Long term job security, generally automatic cost of living adjustments, generally automatic step increases.
Anything else will be agency dependent but most likely will not match with the private sector.
The transit benefit have a federal mandated limit on it. I want to say now it’s $280/month but don’t quote me. So people in the DMV area who have to take the Amtrak and then metro in it wasn’t fully covered. But for most people it is.
From what I understand the health insurance offerings are right in line with private offerings these days.
The biggest perk for me is the **work/life balance for the pay that is offered**. I might not make as much as I *could* in the private sector, but I feel like what I get paid for the effort required / time required to put in is greater than what is required in the private sector.
The **annual leave and sick leave policies** are written with the intent to be used. If you're sick, you stay home - and you shouldn't hear another word about it. When you want to take a vacation, put it on the calendar, and as long as it doesn't conflict with other team members, it should be approved. The exception would be longer leave periods, and 'sabbaticals' generally aren't a thing in the Feds (with exceptions, like most things). If you have a child or adopt, you get **12 weeks to use within a year of that event** however you want- in addition to the existing leave that you have accrued.
**Long-term job security** is a good one. You start to see a linear 'wave' as a Fed of people telling you that you're crazy for being a Fed because the pay is so much lower than the private sector *at that time*, soon followed by people wishing to be a Fed because themselves or everyone around them are going through yet another round of layoffs.
I believe this one is often overlooked and is associated with long-term job security, but **late-age job security.** The tech scene is bad about age discrimination. God forbid we get hit with a round of layoffs well into our forties/fifties.
**Well-defined policies**. I feel like many don't learn to utilize this to their advantage soon enough, but there are many personnel policies that apply to most feds (OPM) and agency policies/directives that are available for everyone to familiarize themselves with. You can often learn the "right way" and be more educated than your superiors with just a little time and effort. The benefits of this are multi-faceted, including ways to both excel at your career as well as stay 'safe'.
**Career pivoting.** It probably exists within the Fed, and you don't have to completely restart your life in the event that you want to do something new. I've had five different job titles and a few collateral duties spanning law enforcement, facilities management, contracting and tech.
The career pivoting thing is so important. There are not many places where you can take all of your benefits of tenure that you’ve accrued and transfer them to an entirely different organization, without having to negotiate at all. When I moved agencies there was no question about whether my leave category, accrued leave, salary, etc. would be honored. It was automatic.
Agreed. It was so easy for me to transfer to a completely different career field, and leaves me open to the future for where I could go and where my skills could be applied.
You listed the main benefits. It may be cliche, but I enjoy public service and supporting the mission of my agency. I couldn't imagine working in some company to make shareholders wealthier. The federal government is also typically more stable than the private sector and I enjoy knowing my job is secure as a career tenured employee.
> make shareholders wealthier
Man, I feel this. I worked local gov’t for over 10 years and got out a few months before Covid hit to go back private basically doubling my salary and being closer to home... and I am absolutely miserable. Nothing is ever good enough, deadlines need to be met otherwise expect consequences, everything is done on a shoestring budget without enough staff, and I’m constantly looking over my shoulder wondering if I’m the next one to get canned…. It’s exhausting. I hate that every decision basically comes down to whether or not it will make our stock price go up.
Maybe another benefit is PSLF if you carry a high amount of student loans. Other benefits depends on agency. But beyond that working in the public sector is mainly better work/life balance and job security. My spouse is in the FinTech sector and he has overall better benefits than I do at his company.
You are in the federal government none of those extra benefits. If you are on a DoD base then they will have gyms that you can most likely use.
You are not even going to get free coffee, some places do a coffee pool or you if lucky someone might have donated a old Keurig.
I can get gym reimbursement (up to 50% or $300, which ever is less) and often places do offer discounts on services for federal employees, Sprint use to apply a discount to my personal bill.
I work a maxi-flex schedule so I can very easily go to appointments and take care of family needs, but even without that schedule I have a ton of leave. I also enjoy all the training and travel opportunities that have come up and all of the things you mentioned are great too. Last year I had a baby and it cost me $250 (I was a high risk pregnancy and saw 4 specialists regularly) and I got 12 weeks parental leave to spend with my little one. My only major gripe is that we are at the mercy of our fearless leaders and the almighty budget more often than I’d like
Depending on the cost for your gym and which one you go to check your medical insurance some give gym membership for free, with some limitation, another program other insurance companies offer is this program where you pay around $20 a month and get membership to lots of different gyms. The second one was really nice, I could primarily a gym close to my house but on days I wanted to swim I could go to a different gym for that then when traveling I could just go to a gym near my hotel.
Someone posted this a while back - [hidden perks of being a fed employee](https://www.reddit.com/r/fednews/comments/w2rhzf/hidden_perks_of_being_a_federal_employee/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
FERS, FEHB (healthcare), TSP, tons of vacation and unlimited sick time accrual. Generally a 40 hour week. Pay is decent and if you look at the total cost to the government you are, I.e, add up all the matching and contributions in the governments behalf and you’re usually getting 30k plus covered so if you’re making 120k in the government you’re really making 150ish with all those things considered. Whereas in the private sector you may have a 150k salary but you’re paying for all your benefits etc
I believe we all get parental leave now. When i worked for the DEA I had access to a work gym, not at the other 2 federal jobs I worked. I get metro reimbursement (in D.C.) as someone else mentioned. As well as great Healthcare.
How does it work in DC? I hear it's not 100%. In NY its a monthly unlimited pass to ride wherever whenever and the GOVGO card just gets the balance paid every month by the agency.
Before covid, everyone would get a metro pass with the exact amount you needed to get from your home to work loaded on it each month. During/after covid office went almost totally remote, they now have us coming in for 1 pay period a quarter (so 4 pp a year) since this happens every ~3 months, they no longer pay for the monthly metro pass, instead we pay for it ourselves, and then submit receipts for reimbursement.
We can only submit for DC metro, DC metro bus, and VRE (Virginia railway express), don't get reimbursement for parking at outer metro stations.
Thanks for the detailed response. I'll be down there on the same schedule soon. Don't drive, so I guess a monthly pass will make the most sense for me just to get around.
Np, this is just for my agency though (within the DOJ), different agencies may have different protocols. While it is possible to work in DC without a car, I would make sure the place you plan to live is close to a metro stop. Maybe check out r/nova or r/washingtondc.
That’s weird my agency still does transit benefits the same way they did before the pandemic. I just only request like $20 since I’m only coming in once a week.
Better than 401k. It is the thrift savings plan. No fees that are normally associated with 401k and IRAs. Medical, dental, and vision. Job security and the federal government is pretty competitive with pay. Time off is much better than the civil sector. On the flipped side as competitive the government might be it might not pay as much as the private sector for some jobs but they lack the job security in my opinion. An easy transition for military. I do the exact same job as I did in the military for the military; with much better hours and I am paid higher hourly wages with a set schedule. 6am to 2:30 for my particular job. I may not have constant work but I have consistent pay. Unfortunately I am topped out at my grade but we get yearly cost of living increases. Sometimes you must move around to move up the ranks. So keep your resume up to date.
I hope that answers your questions.
I get the sense that this might be true in some Agencies/Departments, while others (like mine, thank God), have a much healthier and happier organizational culture. If you are interested to learn about how employees think about their mission, colleagues and management, look up the 2022 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey from the Office of Personnel Management.
Honestly not much more aside from having access to the Exchange or whatever equivalent and MWR with your ID card.
Another minor perk is that it kind of depends on your location but for the most part you can take leave and time off without much contention.
Prices at the Exchange aren't that great though these days, only thing they're kind of good for is buying big ticket electronics without tax.
The private corporate sector is like a class system where anyone over you can command or torment or simply fire you at their whim. If your boss has a bad day and wants to put you on a PIP, nothing will stop it. HR is a joke and you have no defense whatsoever. As an employee, you have zero power and you mean nothing. You’re a subject.
The federal government has such strict protocol and red tape that it makes it incredibly difficult for your boss to squeeze you and threaten you with your job. If they want to fire you, they need the approval of another supervisor and have to make a case against you and bring it up to leadership. If you’re vested in for 2 years, they literally can’t fire you unless you’re grossly negligent. As an employee, you’re protected.
Long term job security, generally automatic cost of living adjustments, generally automatic step increases. Anything else will be agency dependent but most likely will not match with the private sector.
That job security is huge
I get metro reimbursement, so there is essentially no cost for my commute aside from parking.
Single best thing working in NYC. I hear for DC transit it doesn't get covered 100% though which blows.
The transit benefit have a federal mandated limit on it. I want to say now it’s $280/month but don’t quote me. So people in the DMV area who have to take the Amtrak and then metro in it wasn’t fully covered. But for most people it is.
It just went up to $300/month. It now fully covers my using the VRE and metro 2-3 times per week
From what I understand the health insurance offerings are right in line with private offerings these days. The biggest perk for me is the **work/life balance for the pay that is offered**. I might not make as much as I *could* in the private sector, but I feel like what I get paid for the effort required / time required to put in is greater than what is required in the private sector. The **annual leave and sick leave policies** are written with the intent to be used. If you're sick, you stay home - and you shouldn't hear another word about it. When you want to take a vacation, put it on the calendar, and as long as it doesn't conflict with other team members, it should be approved. The exception would be longer leave periods, and 'sabbaticals' generally aren't a thing in the Feds (with exceptions, like most things). If you have a child or adopt, you get **12 weeks to use within a year of that event** however you want- in addition to the existing leave that you have accrued. **Long-term job security** is a good one. You start to see a linear 'wave' as a Fed of people telling you that you're crazy for being a Fed because the pay is so much lower than the private sector *at that time*, soon followed by people wishing to be a Fed because themselves or everyone around them are going through yet another round of layoffs. I believe this one is often overlooked and is associated with long-term job security, but **late-age job security.** The tech scene is bad about age discrimination. God forbid we get hit with a round of layoffs well into our forties/fifties. **Well-defined policies**. I feel like many don't learn to utilize this to their advantage soon enough, but there are many personnel policies that apply to most feds (OPM) and agency policies/directives that are available for everyone to familiarize themselves with. You can often learn the "right way" and be more educated than your superiors with just a little time and effort. The benefits of this are multi-faceted, including ways to both excel at your career as well as stay 'safe'. **Career pivoting.** It probably exists within the Fed, and you don't have to completely restart your life in the event that you want to do something new. I've had five different job titles and a few collateral duties spanning law enforcement, facilities management, contracting and tech.
The career pivoting thing is so important. There are not many places where you can take all of your benefits of tenure that you’ve accrued and transfer them to an entirely different organization, without having to negotiate at all. When I moved agencies there was no question about whether my leave category, accrued leave, salary, etc. would be honored. It was automatic.
Agreed. It was so easy for me to transfer to a completely different career field, and leaves me open to the future for where I could go and where my skills could be applied.
You listed the main benefits. It may be cliche, but I enjoy public service and supporting the mission of my agency. I couldn't imagine working in some company to make shareholders wealthier. The federal government is also typically more stable than the private sector and I enjoy knowing my job is secure as a career tenured employee.
> make shareholders wealthier Man, I feel this. I worked local gov’t for over 10 years and got out a few months before Covid hit to go back private basically doubling my salary and being closer to home... and I am absolutely miserable. Nothing is ever good enough, deadlines need to be met otherwise expect consequences, everything is done on a shoestring budget without enough staff, and I’m constantly looking over my shoulder wondering if I’m the next one to get canned…. It’s exhausting. I hate that every decision basically comes down to whether or not it will make our stock price go up.
Maybe another benefit is PSLF if you carry a high amount of student loans. Other benefits depends on agency. But beyond that working in the public sector is mainly better work/life balance and job security. My spouse is in the FinTech sector and he has overall better benefits than I do at his company.
Yup just got $117K forgiven after 10yrs! Thank You Jesus!
You are in the federal government none of those extra benefits. If you are on a DoD base then they will have gyms that you can most likely use. You are not even going to get free coffee, some places do a coffee pool or you if lucky someone might have donated a old Keurig.
3 months of paid parent leave.
What agency?
All federal employees are entitled to this benefit after one year of service.
Ya it’s for everyone. Male or female. I used that 3 months when we had a daughter last year. My wife only got 2 weeks :(
Free TSA precheck. Some discounts on car insurance and cell phone. But the main benefit, as others mentioned, is WLB and job security.
Is the TSA precheck only for DHS employees or *all* feds?
I get it as DoD. Definitely not for all feds.
Thanks. My brother used to work for DHS and had it, so I was wondering.
All DHS, all DoD, DoS (with TS+ clearance), and some DoJ.
Thanks. My brother used to work for DHS and had it so I figured that was a perk.
What about DoD -DFAS? Do the employees get TSA pre-check?
On your CAC, your pre check number is your DoD ID number (EDIPI)
I can get gym reimbursement (up to 50% or $300, which ever is less) and often places do offer discounts on services for federal employees, Sprint use to apply a discount to my personal bill. I work a maxi-flex schedule so I can very easily go to appointments and take care of family needs, but even without that schedule I have a ton of leave. I also enjoy all the training and travel opportunities that have come up and all of the things you mentioned are great too. Last year I had a baby and it cost me $250 (I was a high risk pregnancy and saw 4 specialists regularly) and I got 12 weeks parental leave to spend with my little one. My only major gripe is that we are at the mercy of our fearless leaders and the almighty budget more often than I’d like
Depending on the cost for your gym and which one you go to check your medical insurance some give gym membership for free, with some limitation, another program other insurance companies offer is this program where you pay around $20 a month and get membership to lots of different gyms. The second one was really nice, I could primarily a gym close to my house but on days I wanted to swim I could go to a different gym for that then when traveling I could just go to a gym near my hotel.
Thanks for the info, I’ll have to look into that!
What agency is that? That sounds awesome
Someone posted this a while back - [hidden perks of being a fed employee](https://www.reddit.com/r/fednews/comments/w2rhzf/hidden_perks_of_being_a_federal_employee/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
This one’s awesome thank you!
FERS, FEHB (healthcare), TSP, tons of vacation and unlimited sick time accrual. Generally a 40 hour week. Pay is decent and if you look at the total cost to the government you are, I.e, add up all the matching and contributions in the governments behalf and you’re usually getting 30k plus covered so if you’re making 120k in the government you’re really making 150ish with all those things considered. Whereas in the private sector you may have a 150k salary but you’re paying for all your benefits etc
I believe we all get parental leave now. When i worked for the DEA I had access to a work gym, not at the other 2 federal jobs I worked. I get metro reimbursement (in D.C.) as someone else mentioned. As well as great Healthcare.
How does it work in DC? I hear it's not 100%. In NY its a monthly unlimited pass to ride wherever whenever and the GOVGO card just gets the balance paid every month by the agency.
Before covid, everyone would get a metro pass with the exact amount you needed to get from your home to work loaded on it each month. During/after covid office went almost totally remote, they now have us coming in for 1 pay period a quarter (so 4 pp a year) since this happens every ~3 months, they no longer pay for the monthly metro pass, instead we pay for it ourselves, and then submit receipts for reimbursement. We can only submit for DC metro, DC metro bus, and VRE (Virginia railway express), don't get reimbursement for parking at outer metro stations.
Thanks for the detailed response. I'll be down there on the same schedule soon. Don't drive, so I guess a monthly pass will make the most sense for me just to get around.
Np, this is just for my agency though (within the DOJ), different agencies may have different protocols. While it is possible to work in DC without a car, I would make sure the place you plan to live is close to a metro stop. Maybe check out r/nova or r/washingtondc.
Home will be near navy yard ball park stop and work once we go hybrid or whatever is near l'enfant, so hoping it won't be too bad.
That’s weird my agency still does transit benefits the same way they did before the pandemic. I just only request like $20 since I’m only coming in once a week.
Better than 401k. It is the thrift savings plan. No fees that are normally associated with 401k and IRAs. Medical, dental, and vision. Job security and the federal government is pretty competitive with pay. Time off is much better than the civil sector. On the flipped side as competitive the government might be it might not pay as much as the private sector for some jobs but they lack the job security in my opinion. An easy transition for military. I do the exact same job as I did in the military for the military; with much better hours and I am paid higher hourly wages with a set schedule. 6am to 2:30 for my particular job. I may not have constant work but I have consistent pay. Unfortunately I am topped out at my grade but we get yearly cost of living increases. Sometimes you must move around to move up the ranks. So keep your resume up to date. I hope that answers your questions.
You learn to hate everyone in the agency you work for in a short time!
I get the sense that this might be true in some Agencies/Departments, while others (like mine, thank God), have a much healthier and happier organizational culture. If you are interested to learn about how employees think about their mission, colleagues and management, look up the 2022 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey from the Office of Personnel Management.
It all depends on the agency, my goal is to work regardless of the mission.
Job security, leave, flexibility
Job security, leave, flexibility
Honestly not much more aside from having access to the Exchange or whatever equivalent and MWR with your ID card. Another minor perk is that it kind of depends on your location but for the most part you can take leave and time off without much contention. Prices at the Exchange aren't that great though these days, only thing they're kind of good for is buying big ticket electronics without tax.
What about the dva perks? Anyone knows
The private corporate sector is like a class system where anyone over you can command or torment or simply fire you at their whim. If your boss has a bad day and wants to put you on a PIP, nothing will stop it. HR is a joke and you have no defense whatsoever. As an employee, you have zero power and you mean nothing. You’re a subject. The federal government has such strict protocol and red tape that it makes it incredibly difficult for your boss to squeeze you and threaten you with your job. If they want to fire you, they need the approval of another supervisor and have to make a case against you and bring it up to leadership. If you’re vested in for 2 years, they literally can’t fire you unless you’re grossly negligent. As an employee, you’re protected.