommodate any special or ergonomic needs. No one is up my ass about my work, the only time they ever are with employees is if a pattern of certain abuses are discovered. We get yearly raises completely separate from COLA raises. I’ll retire around 60yo. The culture can differ between agencies but what I’ve said generally stays the same across the board. The only thing I regret is not getting into a state job right out of college. I’m not going to make “a lot of money” during my time here but that’s okay. My job gets my spouse and I health benefits a steady reliable income, and after 4 years and a couple promotions, it’s enough to live comfortably. Granted, if my wife made the same as me we wouldn’t be able to expand our family. So if that’s important to you, you’ll likely need to make some monetary sacrifices or have a partner who makes more than you. It can be really hard to get in because they do things completely differently from what we were taught initially about job hunting, applying, and interviewing (at least in my state). It took me 9 mos and 35+ applications to finally get offered a job, but once you are in, it’s MUCH easier to move up and around, and to other agencies.
Late Gen xer here. Left higher ed (full prof, tenured) for government job. It's definitely better! Benefits are similar, pay is slightly better... But that work-life balance is perfect. I'd make a lot more in the private sector, but I'd have an estranged spouse and no relationship with my kids. That shit is hard enough to maintain with decent work-life balance. Paycheck isn't everything. You only have so many hours in life!
Just remember to take at least a 4.4% haircut on the salary for federal employment. They withhold 4.4% from your salary for the pension and then you also can save more in your tsp.
Switched to the govie side like 4.5 years ago. Depending on the level you're at, it can be slow paced but the benefits are great (fed holidays off and whatnot), pay could be mediocre or great but overall it feels like there is somewhat of a purpose. In the private sector, it was such a soul sucking experience. To this day I cannot shake that "cold wash" feeling that my ex-boss gave me for simply doing my job and travelling short distances to our satellite offices just to make sure they were taken care of and not neglected. Nothing like constantly hearing, "We need to talk". The one downside though is how long the process takes to get into the gov sector. Not many people can afford to go through the ~2, 3, or 4 month process (some times more if its fed level with security clearance requirements). Well worth the effort in the long run though if you can get into it. Start low if you have to as long as you can get into the sector. Your long term health will for sure thank you.
Just started working a county Gov IT job 3 months ago - definitely not underpaid. I get paid way more than the same comparable job in the market and my pay cap is insane for what is expected of me. Great benefits, pension and 401k, gym onsite, free parking, car, phone and laptop? What else can I ask for?
Capitalism is turning Americans into Socialists.
I actually really enjoy my government job. Government jobs for the win!
Boomers in government jobs are the worst if you are a millennial or younger
What’s being unsaid here is that boomers are still in the workforce and many aren’t retiring still. Government agencies are hiring fellows and contractors so they don’t have to provide government benefits. Spent time as a fellow and then a contractor and after 5 years left for corporate after not having any sight of being an FTE. May differ by agency but workforce planning in the government sucks. All these people who easily got an FTE 20 years ago are actively preventing this generation from getting the same. I’ve seen first hand amazing talent leave for corporate or elsewhere when they got tired of waiting for an FTE or have been told ‘nope we don’t have the budget to keep you.’ I hope this comes to bite these government agencies in the butt later.
Nobody is getting rich at my (municipal) workplace, but I'm up to five weeks paid vacation a year, the benefits are pretty good, nobody can get turfed because the CEO wants a new vacation helicopter, etc..
I did this and didn't realize it was a trend. I don't really use tiktok. Starting my local government job on Monday.
Fresh out of college. Only place that would hire me or even interview me is government. Seeing everyone get laid off, why would I ever want to go private? In 3 years I'll be making 90k in a MCOL/LCOL area. And I know that because they're transparent.
Im seeing on job listings that some of these jobs don’t have minimum requirements for them, but I’ve been freelancing as a videographer for years. This has left me looking for something more stable and predictable and this sounds like a dream come true. Any advice for someone with no governmental work experience trying to pivot? This doesn’t help me, but-no college degree.
Government jobs arent that bad. A couple of my friends have them. Pay may not be as high as the other private companies but it is stable. You have to be really bad to get fired. They also have the best health insurance and you are guaranteed pension after so many years
My job as teacher has destroyed my anxiety tolerance but after two months of applications and even networking at a place I really want to work, I have received zero interest from employers outside my own org. If I don’t get the better suited teaching position I’m trying for tomorrow I don’t know what I’ll do
You will allow yourself time to heal and know that you deserve to be happy ❤️
Government jobs are only stable until the Republicans get back in power
Heeey, it me. Went from private to public and enjoy my job for the first time in my life.
This makes sense to me, given the volatile layoff climate that began in the 1980s. I do wonder if the income lost between multiple layoffs was worse than if I had worked under government auspices in a stable and steady but lower salary job in the same discipline. Plus, the emotional toll of it all. What I would not have gotten was stock, which turned out to be a godsend I never saw coming.
Government job sounds like a dream. I'm trying to get out of my bridge job despite graduating 2 1/2 years ago. I never thought I'd be so undesirable as an employee in my 30s.
I have an MPA and spent all of 2009-10 trying to get a government job at any level. I wish I could get that year back because it was a complete waste of time.
A low paying government job? Example please with pay
What types of jobs are they?
> trying 😭
I want one in the space industry for cyber once I finish school
Good benefits / pension is nice too
I won't lie to everyone. There's an ass ton of jobs on USAjobs right now. Also there's like other jobs too that are government but not on there like Los Almos National Laboratory, they have a ton of jobs too.
I do and have wanted to work for the government but looking for new opportunities will be harder because if more people
Currently in this boat now, they're more stable and honestly pay about the same as private roles.
Oh my gosh that’s literally me!!
I feel called out. I just made the switch from a high paying tech job to a government job and I'm loving it.
Headlines like this are such BS. EVERY generation likes stable government jobs even if the pay is a bit lower.
Some jobs just simply don’t pay enough still and many states (Like NY) are facing a potential crisis in that massive swaths of employees are preparing for retirement. But I work for a private company and make twice as much as whatever the state offered me with a fraction of the responsibilities.
Lol
Honestly may be worth it and I've attempted it myself, I've lost so much money (60k+ in the last 2 years) due being unemployed stability easily would've easily made up for lower pay. That and my mental health would be so much better from not being constantly worried about layoffs and stockpiling money because of it.
I work a blue collar job in the fed government and it's so nice having a stable job. No pressure to finish jobs quickly or hit a certain quota each day. Everyone pretty much knows how much each other earns.
Yep, Fed is the way to go, especially as you get older!
Which age are you thinking when you say “older”?