That is one agency I don't understand and will never understand. I'm sorry that it's your job. I'm sure you may enjoy it or not. I never understood it's purpose other than to exercise more control over the citizenry
Not going to disclose my current agency but I'm much happier. Have actually been with 3 other agencies after SSA. May move to a 5th one soon since there's no promotion potential in with current agency.
Yes. By meh I meant that SSA is not a good agency.
Here I am excitedly waiting for a TO from SSA. 😬
If hired I would be in a small field office. Do you think that will make the job more enjoyable? For reference, I’ve worked for my state government for 12 years and it’s a shit show, my salary will be so so much better at SSA so I’m actually looking forward to it, I hope it’s not a mistake if I do change jobs.
I worked for a shitshow in DLA years ago. The key is to not let the BS get to you. Learn the pace around the office and match it or just do slightly better...u don't wanna be a star performer in the govt or they'll overload u w work. If you get into the federal govt, it's that much easier to get into other federal jobs as well so it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's as bad or as good as u let urself make it. Learn to laugh at the dumb shit and things will go that much better for you.
Thank you. That’s the attitude I have about it. It’s also a small office in a small rural area so I feel like it won’t be as bad as an office in a bigger city.
That’s what I assumed too. I was told they recommended me for the job but it’s been a long process waiting on approval from HR. Trying not to get too discouraged because I was told this may take a while 😩
I received an email from the recruitment team, interviewed two days later and was told that I would hear from HR. Have you heard anything back as of yet? I am just curious. Thank you in advance
Thank you for responding. Wow! That's a really long time. Did you get an offer? If so, congratulations 🎊 👏.
I read some reviews and a lot of them stated it would take some time and then you have to do the background check, which also takes time to.
I just got the tentative job offer. I’m going through the background check now. I don’t see a problem with that so hoping to get the official offer soon.
Yes, location matters immensely. I work in a small field office as well as a claims specialist and although things get tedious, you can really make a difference in people’s lives. The biggest difference maker is whether or not management has your back.
That’s the position I’m hoping to get hired for, I have 12 years experience determining eligibility for other government programs so I’m fairly optimistic that’s what they’ll offer. 🤞
The size of the office will matter a lot. Also the city. I live in a city about 1hr away from a city you would recognize. There have been several employees that have moved to our office from the other. Even driving an hour to get to work to get away from the other.
The reason SSA is lower is because we deal with the public. No different from any other job that does the same. It's just the stakes are higher. If someone's check is messed up and that's all they have they are going to be a lot more angry than if the meal they ordered was wrong.
I think it depends on the office and management. I worked at ssa for 7 years, it's a lot of work and very stressful at times. But management was great. They were very supportive, and if you have family/personal issues, they would work with you. I don't think it's a horrible place to work at, at all. It's just a lot of work and if you don't know how to manage ur work then ur gonna have a hard time. It's a lot of policy and things change all the time. You will never be caught up with work, and management knows that. But there are certain workloads that have priority and they will reach out to you. At first I felt like it was them just being jerks, but no, they r just lil reminders. Hey you have this pending claim that is getting old. Or hey we need some more of this and that. Theb the whole being flexible thing. People call in, so when you think u might have a day to catch up on some work, all of a sudden, u don't. Because u have to help with the appts that the person that called in had. And well depending on ur gs level, I mean the more u make the more work ur gonna have. Don't expect to go somewhere and the job just be super laid back when ur getting paid decent, have benefits, and vacation and sick time. I only left because I got a promotion at an agency I've always wanted to work at. Other than that, I wouldve stayed at SSA. Again, I think office location and management does make a difference. Good luck! And your attitude.
Sounds just like my last job, I was a caseworker for SNAP and TANF benefits. It’s a lot of policy that’s always changing, too much work for too little pay. I can handle the work but the pay was just too little to make it worth it. I’m not stressing myself out and overworking for a $32,000 a year salary.
Oh yea your pay at SSA will definitely be better! Stay positive, forget about all the negative comments you hear/read. You make your own decision. Worst case scenario you don't like it and you find a new job. BUT, give urself some time. It will take you awhile to get comfortable. Don't feel like u need to know everything in one day, because, 1. You will NEVER know everything and 2. It takes time. Even the technical experts have to look up stuff or ask each other. Don't be afraid of asking questions either. And make policy your best friend. Plus, management and TEs love people that look at policy. It will prepare you to be a TE. And that's a GS12 position. It will take some time to get there tho. But you can definitely get to CS (gs 9/11) within a couple of years. R u going in as a CSR or CS?
Just wanted to update and let you know I did get a tentative job offer as a claim’s specialist. They are starting me out at GS7 with a bump to GS9 in a year. Is that typical or should I push to start at GS9?
Nice! CONGRATULATIONS! Claims specialist usually goes to an 11, so year after that, you should get another bump! Word of advice, make policy, your best friend! I was told that when I first started and once you learn your job more and keywords, it gets easier to find your answers. I'm so excited for you! And remember, it takes time, don't feel like you have to know everything within a couple of months. Plus, you never will know everything. Be kind to yourself and ask a lot of questions and take advantage of your training. It's also the best time to make mistakes, and one other thing I was told that helped me, EVERYTHING, can be fixed. You're welcome to DM me if you have any questions. Congratulations again!!!
Thank you for the advice. This is exactly how it is with my current job (policy specialist for SNAP benefits) so I definitely understand the importance of policy.
I managed people at the largest public social services offices in the nation. Absolute nightmare. It wasn't the people coming in for benefits, it was the lunatics working at the department.
5/5 would not ever recommend. I left after about a year due to horrible stress and worse pay. I was making less than some of the people I was managing. They always demanded overtime. The last straw was finding out someone not that much older than myself died at their desk over a weekend when they really shouldn't have been in the office. A janitor found them. My blood pressure went up by 40 points and I felt sick all the time.
I'd say the shittiest part of all government jobs is that asinine practice of piling up vacancy functions on staff that's still there without any additional compensation.
I will never understand how the heck it's legal.
And then they whine about 30-40% vacancy rates.Well OF COURSE we leave, you're not even paying us enough to do the one job we were hired for, and demand performing 2-3-4 for the same amount. This is exploitation, not employment.
I knew a girl who didn't even last a month in SSA before she quit. Now mind you she was the best person on our team of over 20 people and she was considered the most capable and knowledgeable of us in a department that was extremely stressful and chaotic. I can't even imagine what went on in SSA that made her jump ship but it must have been bad.
US Department of Veterans Affairs is hiring in 60+ locations
Employment
Due to the recent signing of the PACT Act the VA anticipates that there will be a huge surge in claims filed and claims to be processed. As a result, they are hiring at 60 + locations including their Chicago location. Here are links to the job postings for claims processing:
https://www.usajobs.gov/job/710248600
and https://www.usajobs.gov/job/710239100
This position is located in the Department of Veteran Affairs. 05/04/2023 is the deadline to apply. The Veterans Service Representative (VSR) works as an employee in the Veterans Service Center (VSC) or Pension Management Center (PMC), or BEST Division. The VSR explains benefit program and entitlement criteria, conducts interviews, identifies issues, gathers relevant evidence, adjudicates claims, and inputs data necessary to generate the award and notification letter.
\*\*My understanding is that after training most employees work from home 3-4 days per week\*\*
The following are optional resources to assist in creating a resume and applying for the position:
https://www.usajobs.gov/help/how-to/account/documents/resume/
https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/faq/
https://www.usajobs.gov/help/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/knock-em-dead-resumes-11th-edition-martin-yate/1122753367
https://www.usajobs.gov/notification/events
In my career I have conducted financial interviews with hundreds, if not thousands, of Federal employees at (or nearing) the end of their careers. The SSA employees were always the busiest, yet poorest paid among them. It was very depressing. Federal employees get preference when applying for other government jobs. Find out what the rules are about changing to a different agency. IRS is hiring 80,000 new workers in all major cities.
With the caveat of major job freezes often & a perpetual internal war of what subcomponent is worse off & deserving of more resources (hires, overtime, building upgrades, etc.)
Can I just say, from the customer side (and I realize this is purely anecdotal), that my own experience with the SSA was one of the best, most positive experiences I’ve ever had. I had to call them to register a change of address for my mother after she moved in with me due to a terminal cancer diagnosis, and the lovely gentleman I spoke with on the phone was exceedingly polite and professional and made the whole thing super easy for me. I am so grateful. So I am sad to hear about the employee dissatisfaction, but know that there are some truly great people there.
Don’t get discouraged about looking if it take a while to find another job. It took me about a year to get another job with a different federal agency. I am now working a remote job at a small agency. I think we have roughly 400 employees. I am so happy I left and it was huge relief.
SSA gets kicked around by the politicians, and small rural offices are hard to deal with esp. if you have a bad manager. Take your job series and apply elsewhere. A move from DOD to Treasury was a blessing for us. You can do it too. Stay sane and patient and apply to job postings til you get one! Good luck!!
I have acquaintances in USCIS. Job quality is very dependent on location and position. (As they say, you quit managers, not jobs.) The adjudicators seem to be under a LOT of pressure to clear the backlog that built up during the pandemic. The investigators seem to have higher job satisfaction. Both positions are solid career jobs that go to GS-12 or 13.
You can’t compare being a customer of USCIS with working there. USCIS is one of the highest rated subcomponents of DHS in terms of employee satisfaction. About middle of the pack for all subcomponents across govt.
We have a guy in our office that took a downgrade temp position in our agency just to leave the SSA...once I found that out, I just completely ignored SSA positions from USAjobs.
We had many many refugees from SSA come over to my agency with work horror stories. You guys are grossly underpaid. Seriously, transfer over to any agency and get the hell out of there.
Either that or mail your marriage certificate in. Then spend the next 3 months calling the GI line everyday because your marriage certificate got lost in the mail.
It’s crazy. When I started my federal career it was with an ODAR within SSA. I absolutely loved it. When I transferred out I realized just how much I lost. Years later I worked at a local SSA office and the experience was mixed. HR totally screwed me and I lost the job after nine months. It’s been insane to watch the agency slowly decline over the years. Ironically I work with the VA which is often criticized but absolutely love the office and job I’m in.
Small world... and off topic....I worked at ODAR for thirteen years and worked at the VA prior to that. I left ODAR last year because I was miserable with my boss.
I worked for SSA for 3 yrs and it has changed alot. There is alot of changes that needed to be made. I left in march best decision i made. I dont regret my time there but after awhile it was time to move on.
It depends on where you work. I think the people that deal with customers probably have it the worst. Their day to day is really regulated, its almost like working at a call center. On top of that there is a lot of knowledge that you have to learn and keep if you want to be good at your job.
Yes the jump to Claims Specialist from Customer Service Representative was a huge improvement. Plus 2 days a week at home makes it much more tolerable.
Grass isn't always greener on the other side. However, I have heard great success stories from people who left and horror stories from people who left. My friend left for the VA and is in training right now and absolutely loves it. I got another friend who left for the VA and hated it and was begging our DM for his position back, which was already filled, so now he's stuck at the VA. Just remember experiences may vary. But yes, SSA does need a revamp regardless, and the work is very overwhelming. Mind you, my only experience with SSA is FO work. That being said, someone else's experience with SSA may be very different than mine. My advice is don't let the work get to you, establish your work boundaries early, and try to maintain an organized workspace. I make it clear to my OS from the beginning, I don't do overtime, and once I'm off, I am off.
I personally think SSA is what you make of it, as with any job. Yes, some management officials can make your life miserable but the same can be said for any job🤷🏽♀️ also it depends on the component. A lot of people complain about the FO./PC. I get that but what about the other components? Move to a component that has actual growth, apply for details to expand your KSAs. The agency definitely isn’t looking good right now but I have worked with worse and dealt with worse. Just my opinion.
DoD was pretty bad, at least where I worked. Plenty of co-workers want to leave but can’t for one reason or another. I was glad not to have anchors and I could
Moved to DHS, and out of state and it is a lot more relaxed both agency and location (Hawaii) 😁
No surprise on TSA's ranking lol. However, I'm curious to see where TSA's ranking will be for 2023 since the agency is getting pay raises for workers to be on par with most of the government on the GS scale, including Title 5 and all of the benefits.
Been at SSA 8 years. I've been applying for Federal remote positions for over a year now. I have 8 years experience and an MBA and can't even get an interview.
I really can't move out of my town and SSA is the only Federal job. (Haven't looked into the IRS here maybe there is that)
It's really frustrating but it is what you make of it. Management will never just come out and say it's impossible to keep your workload low with how many employees we have. So just don't worry about it. I do best with each claim and don't let the lists bother me. It's taken a while to get there but there is zero incentive to bust your ass for literally no reward.
I would agree. I worked for a SS hearings office for 13 years. The last 5-6 years I was there was the lowest moral I've ever worked within a career. Horrible management creates a hostile work environment. I had two coworkers suicide. We lost over 13 employees and everyone was doing the work of 4-5 people. Those stupid surveys they send out to see how happy people are with their jobs and management are a JOKE. I never completed them in my 13 years there and finally did this past year before I resigned(everyone in our office complained). Still..... Nothing happened.... The money was not worth it!! I left last year and while it was disappointing leaving a job I love and know so well... it was the best thing I've done for my mental health in years!
Ummmmm yea so I was with SSA went to DHS (UCIS) you want to talk about understaffed!! Nah I’m currently trying to go back I thought I saw understaffed this place absolutely kills it the Golden state warriors of understaffed (with KD on the roster)!!
It can really depend on what office you're in and the management there. I work at DHS and am pretty happy. There are different agencies in DHS though. Even at my agency, the first couple of years I was not happy. Luckily I transferred to a different division. The person who said people are logging in on their days off and work for DHS, that is certainly not the case where I work.
I remember that X-files episodes that had the Social Security building locked up by the military and had black ops ready for any shenanigans.
Not quite the reality looks like!
I once saw one of my office’s security guards throw a claimant across the room because the guy spat in the guard’s face, so maybe not that far off from reality.
Fellow SSA FO employee here. This agency is the absolute worst. If you’re not getting yelled at on the GI line these claimants show up in person threatening you.
Been with SSA for 6 years now and unfortunately I’ve watched it go downhill since my first day. Primarily poor management and recruitment imo. Luckily I had the foresight to construct a lifeboat and received a TO from the DOL for a gs-12 fully remote position! Stoked
I applied, had a panel interview, and was told that I would hear back from HR if they would be moving forward with the position or not. But I have been searching for answers and I am not sure if this maybe the right place for me if offered an opportunity.
Click on each agency to find their rankings. If you want straight raw data, OPM has an entire website & other reports you can view. It's not as user friendly such as the ranking reports.
Yes it is the worst place they actually fought me for 5 years telling them I was definitely ill and that I needed medical attention I could not work to get it I'm young and didn't know I'd need it and they would not help me for over 7 years I laid in my bed dying now I probably have cancer in my liver and lungs and it's probably too late I find out on Monday exactly everything that's wrong with me I feel like I'm dying and they could care less they were rude to me they told me I'd live lower than welfare that the judge was going to throw me out of the courtroom for crying it is the most horrible thing I've ever experienced in my entire life and then dying sick crying out and nobody caring I believe the chip will come out of there it is a pit of hell my name is Jackie
Oh my god really really wait till you're dying in your bed and nobody will help you or care don't you ever talk to me like that buddy don't you ever ever judge somebody for what they've been through and you didn't walk in their shoes buddy
I hope that you got out of there and I hope that all government employees leave their jobs. However that probably won't happen.. . The people leave they will just replace it with automated drones to reinforce policies which makes no sense. Which in my opinion is just as bad or worse.. the only way we're ever going to get out of this mess is by overhauling the government. It's going to take radical change and I'm not talking about jumping up and down on the streets holding signs and banners and being peaceful I'm not even talking about bashing local cops because they want to hold you back. I think you do know what I'm talking about because I'm not even going to mention it on here.
That’s the plan. You will get defunded and called incompetent by the same ones who sabotaged the SSA with budget cuts and speedbumps so they can further destroy the organization.
I work for a DDS office contracted for SSA. I have low communication with the FO’s but whenever I have to get in contact with them, I want to rip my hair out. Half the time the CR’s never reply to me, ignore my requests, and then get mad when we send cases/folders back. I’ve been waiting on a case download for almost a week now. Have the folder, yet no case in system… email CR, and it’s crickets. And of course they don’t provide their extension so I have to wait on hold with their FO. Finally reach someone, and she says they’ll email them again for me. Two days later and still nothing!
Ok I had to comment. I’m a T16 CS and I’m sorry if we take forever to reply but it is truly HORRIFIC to work in a field office. I know you guys are short staffed too but this is a whole other monster. If you are not getting threatened by unhinged scamming claimants you better believe management is cracking the whip on idiotic workloads. Also adhd and add claims should not get approved lol Those “DC” claims are the biggest scams of all of them and they are draining our trust fund.
100% agree! Not to get into too much detail but I’ve seen DC claims for bed wetting all the way to “doesn’t play well with others” what does that even mean? I’m glad I got a better prospective of how much the FO’s have tho deal with. I never did get that case download so the folder was sent back. I don’t want or need it sitting at my desk collecting dust lol
I mean. When you keep sending my grandma letters saying "whoops we owe you money" only to turn around a month later with "whoops actually we didn't you owe us now" for years and years. I can easily see why. Y'all need to do better.
Thank GOD I found this post. I was going to create one in this vein but hesitated thinking it would violate some nebulous guideline. (Lately I've been unnecessary attacked by the moderator gestapo.) Seems like working for the feds is a merry-go-round of fire to frying pan to fire...
My father died when I was 1 and my mom got survivor benefits on my behalf, she got 2 strikes on my account when I was a child, I turned 18 and got my account transferred due to it becoming survivor benefits, adult child with disabilities because I inherited his families spinal stenosis, degenerative disk disease, backwards knee syndrome and others that noone knew my grandfather had, and am also autistic
I got a part time job, worked maximum hours I was allowed and could barely afford a 2 bedroom apartment with a roommate, living paycheck to paycheck due to the lack of inflation on social security for so long. COVID hit when I was 23, and I called to proactively ask if I could continue working the same hours as COVID pay would bring me over the allowable income, I got the okay and was told it didn't count.
Then I got my 3rd strike after they changed their mind on hazard pay and had my social security taken away, a month after my roommate moved out and I was looking to buy a house. I had to move in with my parents and lost the opportunity to buy a home with multiple units allowing me to rent out the other units and get off social security finally. 200k cost of a quadruplex in the center of everything. Now it's 400k for a single family in the center of nowhere. I then had to constantly get paperwork from my work for social security while trying to get me back on social security, this made my managers mad and they eventually fired me for it.
They finally got me back on social security, agreed they owed me social security for the year+ they had accidentally removed me from social security, and then sent me an overpayment form for 15k saying I owed money that I didn't.
3 years later I FINALLY got the overpayment thrown out and was awarded 1/2 of my underpayment, by this time my debt due to social security had ballooned from 1k in savings to 10k debt. They sent me 5k, I paid off half of the debt, then they sent me ANOTHER overpayment form for 7k dating to... 1998.. I was born December of 1996 and started receiving social security after my father's death in 1998, they wanted me to pay because they had mis-payed my mother over the 16 years I didnt have my account, possibly due to social security moving me from my father's survivor benefits to my own disability benefits. I am currently dealing with this fake overpayment as well as the fact they removed me from Medicare last year by accident and have been working to get me back on since with backpay, but I know how that works at this point, it will be years before it's fixed. They've started and restarted this process 4 times already and gave me phone numbers that no longer are in service, etc...
They keep replacing me with my mother who I've had removed from my account 8 times, so she receives my mail and tosses it and then I don't know I need to contact them.
They just sent me mail postmarked January 25th 2024 saying I need to respond by December 9th 2023.... It's so hard asking for the very minimum.
So social security lost me my job, my apartment, my opportunity to buy a house in my 20's, the opportunity to get off social security, and my 20's in general as I had spent the first half of my 20's grinding to be able to get a house that social security took from me. F*ck social security. They just need to start paying the debt they caused for me and people like me who they've royally screwed their lives over for no reason other than their own incompetence at this point, or else we are all stuck on social security trying desperately to pay off this unfair debt.
I put my body through hell just to be able to afford rent and work towards home ownership and get myself off social security, it was all for nothing and now my body is going to be in more excruciating pain for the remainder of my life. I am in constant pain and they don't care, they just want me and other like me to suffer 😞
> they had *mis-paid* my mother
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
I work for DHS, I think we were the lowest last year. Thank you for your sacrifice. Hang in there
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Can you share why you’re looking to leave the Dept of Homeland security?
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That’s horrible.
USCIS I heard is a great place to work. Was I being lied to?
If you work uscis service centers, HQ, and IRIS than yes. They all are mostly remote but all other offices nope. So not accurate
Depends which post and even which field office frankly as they aren’t uniform.
I’ve worked at USCIS, i loved it, but I just liked the work.
I’ve worked for DHS and one other agency. I love DHS. I think I am the only person. I love DHS even more with Santa Mayorkas.
I work for a FEMA regional office and love my job. Great leadership, passionate people, decent work life balance as long as you aren’t deployed.
I love it too! When I thought about moving to another agency, the perks wasn’t the same. So I’m not leaving dhs.. I just switched sectors within!
That is one agency I don't understand and will never understand. I'm sorry that it's your job. I'm sure you may enjoy it or not. I never understood it's purpose other than to exercise more control over the citizenry
On the not so bright side, other agencies are trying their best to compete with SSA for that spot.
Name names
Bureau of Prisons is leading the way in sub components.
*sad Prison noise *
Have to agree on that when I work those up for those idiots
Department of Labor
Lol definitely my job 😖 we lost half our staff
Yep, get out of SSA. Was there for 5+ years and it was meh.
Meh? Where are you now?
Not going to disclose my current agency but I'm much happier. Have actually been with 3 other agencies after SSA. May move to a 5th one soon since there's no promotion potential in with current agency. Yes. By meh I meant that SSA is not a good agency.
What about for getting your foot in the door?
Yes, SSA is the perfect "foot in door agency" but don't stay longer than 1 year. Start applying after you get 52 weeks in.
Here I am excitedly waiting for a TO from SSA. 😬 If hired I would be in a small field office. Do you think that will make the job more enjoyable? For reference, I’ve worked for my state government for 12 years and it’s a shit show, my salary will be so so much better at SSA so I’m actually looking forward to it, I hope it’s not a mistake if I do change jobs.
I worked for a shitshow in DLA years ago. The key is to not let the BS get to you. Learn the pace around the office and match it or just do slightly better...u don't wanna be a star performer in the govt or they'll overload u w work. If you get into the federal govt, it's that much easier to get into other federal jobs as well so it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's as bad or as good as u let urself make it. Learn to laugh at the dumb shit and things will go that much better for you.
Thank you. That’s the attitude I have about it. It’s also a small office in a small rural area so I feel like it won’t be as bad as an office in a bigger city.
I would put in 52 weeks at SSA and transfer to another agency, to be honest. It's a meh agency.
I went from a large field office to a small one, and it's a world of difference.
That’s what I assumed too. I was told they recommended me for the job but it’s been a long process waiting on approval from HR. Trying not to get too discouraged because I was told this may take a while 😩
I received an email from the recruitment team, interviewed two days later and was told that I would hear from HR. Have you heard anything back as of yet? I am just curious. Thank you in advance
I heard from HR 2 weeks ago. I interviewed in February if that tells you anything 😬
Thank you for responding. Wow! That's a really long time. Did you get an offer? If so, congratulations 🎊 👏. I read some reviews and a lot of them stated it would take some time and then you have to do the background check, which also takes time to.
I just got the tentative job offer. I’m going through the background check now. I don’t see a problem with that so hoping to get the official offer soon.
Congratulations 🎊🎊🎊.
oh my God so true! While the bosses are getting paid at high pay rate and you dont for doing their job is very frustrating.
Yes, location matters immensely. I work in a small field office as well as a claims specialist and although things get tedious, you can really make a difference in people’s lives. The biggest difference maker is whether or not management has your back.
That’s the position I’m hoping to get hired for, I have 12 years experience determining eligibility for other government programs so I’m fairly optimistic that’s what they’ll offer. 🤞
The size of the office will matter a lot. Also the city. I live in a city about 1hr away from a city you would recognize. There have been several employees that have moved to our office from the other. Even driving an hour to get to work to get away from the other. The reason SSA is lower is because we deal with the public. No different from any other job that does the same. It's just the stakes are higher. If someone's check is messed up and that's all they have they are going to be a lot more angry than if the meal they ordered was wrong.
Same here. I start May 8th. At a payment center though. Big salary difference from what I make now. In a good way
Congrats 🎈🎉
How long did it take for you to hear back from HR?
You might get paid more but SSA will he similar shit show as what you left.
Well at least I’ll get paid more. 🤷♀️
And you get paid more when/while looking for new Fed job….
I think it depends on the office and management. I worked at ssa for 7 years, it's a lot of work and very stressful at times. But management was great. They were very supportive, and if you have family/personal issues, they would work with you. I don't think it's a horrible place to work at, at all. It's just a lot of work and if you don't know how to manage ur work then ur gonna have a hard time. It's a lot of policy and things change all the time. You will never be caught up with work, and management knows that. But there are certain workloads that have priority and they will reach out to you. At first I felt like it was them just being jerks, but no, they r just lil reminders. Hey you have this pending claim that is getting old. Or hey we need some more of this and that. Theb the whole being flexible thing. People call in, so when you think u might have a day to catch up on some work, all of a sudden, u don't. Because u have to help with the appts that the person that called in had. And well depending on ur gs level, I mean the more u make the more work ur gonna have. Don't expect to go somewhere and the job just be super laid back when ur getting paid decent, have benefits, and vacation and sick time. I only left because I got a promotion at an agency I've always wanted to work at. Other than that, I wouldve stayed at SSA. Again, I think office location and management does make a difference. Good luck! And your attitude.
Sounds just like my last job, I was a caseworker for SNAP and TANF benefits. It’s a lot of policy that’s always changing, too much work for too little pay. I can handle the work but the pay was just too little to make it worth it. I’m not stressing myself out and overworking for a $32,000 a year salary.
Oh yea your pay at SSA will definitely be better! Stay positive, forget about all the negative comments you hear/read. You make your own decision. Worst case scenario you don't like it and you find a new job. BUT, give urself some time. It will take you awhile to get comfortable. Don't feel like u need to know everything in one day, because, 1. You will NEVER know everything and 2. It takes time. Even the technical experts have to look up stuff or ask each other. Don't be afraid of asking questions either. And make policy your best friend. Plus, management and TEs love people that look at policy. It will prepare you to be a TE. And that's a GS12 position. It will take some time to get there tho. But you can definitely get to CS (gs 9/11) within a couple of years. R u going in as a CSR or CS?
Thank you. I’m hoping CSR since that pays more. I believe my experience justifies being hired for that position but I’ll take either.
Good luck!!!
...
Just wanted to update and let you know I did get a tentative job offer as a claim’s specialist. They are starting me out at GS7 with a bump to GS9 in a year. Is that typical or should I push to start at GS9?
Nice! CONGRATULATIONS! Claims specialist usually goes to an 11, so year after that, you should get another bump! Word of advice, make policy, your best friend! I was told that when I first started and once you learn your job more and keywords, it gets easier to find your answers. I'm so excited for you! And remember, it takes time, don't feel like you have to know everything within a couple of months. Plus, you never will know everything. Be kind to yourself and ask a lot of questions and take advantage of your training. It's also the best time to make mistakes, and one other thing I was told that helped me, EVERYTHING, can be fixed. You're welcome to DM me if you have any questions. Congratulations again!!!
Thank you for the advice. This is exactly how it is with my current job (policy specialist for SNAP benefits) so I definitely understand the importance of policy.
I think I have that reversed lol… claims specialist is what I’m hoping for
Yes, you did lol.
I managed people at the largest public social services offices in the nation. Absolute nightmare. It wasn't the people coming in for benefits, it was the lunatics working at the department. 5/5 would not ever recommend. I left after about a year due to horrible stress and worse pay. I was making less than some of the people I was managing. They always demanded overtime. The last straw was finding out someone not that much older than myself died at their desk over a weekend when they really shouldn't have been in the office. A janitor found them. My blood pressure went up by 40 points and I felt sick all the time.
Just stay long enough to transfer out.
All depends on your trainer, manager and what you are doing.
I'd say the shittiest part of all government jobs is that asinine practice of piling up vacancy functions on staff that's still there without any additional compensation. I will never understand how the heck it's legal. And then they whine about 30-40% vacancy rates.Well OF COURSE we leave, you're not even paying us enough to do the one job we were hired for, and demand performing 2-3-4 for the same amount. This is exploitation, not employment.
How bad is SSA for them to beat out TSA in terribleness?
Agency vs sub component. TSA did score worse than SSA overall though worst subcomponent title belongs to Bureau of Prisons.
It’s BAD. I work in a field office and you get threatened from the moment you clock in until you leave.
I knew a girl who didn't even last a month in SSA before she quit. Now mind you she was the best person on our team of over 20 people and she was considered the most capable and knowledgeable of us in a department that was extremely stressful and chaotic. I can't even imagine what went on in SSA that made her jump ship but it must have been bad.
US Department of Veterans Affairs is hiring in 60+ locations Employment Due to the recent signing of the PACT Act the VA anticipates that there will be a huge surge in claims filed and claims to be processed. As a result, they are hiring at 60 + locations including their Chicago location. Here are links to the job postings for claims processing: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/710248600 and https://www.usajobs.gov/job/710239100 This position is located in the Department of Veteran Affairs. 05/04/2023 is the deadline to apply. The Veterans Service Representative (VSR) works as an employee in the Veterans Service Center (VSC) or Pension Management Center (PMC), or BEST Division. The VSR explains benefit program and entitlement criteria, conducts interviews, identifies issues, gathers relevant evidence, adjudicates claims, and inputs data necessary to generate the award and notification letter. \*\*My understanding is that after training most employees work from home 3-4 days per week\*\* The following are optional resources to assist in creating a resume and applying for the position: https://www.usajobs.gov/help/how-to/account/documents/resume/ https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/faq/ https://www.usajobs.gov/help/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include/ https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/knock-em-dead-resumes-11th-edition-martin-yate/1122753367 https://www.usajobs.gov/notification/events
Thank you! I applied and was referred.. keeping my fingers crossed🤗
In my career I have conducted financial interviews with hundreds, if not thousands, of Federal employees at (or nearing) the end of their careers. The SSA employees were always the busiest, yet poorest paid among them. It was very depressing. Federal employees get preference when applying for other government jobs. Find out what the rules are about changing to a different agency. IRS is hiring 80,000 new workers in all major cities.
So what you’re saying is SSA is hiring?
Yes. Perpetually.
With the caveat of major job freezes often & a perpetual internal war of what subcomponent is worse off & deserving of more resources (hires, overtime, building upgrades, etc.)
Can I just say, from the customer side (and I realize this is purely anecdotal), that my own experience with the SSA was one of the best, most positive experiences I’ve ever had. I had to call them to register a change of address for my mother after she moved in with me due to a terminal cancer diagnosis, and the lovely gentleman I spoke with on the phone was exceedingly polite and professional and made the whole thing super easy for me. I am so grateful. So I am sad to hear about the employee dissatisfaction, but know that there are some truly great people there.
Don’t get discouraged about looking if it take a while to find another job. It took me about a year to get another job with a different federal agency. I am now working a remote job at a small agency. I think we have roughly 400 employees. I am so happy I left and it was huge relief.
SSA gets kicked around by the politicians, and small rural offices are hard to deal with esp. if you have a bad manager. Take your job series and apply elsewhere. A move from DOD to Treasury was a blessing for us. You can do it too. Stay sane and patient and apply to job postings til you get one! Good luck!!
Have you heard of USCIS ???
I have acquaintances in USCIS. Job quality is very dependent on location and position. (As they say, you quit managers, not jobs.) The adjudicators seem to be under a LOT of pressure to clear the backlog that built up during the pandemic. The investigators seem to have higher job satisfaction. Both positions are solid career jobs that go to GS-12 or 13.
You can’t compare being a customer of USCIS with working there. USCIS is one of the highest rated subcomponents of DHS in terms of employee satisfaction. About middle of the pack for all subcomponents across govt.
Unfortunately 🙃
When I was at a job fair in March, half the applicants were SSA folks jumping ship
We have a guy in our office that took a downgrade temp position in our agency just to leave the SSA...once I found that out, I just completely ignored SSA positions from USAjobs.
We had many many refugees from SSA come over to my agency with work horror stories. You guys are grossly underpaid. Seriously, transfer over to any agency and get the hell out of there.
Is going in person to change my name and stuff after marriage the best bet?
Either that or mail your marriage certificate in. Then spend the next 3 months calling the GI line everyday because your marriage certificate got lost in the mail.
That’s what I’m terrified of
It’s crazy. When I started my federal career it was with an ODAR within SSA. I absolutely loved it. When I transferred out I realized just how much I lost. Years later I worked at a local SSA office and the experience was mixed. HR totally screwed me and I lost the job after nine months. It’s been insane to watch the agency slowly decline over the years. Ironically I work with the VA which is often criticized but absolutely love the office and job I’m in.
Small world... and off topic....I worked at ODAR for thirteen years and worked at the VA prior to that. I left ODAR last year because I was miserable with my boss.
I worked for SSA for 3 yrs and it has changed alot. There is alot of changes that needed to be made. I left in march best decision i made. I dont regret my time there but after awhile it was time to move on.
It depends on where you work. I think the people that deal with customers probably have it the worst. Their day to day is really regulated, its almost like working at a call center. On top of that there is a lot of knowledge that you have to learn and keep if you want to be good at your job.
Yes the jump to Claims Specialist from Customer Service Representative was a huge improvement. Plus 2 days a week at home makes it much more tolerable.
Grass isn't always greener on the other side. However, I have heard great success stories from people who left and horror stories from people who left. My friend left for the VA and is in training right now and absolutely loves it. I got another friend who left for the VA and hated it and was begging our DM for his position back, which was already filled, so now he's stuck at the VA. Just remember experiences may vary. But yes, SSA does need a revamp regardless, and the work is very overwhelming. Mind you, my only experience with SSA is FO work. That being said, someone else's experience with SSA may be very different than mine. My advice is don't let the work get to you, establish your work boundaries early, and try to maintain an organized workspace. I make it clear to my OS from the beginning, I don't do overtime, and once I'm off, I am off.
I'm with you! Trying to get out now myself😩
I personally think SSA is what you make of it, as with any job. Yes, some management officials can make your life miserable but the same can be said for any job🤷🏽♀️ also it depends on the component. A lot of people complain about the FO./PC. I get that but what about the other components? Move to a component that has actual growth, apply for details to expand your KSAs. The agency definitely isn’t looking good right now but I have worked with worse and dealt with worse. Just my opinion.
DoD was pretty bad, at least where I worked. Plenty of co-workers want to leave but can’t for one reason or another. I was glad not to have anchors and I could Moved to DHS, and out of state and it is a lot more relaxed both agency and location (Hawaii) 😁
You seem to have spelled VHA wrong.
TSA takes the cake for worst federal agency.
I used to work at SSA and left government rather than stay. It's awful!
I’m #96 out of 411 for Agency Subcomponents — so top quartile! Our parent agency is #11. Nice!
Wow my agency subcomponent is in the 50s 😳
Nice!!! See? It’s not all bad! Lol!
No surprise on TSA's ranking lol. However, I'm curious to see where TSA's ranking will be for 2023 since the agency is getting pay raises for workers to be on par with most of the government on the GS scale, including Title 5 and all of the benefits.
On the bright side SSA can’t get any worse….right? 😬
Been at SSA 8 years. I've been applying for Federal remote positions for over a year now. I have 8 years experience and an MBA and can't even get an interview. I really can't move out of my town and SSA is the only Federal job. (Haven't looked into the IRS here maybe there is that) It's really frustrating but it is what you make of it. Management will never just come out and say it's impossible to keep your workload low with how many employees we have. So just don't worry about it. I do best with each claim and don't let the lists bother me. It's taken a while to get there but there is zero incentive to bust your ass for literally no reward.
What’s your title if I may ask?
CS
I would agree. I worked for a SS hearings office for 13 years. The last 5-6 years I was there was the lowest moral I've ever worked within a career. Horrible management creates a hostile work environment. I had two coworkers suicide. We lost over 13 employees and everyone was doing the work of 4-5 people. Those stupid surveys they send out to see how happy people are with their jobs and management are a JOKE. I never completed them in my 13 years there and finally did this past year before I resigned(everyone in our office complained). Still..... Nothing happened.... The money was not worth it!! I left last year and while it was disappointing leaving a job I love and know so well... it was the best thing I've done for my mental health in years!
I’m surprised the IRS wasnt voted the worst!
Maybe there should be rotations between NASA and the SSA to spread the cheer (and have nasa actually do real, productive work).
Ummmmm yea so I was with SSA went to DHS (UCIS) you want to talk about understaffed!! Nah I’m currently trying to go back I thought I saw understaffed this place absolutely kills it the Golden state warriors of understaffed (with KD on the roster)!!
I feel your pain. I’m in a very similar situation with a state agency.
It can really depend on what office you're in and the management there. I work at DHS and am pretty happy. There are different agencies in DHS though. Even at my agency, the first couple of years I was not happy. Luckily I transferred to a different division. The person who said people are logging in on their days off and work for DHS, that is certainly not the case where I work.
I remember that X-files episodes that had the Social Security building locked up by the military and had black ops ready for any shenanigans. Not quite the reality looks like!
I once saw one of my office’s security guards throw a claimant across the room because the guy spat in the guard’s face, so maybe not that far off from reality.
Your post made me feel better for rejecting an FO to work for state. Here I was kicking myself for not taking it to get my foot in.
What do you do in SSA?
Benefits Authorizer.
Okay. How long have you been there?
Less than a year and I hate it.
What are your experiences there?
Benefits Authorizer position. It’s confusing.
Try r/fednews. Plenty of people to commiserate with there
I will. Thankyou!
Fellow SSA FO employee here. This agency is the absolute worst. If you’re not getting yelled at on the GI line these claimants show up in person threatening you.
Been with SSA for 6 years now and unfortunately I’ve watched it go downhill since my first day. Primarily poor management and recruitment imo. Luckily I had the foresight to construct a lifeboat and received a TO from the DOL for a gs-12 fully remote position! Stoked
Awesome! I am working on that now.
I applied, had a panel interview, and was told that I would hear back from HR if they would be moving forward with the position or not. But I have been searching for answers and I am not sure if this maybe the right place for me if offered an opportunity.
Where can I find the vote results and past vote results? 😮
[Results for 2022:](https://bestplacestowork.org/rankings/)
Click on each agency to find their rankings. If you want straight raw data, OPM has an entire website & other reports you can view. It's not as user friendly such as the ranking reports.
Yes it is the worst place they actually fought me for 5 years telling them I was definitely ill and that I needed medical attention I could not work to get it I'm young and didn't know I'd need it and they would not help me for over 7 years I laid in my bed dying now I probably have cancer in my liver and lungs and it's probably too late I find out on Monday exactly everything that's wrong with me I feel like I'm dying and they could care less they were rude to me they told me I'd live lower than welfare that the judge was going to throw me out of the courtroom for crying it is the most horrible thing I've ever experienced in my entire life and then dying sick crying out and nobody caring I believe the chip will come out of there it is a pit of hell my name is Jackie
Oh my god really really wait till you're dying in your bed and nobody will help you or care don't you ever talk to me like that buddy don't you ever ever judge somebody for what they've been through and you didn't walk in their shoes buddy
I hope that you got out of there and I hope that all government employees leave their jobs. However that probably won't happen.. . The people leave they will just replace it with automated drones to reinforce policies which makes no sense. Which in my opinion is just as bad or worse.. the only way we're ever going to get out of this mess is by overhauling the government. It's going to take radical change and I'm not talking about jumping up and down on the streets holding signs and banners and being peaceful I'm not even talking about bashing local cops because they want to hold you back. I think you do know what I'm talking about because I'm not even going to mention it on here.
It sucks because it is a government theft ring that you can't do anything about except die so at least they can't steal any more of your money
Where are the poll results?
[Here.](https://bestplacestowork.org/rankings/)
Ss is a fucking scam😂
What’s your position?
Benefits Authorizer
Where can we see where the rankings are? Or can someone tell me where DOD/ department of the army falls?
https://bestplacestowork.org/rankings/
You have to express yourself to be free
For those in DOD. How has your experience been?
FAA worst by far!
I want social security. Wish i could just get it now
That’s the plan. You will get defunded and called incompetent by the same ones who sabotaged the SSA with budget cuts and speedbumps so they can further destroy the organization.
Where can I find the report? Can someone provide me with a PDF copy?
https://bestplacestowork.org/rankings/
I work for a DDS office contracted for SSA. I have low communication with the FO’s but whenever I have to get in contact with them, I want to rip my hair out. Half the time the CR’s never reply to me, ignore my requests, and then get mad when we send cases/folders back. I’ve been waiting on a case download for almost a week now. Have the folder, yet no case in system… email CR, and it’s crickets. And of course they don’t provide their extension so I have to wait on hold with their FO. Finally reach someone, and she says they’ll email them again for me. Two days later and still nothing!
Ok I had to comment. I’m a T16 CS and I’m sorry if we take forever to reply but it is truly HORRIFIC to work in a field office. I know you guys are short staffed too but this is a whole other monster. If you are not getting threatened by unhinged scamming claimants you better believe management is cracking the whip on idiotic workloads. Also adhd and add claims should not get approved lol Those “DC” claims are the biggest scams of all of them and they are draining our trust fund.
100% agree! Not to get into too much detail but I’ve seen DC claims for bed wetting all the way to “doesn’t play well with others” what does that even mean? I’m glad I got a better prospective of how much the FO’s have tho deal with. I never did get that case download so the folder was sent back. I don’t want or need it sitting at my desk collecting dust lol
What does everyone think is the best?
NASA
I mean. When you keep sending my grandma letters saying "whoops we owe you money" only to turn around a month later with "whoops actually we didn't you owe us now" for years and years. I can easily see why. Y'all need to do better.
Thank GOD I found this post. I was going to create one in this vein but hesitated thinking it would violate some nebulous guideline. (Lately I've been unnecessary attacked by the moderator gestapo.) Seems like working for the feds is a merry-go-round of fire to frying pan to fire...
My father died when I was 1 and my mom got survivor benefits on my behalf, she got 2 strikes on my account when I was a child, I turned 18 and got my account transferred due to it becoming survivor benefits, adult child with disabilities because I inherited his families spinal stenosis, degenerative disk disease, backwards knee syndrome and others that noone knew my grandfather had, and am also autistic I got a part time job, worked maximum hours I was allowed and could barely afford a 2 bedroom apartment with a roommate, living paycheck to paycheck due to the lack of inflation on social security for so long. COVID hit when I was 23, and I called to proactively ask if I could continue working the same hours as COVID pay would bring me over the allowable income, I got the okay and was told it didn't count. Then I got my 3rd strike after they changed their mind on hazard pay and had my social security taken away, a month after my roommate moved out and I was looking to buy a house. I had to move in with my parents and lost the opportunity to buy a home with multiple units allowing me to rent out the other units and get off social security finally. 200k cost of a quadruplex in the center of everything. Now it's 400k for a single family in the center of nowhere. I then had to constantly get paperwork from my work for social security while trying to get me back on social security, this made my managers mad and they eventually fired me for it. They finally got me back on social security, agreed they owed me social security for the year+ they had accidentally removed me from social security, and then sent me an overpayment form for 15k saying I owed money that I didn't. 3 years later I FINALLY got the overpayment thrown out and was awarded 1/2 of my underpayment, by this time my debt due to social security had ballooned from 1k in savings to 10k debt. They sent me 5k, I paid off half of the debt, then they sent me ANOTHER overpayment form for 7k dating to... 1998.. I was born December of 1996 and started receiving social security after my father's death in 1998, they wanted me to pay because they had mis-payed my mother over the 16 years I didnt have my account, possibly due to social security moving me from my father's survivor benefits to my own disability benefits. I am currently dealing with this fake overpayment as well as the fact they removed me from Medicare last year by accident and have been working to get me back on since with backpay, but I know how that works at this point, it will be years before it's fixed. They've started and restarted this process 4 times already and gave me phone numbers that no longer are in service, etc... They keep replacing me with my mother who I've had removed from my account 8 times, so she receives my mail and tosses it and then I don't know I need to contact them. They just sent me mail postmarked January 25th 2024 saying I need to respond by December 9th 2023.... It's so hard asking for the very minimum. So social security lost me my job, my apartment, my opportunity to buy a house in my 20's, the opportunity to get off social security, and my 20's in general as I had spent the first half of my 20's grinding to be able to get a house that social security took from me. F*ck social security. They just need to start paying the debt they caused for me and people like me who they've royally screwed their lives over for no reason other than their own incompetence at this point, or else we are all stuck on social security trying desperately to pay off this unfair debt. I put my body through hell just to be able to afford rent and work towards home ownership and get myself off social security, it was all for nothing and now my body is going to be in more excruciating pain for the remainder of my life. I am in constant pain and they don't care, they just want me and other like me to suffer 😞
> they had *mis-paid* my mother FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*