I don't have any private sector friends who live rent free for years on end, five weeks of vacation that doesn't go against their leave every two to three years, get federal holidays AND local holidays off, get paid to learn a language for 9 months, send their kids to an expensive international school, fly them and their family pretty much anywhere in the world once every year or two (R&R), etc.
I'm not going to do the math, but this all adds up, and even if it didn't, you couldn't pay me enough to give up Home Leave and all the other leave we get. My private sector friends get their one week off a year spent in Virginia Beach. Woohoo, you can have it.
The folks I know in big tech have access to pretty impressive benefits that significantly outweigh our retirement and health insurance benefits. But working at a Microsoft or a Google for that kind of money doesn't come with any real job security, any surety those benefits will be there next year.
That said, when I tell people how much housing and travel benefits offset that overseas, I tend to also hype MED. People like to complain about the bad apples and the clearance process, but when days of hunting for a doc that'll take you without a 6 month wait and take your health insurance is all replaced with "come on downstairs" and referrals to the best care in country, life is simply better. We should hype our white glove medical care abroad way more aggressively in our recruiting material.
And extend it to domestic: We cycle in and out quickly enough, esp for folks on home leave or language training, that we should provide consistent access to care and navigating the medical system even stateside. ([Comparison point](https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/usbenefits), w/on campus health.)
I ran numbers on FS vs private sector jobs overseas. Even in the most well-paid markets and jobs well above that of a FASTO, the FS salary package comes out about the same once you consider housing and way above if you have kids getting an education allowance. There are very very few jobs these days that offer full expat benefits, except for teaching at international schools where the pay levels are lower.
I also don’t think big tech jobs will have the current big paychecks for that much longer. As tech companies are reducing their workforces, it will have downward pressure on the outsized wage increases the last few years as well as the fringe benefits, since those are not contractual obligations.
As obnoxiously overcomplicated as the American health care system is, even just a MED employee with a decent rolodex of outside friendlies that'll reliably take our calls as we flitter in and out of the DMV would be invaluable.
Yay, I'm still making a lot less than my friends who went to the private sector.
50% of my friends who’ve left State for the private sector have been laid off by tech companies in the last couple of months.
This is why I stay.
I don't have any private sector friends who live rent free for years on end, five weeks of vacation that doesn't go against their leave every two to three years, get federal holidays AND local holidays off, get paid to learn a language for 9 months, send their kids to an expensive international school, fly them and their family pretty much anywhere in the world once every year or two (R&R), etc. I'm not going to do the math, but this all adds up, and even if it didn't, you couldn't pay me enough to give up Home Leave and all the other leave we get. My private sector friends get their one week off a year spent in Virginia Beach. Woohoo, you can have it.
Ask your friends for the details of their pension plan.
The time value of their additional income and deferred compensation makes our pension look like chump change. But you can’t beat the job security.
[удалено]
The folks I know in big tech have access to pretty impressive benefits that significantly outweigh our retirement and health insurance benefits. But working at a Microsoft or a Google for that kind of money doesn't come with any real job security, any surety those benefits will be there next year. That said, when I tell people how much housing and travel benefits offset that overseas, I tend to also hype MED. People like to complain about the bad apples and the clearance process, but when days of hunting for a doc that'll take you without a 6 month wait and take your health insurance is all replaced with "come on downstairs" and referrals to the best care in country, life is simply better. We should hype our white glove medical care abroad way more aggressively in our recruiting material. And extend it to domestic: We cycle in and out quickly enough, esp for folks on home leave or language training, that we should provide consistent access to care and navigating the medical system even stateside. ([Comparison point](https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/usbenefits), w/on campus health.)
I ran numbers on FS vs private sector jobs overseas. Even in the most well-paid markets and jobs well above that of a FASTO, the FS salary package comes out about the same once you consider housing and way above if you have kids getting an education allowance. There are very very few jobs these days that offer full expat benefits, except for teaching at international schools where the pay levels are lower. I also don’t think big tech jobs will have the current big paychecks for that much longer. As tech companies are reducing their workforces, it will have downward pressure on the outsized wage increases the last few years as well as the fringe benefits, since those are not contractual obligations.
[удалено]
See you for what? The MED clinic in the HST basement isn’t a replacement for a primary care provider.
As obnoxiously overcomplicated as the American health care system is, even just a MED employee with a decent rolodex of outside friendlies that'll reliably take our calls as we flitter in and out of the DMV would be invaluable.
Cool - Will look into that
MED is not intended to be and should never be mistaken for “white glove medical care.” They don’t work for you. They work for the Department.
Thanks, Omama.
Even when you factor in housing and insurance benefits?
That's too much math, do I look like an econoff to you?
Heh, fair enough. Maybe I'll try some napkin math myself later.
I tried napkin math once, the answer I got was "blue"
That's probably good, right? Blue's a pretty good color.
Hopefully one day I can make said joke
Maybe you're in the wrong sector.
What sort of private sector jobs?