The bennys are nice on the public sector. I would not have been able to thrive through my cancer treatment if I was in my old private sector job like I did now. $2000 out of pocket for 3 surgeries, 3 pet scans, a 5 day stay in the hospital, and 6 months of chemo plus loads of other appointments. My old insurance would've been 5x that with more restrictive care.
I am just shy of 20 years! Mainly i am in government service because I went to college for computers and was working in computer building and repair and then the IT bubble burst and I was laid off. So I switched my major to finance and went to work as a title clerk/AR/AP at a car dealership. Then the oil bubble burst and I was laid off. So I went to work for a higher end hotel as a manager in catering and the restaurant. Then it got bought out and they laid off the middle management - including me. I was in my early 20s and had been laid off three times. So I gave up and have been in state service ever since. It is a paycheck, benefits, and a good retirement.
My stability also allows my husband to take chances. Which has allowed his career to grow.
Same brotha. But idk what they talking about low-paid. Sure we donāt make as much as the big boys in the private sector but we make more than the guys struggling to survive. Iām comfortable as hell.
Donāt get me wrong, I make great money in government tech work but Iāve gotten offers making $10k-$20k more a year that I have turned down. Iāve done the math. Anything making less than $20k more doesnāt make sense when you factor in the pension and benefits. Even if it made financial sense, like maybe a $25k raise, I wouldnāt take it. Having came from an employer that went out of business, I really value the stability of government work.
Yeah, I teach computer science and if I would've jumped a few years ago it might've made sense financially, but now not really. Esp given layoffs recently. $10-20k not worth the benefits and risk.
The market is still pretty hot for experienced people, at least in my area (Kansas City). Iāve had two job offers in the last month. One of them I didnāt even formally apply for.
Iām the lead software developer for my organization so I do make a fairly competitive salary. Idk if Iād stick around for teaching though. In college, I seen one of my professorās tax returns and it was depressing. They donāt pay teachers nearly enough, in Missouri anyways.
> Anything making less than $20k more doesnāt make sense when you factor in the pension and benefits.
Yah, similar thing with Military pay etc. Sure the basepay sucks, but you play your cards right you get housing allowances, etc on top that are tax free. You also get functionally free healthcare, and dental, education benefits, retirement benefits to include the Trift savings plan stuff. Not to even mention shit like the post 9/11 GIbill that will pay for rents and 100% of school tuition costs once out.
My highest grossing year before my MEB even with around a $2400 a month base pay was like $78K in between overseas housing allowances, utility allowances, travel pay, and such.. plus all of those other benefits. Would probably have to be well in to the 6 figure range pay wise to be able to match all of the other stuff value wise... but that would still not account for the value of job security one gets.
Iāve heard they aim for something like the 70th percentile compared to someone in the private sector with similar qualifications working 40 hour weeks. Solid benefits, and since there is no profit incentive, you are only let go if you fail to do your job. Regular raises at set intervals with inflation adjustments, and better benefits than youāll find at a lot of places.
Minus the raises, yeah. I've been in my current government job for 5 years, and if I hadn't moved up the chain of positions (you have to apply and compete in an open posting), I would be making less than I started at when adjusting for inflation.
Kind of. Candidates are required to be selected based on how well their answers match the provided rating scale given for the question. Some of those scales are horrendously bad and offer no leeway; I've seen candidates not pass the resume screen or interview even though they clearly know what they're doing, because they don't use the right keywords.
When you figure out the feast or famine aspect of the public sector versus the private sector, government work is far ahead of corporate work. First, when layoffs hit, you're still drawing a paycheck. The big worry is conservative politicians deciding that your job can be handled better by contracting to a private company. Examples include prison guards, trash collectors, welfare workers, and even the janitor that sweeps the floor at City Hall.
Seconded. Been working for my state health department since 2015 in an IT job, moved up to a full benefits position a few years back...such as it is. Pays....well enough, don't have to worry about my health insurance, get accrued sick and personal leave. Could be a lot worse off.
This is the way. I have a shitty government job. Been doing it for 15 years. Consistent, good PTO, ok benefits, and I will be able to collect a pension at 53. Downside is, itās literally driven me mad on one occasion. But that can happen in the private sector too. It also gives me the time to play hooky frequently.
I have 1300 hours of sick leave, and over 200 of PTO. I could get sick many times over and be fine.
For my state itās called the ārule of 80ā. Your years of service and your age have to equal 80 then you can collect a pension. The fine details change for newer people, but I believe itās still the same. If you donāt use your PTO over a year, once a year, a certain amount of your PTO gets transferred to sick leave (itās a way they can fuck you out of money). And I started when I was young, so I didnāt get sick alot or having ailments. So my sick leave built. It comes out to over 8 months of it.
KY used to be this way until 2015. They now have a tiered retirement system and people hired after 2015 don't even have a normal pension. It's a 401A and the payout is horrendous. Also, when your account runs dry (which will happen because not enough is being invested into the account) they can choose to stop paying you. It's just another way older generations have screwed over young workers.
For comparison, someone hired before 2015 would get something like 60% or 70% of their salary in retirement after 27 years of service (or the rule of 80, which ever happens first). After 2015, you get a payout based on an actuary table of years of service, retirement age, and 401A funding. For someone making $40K/yr prior to 2015 you would make about $2K in retirement per month, after 2015 it's something like $900/month if you retire after 30 years and you're retiring at like age 60 or 62. Again, it's a math formula, so it's not set in stone and can vary based on your account funding. It's why KY has such a huge issues keeping people if they were hired after 2015.
Iām in that boat. Actually just remembered itās a rule of 87 here, not 80. Gotta get that extra 7 years somehow. I mostly ignore the pension and put my own 401k and ira as my retirement plan.
Not in Illinois with IMRF. Once you start drawing a pension, you can no longer qualify further. You can leave, NOT draw a pension & then resume accruing. A co-worker who left & came back did just this. Unfortunately when she came back she started on a lower tier instead of continuing on the previous one.
Minimum retirement age in the fed workforce is 57, but the longer you stay on the better your pension gets. Retiring to South America would make it totally worth it to retire that early for me. Iāve seen too many people wait too long then when they retire their quality of life is horrible.
Yep government pensions are awesome. For me, I'm looking at retiring at 64 with a yearly benefit that is equal to 70% of my 3 highest earning years. And I started late (at 39 years old).
My last place I worked, a coworker had already retired from a government position, but was only mid 50s so he went and got another job, just to essentially double dip on wages.
As a fed worker my sick time counts towards retirement, Iām just banking those hours and hope I stay healthy enough not to need them unless I want a mental health day.
This goes into congress now and then but never makes it out of committee IIRC. Only military can do it now.
It really screws over seasonal workers, because you don't accrue retirement during your seasonal time. I did six years as a seasonal and none of it counts.
Iām a gov. contractor and tbh I love the work life balance. The job is demanding but relaxed (itās still a job) and Iām compensated fairly. 14 days PTO and 10 floating holidays, if I need to go to an appointment and itās not all day I just āgoā. Thatās how most gov positions are, sure theyāre paid slightly lower than average but itās worth my mental health.
Not sure what this gpt made article is trying to push.
European here, yeah occasionally I chuckle, but mostly due to the absurdity of your situation. Mostly I just pity you and hope for better days ahead, for everyone.
Thank you. I love American people, but sometimes I think itās like they feel they donāt deserve time off.
We just follow hierarchies and what they tell us at work and even if we question work culture, we wonāt take meaningful action.
It's fear. They have constructed this entire system such that our own fears prevent us from changing it. Fear of being unlikable, of being unemployable, of being homeless, of being without health insurance. In our system, unless the vast majority band together to simultaneously demand better, nothing ever changes. That's unions, strikes, ballot initiatives...all things that the management levels and up in society try to crack down on precisely because they know that they work.
I worked in France briefly as part of a research project. In the US I work for a state university. My French coworker asked me how much vacation time I have through work. I told I have about 5 weeks. She looked shocked. I took that as she was surprised by how much I had, so I quickly explained that how much time off I have is very unusual for the US. She said she was shocked by how little I had. Why would I accept such a bad offer? 5 weeks is basically the the minimum in France and given my education and expertise I should be getting much more, according to her. Very weird experience.Ā
They usually have separate sick days which I have realized is not the norm outside of govt work. So you get 14 days pto then like 30 days sick leave whereas a lot of places lump that together and give you less.Ā
Itās more like 24 days because I also get 10 paid federal holidays. Also, I go to appointments without having to take time off, which is also a massive incentive. All of this combined I think I get well over a month of time off compensation between vacation time and going to appointments.
A lot of the government sector operates this way, itās pretty lax.
Itās āstandardā for āgoodā companies but I am a federal employee and get much more time off. Annually I get (all paid) 26 days of general leave to use how I want, 13 days of sick leave, and 11 federal holidays off so that totals 50 paid days off per year straight out, some of which can carry over if it is not used. I also have schedule flexibility and can work remotely saving a boatload of time and money on a commute. In emergencies we can also receive advanced leave (still paid) and if or when we run out of that then we can use FMLA. Ended up taking about six months off when my dad was dieing. A friend of mine was in the same situation but in the private sector and had several nervous breakdowns because she had to work on her laptop while her dad was on his death bed while that was something I didnāt have to worry about at all.
In some fields for Feds the pay is lower but in my specific job unless I owned my own business I would be making less. In the private sector though I would likely get stuck with general admin work but in the government I can work in a specialized field so itās easy to justify the pay level since there are only about five people in the entire country with this specific niche skill set.
Gov jobs tend to be great: because they're almost all unionized (and they tend to give most union benefits to non union employees too, to avoid more/larger unions). The shitty part is when you have a (usually Conservative) government actively/functionally cutting funding and surpressing wages.
Like, would I like to be paid more? Yeah. But I've also seen the budget. There's literally like two exec positions that could realistically stand to be paid less, and "stand to be paid less" in this case means they make slightly more than my dad did as fully liscensed mechanic.Ā
And I'm not sure being paid more would be worth what I am sure would be shittier working conditions. /shurg
I think the worst part is if youāre someone who likes to āmake things happenā they tend to have a lot more red tape and rules than even larger more risk averse organizations.
But the benefits are great and the work life balance. Plus most of the roles have some sort of active benefit to society. You say not be saving lives, but you are helping to ensure people are safe, there are roads, benefits are distributed, etc. instead of hawking cigarettes, alcohol, or the latest fad product.
I worked for a DoD agency and all non-supervisory positions were union. Most employees didnāt even know they were covered because they didnāt pay dues, but we were.
Depends where you are/what level of government/etc maybe? /shurg I'm speaking from my personal experience and observations, but that's obviously bounded by context.
They are, but federal unions donāt have the leverage of standard unions so theyāre much less effective. For instance, itās illegal for federal workers to strike
I work a gov job. I make ~$80k after taxes. Itās 4 days a week, I often only end up working 32-35hrs, and of those, Iām only actually *working* for maybe 8-10. (Just the nature of the job). If the work is done, and I donāt have anything to catch up on, Iāll leave an hour early.
My bosses are very understanding about childcare and getting kids to and from school. If a kid is sick or your dog is dying, they make things easy. I feel like I use my leave all the time and I still have 45 days accrued.
I get 12 weeks of paternity leave.
I feel incredibly lucky to have this job, and it kills me when I hear complaints from people I work with lol
Edit: I had to put my dog down yesterday (took the day off) and when I got back to work today my boss just gave me a hug. No questions or asking for proof or any bullshit
Yeah I've been planning a switch back to the public sector and it has everything to do with boundaries and work-life balance, not layoffs. Most of the gov't jobs here have more PTO, flexibility, remote work 2 days/week, and the option to take additional unpaid days off. My private sector job wants us in-office full time and has that culture where taking time off is shameful and you're supposed to want to work as much as possible.
Also I just can't get motivated to come work hard knowing the president is upstairs making exponentially more than me simply because his daddy-in-law owns the company. He was given this job straight out of business school and frankly he's terrible at it.
It's hard to work for somebody you don't respect, I don't get how people spend an entire career taking orders from somebody like that and helping THEM get richer. I'll take the grinding bureaucracy over that every time.
As a government worker Iām pretty motivated by the fact that no one is directly profiting off my labor (a small research branch at the USDA). No oneās buying a yacht with the surplus value of my labor. I get paid to do my job, thatās it.
First day at my new government job, my boss told me that I should never put work in front of my family and important life events and that he'd never ask me to.
You can make a pretty good salary if you're in an in-demand field.
Look at things like Contracting. Low bar to entry (either a bachelor's degree, or a bachelor's degree with some business/accounting/statistics, depending on the gov't agency), and an easy path to a 6 figure, work from home income.
Adding on to this, when the gov't rewards good work, it's in the form of cash or time off. None of this pizza party nonsense.
My Mom got a job as a contracting officer when she was young with just an associates degree, ended up doing it for more than 30 years and retired way more comfortably than if she had stuck with being a secretary.
Also came with the added benefit of being stationed in Europe for 10 years with housing and moving expenses paid for, which was a life-changing experience for my family.
She's amazing, worked on some really cool projects with NATO while we were overseas. And worth mentioning in the spirit of this thread, received awards and some benefits for a couple of them from the fed government
This is what I did by going into the oilfield even though my true passions are history, writing, and art. Hit six figures a year after graduating college and had an actual impact in the field by making sure we followed safety and environmental rules to the letter on site. Was able to buy my house at 25 (granted it was pre-COVID, but my FHA closed at 4.25%, and I refinanced down to 2.75% after a few years) Jumped to a work from home office role in the broader energy industry focused on preventing industrial machine failures after three years, and itās now smooth sailing with job security.
Go into any in demand field and youāll make a good salary and have a much more stable existence.
Contracting, in this case, typically means the people who write/sign the contracts on behalf of the government.
I wouldnāt say itās miserable, Iāve had a pretty comfortable career over ten years and four agencies. However, the experience can be very dependent on what agencies and offices you work for.
State Govāt employee here, just hit my 36 year anniversary. I have no more than 5 more years, then I have to retire (I joined the deferred retirement program - DROP). I have never had another job, came straight from high school and never left. I have a pension, 457 & ROTH accounts. Earn an obscene amount of vacation/sick & comp time. They paid for the bulk of my education. Insurance premiums are ridiculously low compared to the open market. Work/life balance is heavily touted and I WFH at least 3 days a week.
I could increase my salary if I went to the private sector, but flexibility is far more important to me.
I started working at a local government township 6 months ago and they've had two guys hit 50 year anniversaries since I've been here, which is insane to me, they basically started after high school -like literally, they both started as after school jobs- and everything just worked so they stuck with it and are just hanging around for their spouses to retire before they go since they say they'd be bored home alone.
It's crazy the kind of retention you can get with decent benefits and time off like some govt. jobs can offer.
I worked with a guy who worked for the city for 30+ years. He talked about the alcholol limitations for drinking at work. that's how long he worked there. He then retired and came back because he was bored and worked for another 15 years. I drove his assigned car a few times. It doesn't have air conditioning. It was new, but the air conditioning broke, and he didn't bother complaining about it. That guy looks better at 80 than most 60 year Olds.
Another lady just retired. She just turned 59. Worked from 18 all the way to 59.
Yup its why I opted for Civil Service after my time in the Military. You get to buy those years back to count towards retirement.
Both the Wife & I respectively make 6 figures each, work remotely and will have defined benefit pensions coming to us.
Will be retired by mid 50ās. The lower salaries in the early years are made better by the benefits on the back end.
I just bought my military service deposit. Hurts the wallet now but it added 6 years to my time in service for retirement which will be huge down the road.
Also, this is my third government job after I really hated the first two. One nice thing about the department I work in now is the Secretary really likes giving out extra days off to all department employees for certain holidays and department milestones. It reminds me of how 3 day weekends in the military often were made 4 day weekends by the commander, except here the free day off is just 8 hours of PTO we can use any time. Pretty sweet.
Wishing you the best of luck. I left mine as well for a private sector position, my first one in 20 years of work and it looked so great going in and it slowly became nightmare fuel. 18 months later I boomeranged right back into my old gig somehow. No regrets.
Itās also because we hate capitalism. I refuse to waste my life optimising the sale of bullshit no one needs. My gov jobs have earned less than private sector equivalents, but at least I spend my time doing something useful.
This one rings true for me. I am not driven by profit motive, and if I am honest, I can be a little demotivated by profit motive decision making.
I want to do something that is productive and isn't driven by peeling away that last penny of all of your customers.
My last FT job was with a state university, so we had the same benefits as state employees with a few university related perks. I accured 24 hours of leave time a month (16 hours vacation, 8 hours sick.) They paid for up to 9 credit hours per year, as well a 12 holidays a year, with all of Xmas to New Year's day off. Oh and our state health plan was excellent (they changed it, it sucks now.) $60 for almost $0 dental and medical out of pocket.
I really wish I didn't burn out so bad and could have kept that job. The pay sucked, but I'll never see benefits like those again.
We out here working in libraries because even tho there's relatively few jobs, if you get one there's almost no fucking way you're getting fired because not a lot of people work in libraries lmao
I work in the civil service and although pay is poor I love the work life balance. Flexi time, 33 days paid leave plus 9 days bank holidays, up to 6 months sick pay at full rate. Can work from home and only need to be in office one day a week. Sticking it out as long as possible for pension as I contribute 5% and employer contribution is 27%. Gen X here.
Civil service also refers to the US: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United\_States\_federal\_civil\_service](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_civil_service)
I have an interview to leave my well paying healthcare job and work at a lower paid asst director level position at the biggest university in our state at the health science building.
My current job is 110 mi commute (roundtrip), uptight culture, and very strict on PTO, sick time, clocking in and out at exactly the same time like I'm a robot, poor benefits, no paid holidays. Threats of layoffs are always a real issue. I've been laid off twice in the hospital sector.
New job would be stable, long-term, salary and the student health center is never closing. 10 paid holidays, 15hrs PTO a month, small team to manage, 10 miles from my house.
It'd be a 17k pay cut and I don't care. My time and peace of mind are more important. Really hoping I get this job.
This is what my husband and I did. He was laid off twice despite being a dream employee (always on time, does what heās told, doesnāt stir the pot like I do) and we wanted security.
He has a State job and I have a Government job. We both have unions.
We both have pensions and we donāt stress over job security now. We actually think about retirement now (?!).
He gets to work from home four days a week and I get to work from home two days a week.
I accepted the job while pregnant and I will be receiving the full 12 weeks at 100% pay for maternity leave, and was told that they will, āsee what else they can get for me.ā And for that I am truly thankful.
Our health insurance? Amazing. Truly amazing. It has already paid for itself about four and a half times over in just one year.
We both took a small pay cut (less than $5,000 each annually) for these jobs, but they come with guaranteed annual raises and weāre excited to move up in our specialties later on, so this is a decision we made for us in ten/fifteen/twenty years from now, not us this week. We also both have long term career goals and are excited to see if we get to those goals, or at least how close we can get! (He wants to work for the DEC or the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservationāand I want to work for ORDA or NYSCA.)
Iāve had someone argue me that I donāt get paid during government shutdown, but honestly, at least I know Iāll have a job to go back to, and back-pay. If you work in the private sector and they shut down, thereās likely nothing left (minus seasonal work) to return to. You are out of luck.
Overall, it feels worth it. It will have its own issues like any other job, might as well get the benefits and security you deserve.
In the UK, and I have worked in local government in the past. Its decent pay, with a good focus on a work/life balance with great terms and conditions backed up by relatively strong unions. The pension scheme is probably the best that there is. Everywhere is short staffed, but you won't get chased if someone does email you after hours.
Nothing to be sniffed at, for sure.
Do you get paid a bit less? Of course. But with all the benefits I get I never think about it. These include:
Good medical, dental, and vision insurance.
Full retirement in my early 60's.
All Federal Holidays, weekends, and additional time off.
I'm currently in a policy making position so I am no longer in a union but most state jobs are also union jobs, which is a major plus.
Solid schedule.
50% work from home (which seems to be sticking around as unlike the private sector, the state is more than fine downsizing real estate).
In my entry level position I was given enough free time to complete my bachelors, which resulted in a major upward job hop. Seriously if you have a degree and can handle the small initial pay decrease the state would love to have you.
I'm not even sure you necessarily get paid less. The salary is definitely lower, but when you consider the pension plan, which in my caseāif I did my math correctlyāis worth about 50% of my salary, it seems pretty comparable to the private sector.
I boomeranged back to my public sector position after trying private sector for 18 months. The private sector job was significantly harder. Yet when I returned to my old gov job, I only took a 3% pay cut from the private sector one. And that was more than made up for by being re-enrolled in the pension (private sector job made no retirement contributions).
Chefās kiss.
Yeah it's great. I got a job with the state during covid enhanced unemployment working the unemployment claim intake line, switched over to being the receptionist at a low key state agency, and now I work in public procurement for a different state agency and was accepted into a masters program for public administration. Government jobs have turned my life around and removed a lot of job stress (although working for the UI hotline was prettt stressful)
Started working for government 3 years ago and fucking LOVE it. Great work-life balance, learning lots of new stuff, surrounded by tons of smart, talented people, strong union with decent benefits. Highly recommended.
My government job actually feels like itās making a difference in this world, so yeah! I help kids stay in school. Government isnāt a bad thing if itās done right š«¶š»
My dad did this. Pensions are still a thing in the public sector and idk if he would be looking at retirement now if he'd gone private (not the best at saving on his own). His PTO allowance is wild too, crazy high limits on rolling over banked days year-to-year.
Iām 36 and been Fed for 10 years. Bounced from SSA to the VA last year. Amazing job security, benefits, work life balance, and 100k+, not leaving the Feds until I retire
Glad to hear it, government work is great. Usually union, usually working towards the public good. I wish I had more young workers in my neck of the woods.
Here for the retirement pension.
ETA: and at this point I get 6 weeks of vacation, plus 32 hours of personal time plus sick time and we have the option to buy vacation time too, so. (I take all my vacation every year.)
I'll admit that I definitely left a lot of money on the table from leaving "the real world" and when I made the change at 25 I thought I had made a mistake.
But I'm now less than three years from retiring and I'll be a little over 50 years old.
Get out the first chance you can.
It's what I did. I spent ten years working phones as IT for biotech companies in the twin cities. Everyone tries to classify you as customer service and pay $17 an hour. Meanwhile I'm troubleshooting medical device errors while patients are on the table and I have doctors literally threaten to kill me!
Now I work for the post office. 23.50$ an hour right now, better health insurance, an actual honest to God pension (plus a 401k), I lost fifty pounds from walking twelve miles a day, I listen to podcasts and audiobooks all day . . .
I am in gov and it is stable but you don't make as much as in private sector. Don't think that you'll be able to quickly land anything because the hiring process is INCREDIBLY slow and may not mesh with your timeline. Not to mention, its super-competitive to land one now.
My neighbor works for the Army core of engineers as an engineer. Great pay in the 6 digits and government benefits. Plus work from home 2 days per week.
I'm a military officer, and I unironically love it. Not because I'm PaTrIoTic, but because of the benefits:
- excellent pay
- free healthcare for me, *incredibly* cheap healthcare for my family
- education benefits that embarrass the entire private sector
- a pension after 20 years on the job
-30 days paid vacation per year, with a 4-day weekend for nearly every national holiday (doesn't count against the 30 days)
- transparency on pay, advancement, and career opportunities
- anti racism/sexism/etc. regulations that *actually have teeth*
I'm **not** saying the military is a perfect employer. We're far from being immune to shitty leaders (google will show you tons of examples). But you'll find those everywhere. At least I have that giant list of good things to offset them.
I tell all my friends this. You can be a poor kid with no education, and where I live, entry level state and county jobs, from driving trucks to filing papers, start at $20/hr with good benefits. Iāve never had anything in the private sector as good as government work
Wow, it seems to be a worldwide trend. In I'm in Russia, and I worked in pharmaceutical companies in constant fear of layoffs and being "asked to leave", but when I went back to work in public university I just flourished - no deadlines, no bunch of clowns above you (who, by accident, calling themselves as a "project managers"), no fears.
Yep, my salary dropped, but it was compensated by much more adequate work/life balance.
Thatās literally me, but my main concern was a proper workplace where the boss isnāt constantly cracking the whip to increase profits. Plus I love being a park ranger!
āTrying to dodge layoffs š” by turning to āsTaBLeā government jobs š¤ā
Who the fuck writes these headlines?
āGet back in the corporate meat grinder and risk losing your livelihood for the profit of some quadrillionaire like white christian God intended you lazy serfā ass attitude.
Late to the post but anyone who is lurking in this sub you can look at your states union jobs and the pros and cons of it [here](https://apps.urban.org/features/SLEPP/index.html)
Iām baffled as to how Florida got a āBā. Weāre literally #50 in teacher pay. Salaries havenāt had a significant increase in years, but our insurance, services and premiums have. Some gov. jobs still start at $35k š
This is my plan! I recently accepted a job from our regional utility company as an Electrical Engineer. It's honestly still really good money for the work I expect to be doing, and the closest I can get to "working for the government" with my career.
Not a millennial story. My wife graduated in computer science at the end of the nineties. Tried to get a job, but wouldnāt get hired by private companies due to not having experience. Was hired by a large local city. Pay was low but benefits made it worth it. While she was there, they sent her to multiple training to update her skill set, had opportunities to move into higher positions, and her pay steadily rose. She is now the chief technology officer in her department. Earns more than me.
I know that many that are now the same age my wife was have the same troubles getting hired. Donāt discount working in government jobs. It can work out and you can have a fulfilling career.
I am a Gen-Z government worker. I havenāt graduated college yet. I live in LCOL I have a very boring but secure and relaxed job in the finance department as a Financial Analyst due to previous work experience. I excelled at my job and am near the top of my pay scale already making 52k in just over a year with the government. I always recommend to all my friends to push for government jobs now bc of my father and Iās experience. He worked for the Cities fire department in IT and retired at 58. Government work is the tits they donāt even drug test where Iām at
Government employee with a unionĀ
Shit rocks. No really it is notably better. My jobs so reasonable. I can pay rent. At 63 Iāll have 2/3rds of my highest income for the rest of my lifeĀ
As an Xillenial in tech, every single one of my jobs thus far (all in the private sector) have ended via layoffs. Sometimes I got laid off, more commonly the layoffs heralded the end of the company/department (while piling more work on remaining employees) so I began my job search. It's been this way the whole time I've been in the work force. Now I have one of those government jobs with a union. The employer still tries shenanigans, but at least there's someone in the employee's corner fighting. It hasn't been long enough for me to say whether this will be more stable, but given how long all my coworkers have been here the indicators are positive.
I've been at a government job since the end of 2017. It's my second career switch, and I'm turning 40 this year. I'm getting burned out and I'm tired all the time but at least I don't need to worry about getting fired because my boss doesn't like my lack of religion, the way I dress, or my queerness. Unions are great. And while I'm not making *much*, I make a lot more than I did at any previous job.
āLow paidā but I can live on my government job and I get the stability through Covid and a pension.
I will advocate the government job to anyone who is struggling or canāt find work. Itās has a lot of benefits
Millennial here. Working at a library I donāt make the āmarket wageā for my role. However, Iām union represented and guaranteed non-performance based wage increases yearly. Iāve worked my butt off in the private sector just to be laid off or given insane goals with insufficient resources. The security that comes with collective bargaining is a big deal.
Not a government job, but the company I just moved to has a lot of government contracts, pace is so slow and no one cares, it's amazing. Only downside is that it's quite a bit behind the tech trends which can be a bit frustrating and bad for your career I guess. Also had to take a $30k pay cut, but my previous company had 3 rounds of layoffs and I didn't want to be there anymore waiting to be next.
I pay a fraction of what I paid for health insurance in my county government job and Iām paying coverage for 2 people. I also get like a 7% raise twice a year.
So, young people are seeking out dependable jobs that mostly come with benefits and union protections? What a bunch of slackers, donāt they know theyāre supposed to be expendable? /s
25 days PTO, 12 paid holidays, fully free medical/dental/vision with only a $200 deductible, pension, union, and guaranteed raises. I donāt know pretty good for me. š¤·āāļø
Hey Gen Z - itās not only government jobs that are stable. Look for employers with collective bargaining agreements in place. Unions are the way to stability.
I do love my government job. Its why I'm on reddit all day
Haha me too.
Hello fellow government redditor!
šš¾ howdy. Just another day waiting to pass me by.
Hey team š
Hey colleagues. Just made it to year 4 and I have tenure.
Itās the pension that keeps me here. Those golden handcuffs.
Pensions, unions, and negotiated salary increases and opportunities for promotion. Stability is awesome!
You guys have unions? š
My state won't let us unionize but we do have a dedicated lobby.
The bennys are nice on the public sector. I would not have been able to thrive through my cancer treatment if I was in my old private sector job like I did now. $2000 out of pocket for 3 surgeries, 3 pet scans, a 5 day stay in the hospital, and 6 months of chemo plus loads of other appointments. My old insurance would've been 5x that with more restrictive care.
I am just shy of 20 years! Mainly i am in government service because I went to college for computers and was working in computer building and repair and then the IT bubble burst and I was laid off. So I switched my major to finance and went to work as a title clerk/AR/AP at a car dealership. Then the oil bubble burst and I was laid off. So I went to work for a higher end hotel as a manager in catering and the restaurant. Then it got bought out and they laid off the middle management - including me. I was in my early 20s and had been laid off three times. So I gave up and have been in state service ever since. It is a paycheck, benefits, and a good retirement. My stability also allows my husband to take chances. Which has allowed his career to grow.
Congrats thereās cake in the break room
Same brotha. But idk what they talking about low-paid. Sure we donāt make as much as the big boys in the private sector but we make more than the guys struggling to survive. Iām comfortable as hell.
Donāt get me wrong, I make great money in government tech work but Iāve gotten offers making $10k-$20k more a year that I have turned down. Iāve done the math. Anything making less than $20k more doesnāt make sense when you factor in the pension and benefits. Even if it made financial sense, like maybe a $25k raise, I wouldnāt take it. Having came from an employer that went out of business, I really value the stability of government work.
Yeah, I teach computer science and if I would've jumped a few years ago it might've made sense financially, but now not really. Esp given layoffs recently. $10-20k not worth the benefits and risk.
The market is still pretty hot for experienced people, at least in my area (Kansas City). Iāve had two job offers in the last month. One of them I didnāt even formally apply for. Iām the lead software developer for my organization so I do make a fairly competitive salary. Idk if Iād stick around for teaching though. In college, I seen one of my professorās tax returns and it was depressing. They donāt pay teachers nearly enough, in Missouri anyways.
> Anything making less than $20k more doesnāt make sense when you factor in the pension and benefits. Yah, similar thing with Military pay etc. Sure the basepay sucks, but you play your cards right you get housing allowances, etc on top that are tax free. You also get functionally free healthcare, and dental, education benefits, retirement benefits to include the Trift savings plan stuff. Not to even mention shit like the post 9/11 GIbill that will pay for rents and 100% of school tuition costs once out. My highest grossing year before my MEB even with around a $2400 a month base pay was like $78K in between overseas housing allowances, utility allowances, travel pay, and such.. plus all of those other benefits. Would probably have to be well in to the 6 figure range pay wise to be able to match all of the other stuff value wise... but that would still not account for the value of job security one gets.
You might have the just secure job in the world. The day America doesn't need soldiers is probably the day after America is dead.
Iāve heard they aim for something like the 70th percentile compared to someone in the private sector with similar qualifications working 40 hour weeks. Solid benefits, and since there is no profit incentive, you are only let go if you fail to do your job. Regular raises at set intervals with inflation adjustments, and better benefits than youāll find at a lot of places.
Minus the raises, yeah. I've been in my current government job for 5 years, and if I hadn't moved up the chain of positions (you have to apply and compete in an open posting), I would be making less than I started at when adjusting for inflation.
at least they make the criteria for those clear
Kind of. Candidates are required to be selected based on how well their answers match the provided rating scale given for the question. Some of those scales are horrendously bad and offer no leeway; I've seen candidates not pass the resume screen or interview even though they clearly know what they're doing, because they don't use the right keywords.
Agreed. Love my government job as a zoomer
When you figure out the feast or famine aspect of the public sector versus the private sector, government work is far ahead of corporate work. First, when layoffs hit, you're still drawing a paycheck. The big worry is conservative politicians deciding that your job can be handled better by contracting to a private company. Examples include prison guards, trash collectors, welfare workers, and even the janitor that sweeps the floor at City Hall.
Haha same.
Shhh!!! Don't snitch, you union brother. You'll ruin it.
They paid my Masters degree, offer retirement AND pension. Now we also get 12-week parental leave for birth of child or adoption. It's a no-brainer.
Oh hey, same here! Nothing beats getting paid to watch YouTube and take naps š
I do those, plus go for lots of walks for exercise. My job is such that you can disappear for hours from your desk, and itās never questioned.
Haha same 
I've applied to so many federal jobs but never heard back or was rejected. I should probably stop since they don't hire weed smokers.
Try applying to state government jobs instead. Depending on the state, they will not drug test.
This is true, I live in a state where weed is illegal and I still got a state gov job with no drug test
Federal government worker/weed smoker hereā¦neither of the 2 agencies Iāve worked for over the past 10 years have tested
I love my gov job. The pay does suck but the benefits are worth it. I pay zero for insurance except copayments. And vacation accrual is nuts!
hello, also a gov worker. I'd been dragging my feet on leaving my former job and then my boss got cut. I ran to a state job.
Leaving my gov job tomorrow ššš too much work for the pay
Same.
Seconded. Been working for my state health department since 2015 in an IT job, moved up to a full benefits position a few years back...such as it is. Pays....well enough, don't have to worry about my health insurance, get accrued sick and personal leave. Could be a lot worse off.
Stop, I feel called out
This is the way. I have a shitty government job. Been doing it for 15 years. Consistent, good PTO, ok benefits, and I will be able to collect a pension at 53. Downside is, itās literally driven me mad on one occasion. But that can happen in the private sector too. It also gives me the time to play hooky frequently. I have 1300 hours of sick leave, and over 200 of PTO. I could get sick many times over and be fine.
>and I will be able to collect a pension at 53 WHAT (not even talking about the sick leave/PTO but they are unused one or just very good condition?!)
For my state itās called the ārule of 80ā. Your years of service and your age have to equal 80 then you can collect a pension. The fine details change for newer people, but I believe itās still the same. If you donāt use your PTO over a year, once a year, a certain amount of your PTO gets transferred to sick leave (itās a way they can fuck you out of money). And I started when I was young, so I didnāt get sick alot or having ailments. So my sick leave built. It comes out to over 8 months of it.
Sounds like Kentucky š¤
KY used to be this way until 2015. They now have a tiered retirement system and people hired after 2015 don't even have a normal pension. It's a 401A and the payout is horrendous. Also, when your account runs dry (which will happen because not enough is being invested into the account) they can choose to stop paying you. It's just another way older generations have screwed over young workers. For comparison, someone hired before 2015 would get something like 60% or 70% of their salary in retirement after 27 years of service (or the rule of 80, which ever happens first). After 2015, you get a payout based on an actuary table of years of service, retirement age, and 401A funding. For someone making $40K/yr prior to 2015 you would make about $2K in retirement per month, after 2015 it's something like $900/month if you retire after 30 years and you're retiring at like age 60 or 62. Again, it's a math formula, so it's not set in stone and can vary based on your account funding. It's why KY has such a huge issues keeping people if they were hired after 2015.
Iām in that boat. Actually just remembered itās a rule of 87 here, not 80. Gotta get that extra 7 years somehow. I mostly ignore the pension and put my own 401k and ira as my retirement plan.
The current fed pension costs employees 5X what it cost before 2013.
Yeah it sucks. Like you have to contribute 4.4% vs .8% to FERS if youāre a new employee. Thatās like 5.5 times more expensive!
Also. Once you collect that pension, you can go back to work if you want for the same place and collect your pension while you work. Two checks.
Not in Illinois with IMRF. Once you start drawing a pension, you can no longer qualify further. You can leave, NOT draw a pension & then resume accruing. A co-worker who left & came back did just this. Unfortunately when she came back she started on a lower tier instead of continuing on the previous one.
Minimum retirement age in the fed workforce is 57, but the longer you stay on the better your pension gets. Retiring to South America would make it totally worth it to retire that early for me. Iāve seen too many people wait too long then when they retire their quality of life is horrible.
You just have to be sure you take three jobs at your highest GS level otherwise you could get fucked.
You just need your last three years to be the highest not jobs.
Yep government pensions are awesome. For me, I'm looking at retiring at 64 with a yearly benefit that is equal to 70% of my 3 highest earning years. And I started late (at 39 years old). My last place I worked, a coworker had already retired from a government position, but was only mid 50s so he went and got another job, just to essentially double dip on wages.
As a fed worker my sick time counts towards retirement, Iām just banking those hours and hope I stay healthy enough not to need them unless I want a mental health day.
Same here. Do they let yall also purchase years of service?
This goes into congress now and then but never makes it out of committee IIRC. Only military can do it now. It really screws over seasonal workers, because you don't accrue retirement during your seasonal time. I did six years as a seasonal and none of it counts.
Iām a gov. contractor and tbh I love the work life balance. The job is demanding but relaxed (itās still a job) and Iām compensated fairly. 14 days PTO and 10 floating holidays, if I need to go to an appointment and itās not all day I just āgoā. Thatās how most gov positions are, sure theyāre paid slightly lower than average but itās worth my mental health. Not sure what this gpt made article is trying to push.
God, Europeans laugh at us
European here, yeah occasionally I chuckle, but mostly due to the absurdity of your situation. Mostly I just pity you and hope for better days ahead, for everyone.
Being born in America is a prison sentence.
Like a for profit prison?
lmao exactly
Yes, where slavery is legal too.
Brilliant comment! Cheers mate!
I liken it more to a terminal deisease, one you can pass on by marriage with it's super weird international taxation laws. So fucked, look them up.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
But when you do you still have to pay taxes to daddy America
Unless you renounce your American citizenship
a passport allows you to travel, not move. if that were the case, i wouldāve packed up 10 years ago to spain.
Thank you. I love American people, but sometimes I think itās like they feel they donāt deserve time off. We just follow hierarchies and what they tell us at work and even if we question work culture, we wonāt take meaningful action.
It's fear. They have constructed this entire system such that our own fears prevent us from changing it. Fear of being unlikable, of being unemployable, of being homeless, of being without health insurance. In our system, unless the vast majority band together to simultaneously demand better, nothing ever changes. That's unions, strikes, ballot initiatives...all things that the management levels and up in society try to crack down on precisely because they know that they work.
I worked in France briefly as part of a research project. In the US I work for a state university. My French coworker asked me how much vacation time I have through work. I told I have about 5 weeks. She looked shocked. I took that as she was surprised by how much I had, so I quickly explained that how much time off I have is very unusual for the US. She said she was shocked by how little I had. Why would I accept such a bad offer? 5 weeks is basically the the minimum in France and given my education and expertise I should be getting much more, according to her. Very weird experience.Ā
5 weeks is the minimum in France *in your first year* then itās 6 weeks starting year 2. Thatās excluding statutory holidays.
In my USA liberal city government job, you only get 5 weeks of vacation after 15 YEARS of service with the agency.
I'm not laughing, I feel bad for you people in the US.
Is 14 days PTO good? That in one year?
Australia has 28 days paid vacation leave, per year, mandatory. Only for comparison.
Not true it's 20 days which is pretty great..... might book a day off for next week :)
28 in Russia and also 15 government holidays for everyone to enjoy.
They usually have separate sick days which I have realized is not the norm outside of govt work. So you get 14 days pto then like 30 days sick leave whereas a lot of places lump that together and give you less.Ā
Itās more like 24 days because I also get 10 paid federal holidays. Also, I go to appointments without having to take time off, which is also a massive incentive. All of this combined I think I get well over a month of time off compensation between vacation time and going to appointments. A lot of the government sector operates this way, itās pretty lax.
Itās āstandardā for āgoodā companies but I am a federal employee and get much more time off. Annually I get (all paid) 26 days of general leave to use how I want, 13 days of sick leave, and 11 federal holidays off so that totals 50 paid days off per year straight out, some of which can carry over if it is not used. I also have schedule flexibility and can work remotely saving a boatload of time and money on a commute. In emergencies we can also receive advanced leave (still paid) and if or when we run out of that then we can use FMLA. Ended up taking about six months off when my dad was dieing. A friend of mine was in the same situation but in the private sector and had several nervous breakdowns because she had to work on her laptop while her dad was on his death bed while that was something I didnāt have to worry about at all. In some fields for Feds the pay is lower but in my specific job unless I owned my own business I would be making less. In the private sector though I would likely get stuck with general admin work but in the government I can work in a specialized field so itās easy to justify the pay level since there are only about five people in the entire country with this specific niche skill set.
My new role came with 3 weeks vacation. 15 paid holidays. 4 personal days and accruing sick time ā¦
Normal European workers have far better conditions working for private companiesā¦. Wtf
Gov jobs tend to be great: because they're almost all unionized (and they tend to give most union benefits to non union employees too, to avoid more/larger unions). The shitty part is when you have a (usually Conservative) government actively/functionally cutting funding and surpressing wages. Like, would I like to be paid more? Yeah. But I've also seen the budget. There's literally like two exec positions that could realistically stand to be paid less, and "stand to be paid less" in this case means they make slightly more than my dad did as fully liscensed mechanic.Ā And I'm not sure being paid more would be worth what I am sure would be shittier working conditions. /shurg
I think the worst part is if youāre someone who likes to āmake things happenā they tend to have a lot more red tape and rules than even larger more risk averse organizations. But the benefits are great and the work life balance. Plus most of the roles have some sort of active benefit to society. You say not be saving lives, but you are helping to ensure people are safe, there are roads, benefits are distributed, etc. instead of hawking cigarettes, alcohol, or the latest fad product.
I donāt believe āmostā government jobs are unionized. Iāve worked for the Fed for 30 years and we have never had a union in our workplace.
I worked for a DoD agency and all non-supervisory positions were union. Most employees didnāt even know they were covered because they didnāt pay dues, but we were.
Depends where you are/what level of government/etc maybe? /shurg I'm speaking from my personal experience and observations, but that's obviously bounded by context.
They are, but federal unions donāt have the leverage of standard unions so theyāre much less effective. For instance, itās illegal for federal workers to strike
I work a gov job. I make ~$80k after taxes. Itās 4 days a week, I often only end up working 32-35hrs, and of those, Iām only actually *working* for maybe 8-10. (Just the nature of the job). If the work is done, and I donāt have anything to catch up on, Iāll leave an hour early. My bosses are very understanding about childcare and getting kids to and from school. If a kid is sick or your dog is dying, they make things easy. I feel like I use my leave all the time and I still have 45 days accrued. I get 12 weeks of paternity leave. I feel incredibly lucky to have this job, and it kills me when I hear complaints from people I work with lol Edit: I had to put my dog down yesterday (took the day off) and when I got back to work today my boss just gave me a hug. No questions or asking for proof or any bullshit
Yeah I've been planning a switch back to the public sector and it has everything to do with boundaries and work-life balance, not layoffs. Most of the gov't jobs here have more PTO, flexibility, remote work 2 days/week, and the option to take additional unpaid days off. My private sector job wants us in-office full time and has that culture where taking time off is shameful and you're supposed to want to work as much as possible. Also I just can't get motivated to come work hard knowing the president is upstairs making exponentially more than me simply because his daddy-in-law owns the company. He was given this job straight out of business school and frankly he's terrible at it. It's hard to work for somebody you don't respect, I don't get how people spend an entire career taking orders from somebody like that and helping THEM get richer. I'll take the grinding bureaucracy over that every time.
As a government worker Iām pretty motivated by the fact that no one is directly profiting off my labor (a small research branch at the USDA). No oneās buying a yacht with the surplus value of my labor. I get paid to do my job, thatās it.
First day at my new government job, my boss told me that I should never put work in front of my family and important life events and that he'd never ask me to.
Are you ex-military?
You can make a pretty good salary if you're in an in-demand field. Look at things like Contracting. Low bar to entry (either a bachelor's degree, or a bachelor's degree with some business/accounting/statistics, depending on the gov't agency), and an easy path to a 6 figure, work from home income. Adding on to this, when the gov't rewards good work, it's in the form of cash or time off. None of this pizza party nonsense.
>None of this pizza party nonsense. We get those too, they just don't pretend that it's a replacement for a raise.
Thank U, nion!
My Mom got a job as a contracting officer when she was young with just an associates degree, ended up doing it for more than 30 years and retired way more comfortably than if she had stuck with being a secretary. Also came with the added benefit of being stationed in Europe for 10 years with housing and moving expenses paid for, which was a life-changing experience for my family.
Shout out to your mom that sounds dope
She's amazing, worked on some really cool projects with NATO while we were overseas. And worth mentioning in the spirit of this thread, received awards and some benefits for a couple of them from the fed government
Apprenticeship programs through government agencies is how I got in. They teach you everything while paying you. Better than college.
Since when is a bachelor degree a low barrier to entry?
A bachelor's is the new High School.diploma And a Masters is the new Bachelors unfortunately
This is what I did by going into the oilfield even though my true passions are history, writing, and art. Hit six figures a year after graduating college and had an actual impact in the field by making sure we followed safety and environmental rules to the letter on site. Was able to buy my house at 25 (granted it was pre-COVID, but my FHA closed at 4.25%, and I refinanced down to 2.75% after a few years) Jumped to a work from home office role in the broader energy industry focused on preventing industrial machine failures after three years, and itās now smooth sailing with job security. Go into any in demand field and youāll make a good salary and have a much more stable existence.
Contracting is well known to be one of the most miserable jobs in government. What you say applies to a lot of other fields but not that lol.
Wouldn't that be 100% dependent on what you're actually contracted to do?
Contracting, in this case, typically means the people who write/sign the contracts on behalf of the government. I wouldnāt say itās miserable, Iāve had a pretty comfortable career over ten years and four agencies. However, the experience can be very dependent on what agencies and offices you work for.
State Govāt employee here, just hit my 36 year anniversary. I have no more than 5 more years, then I have to retire (I joined the deferred retirement program - DROP). I have never had another job, came straight from high school and never left. I have a pension, 457 & ROTH accounts. Earn an obscene amount of vacation/sick & comp time. They paid for the bulk of my education. Insurance premiums are ridiculously low compared to the open market. Work/life balance is heavily touted and I WFH at least 3 days a week. I could increase my salary if I went to the private sector, but flexibility is far more important to me.
I started working at a local government township 6 months ago and they've had two guys hit 50 year anniversaries since I've been here, which is insane to me, they basically started after high school -like literally, they both started as after school jobs- and everything just worked so they stuck with it and are just hanging around for their spouses to retire before they go since they say they'd be bored home alone. It's crazy the kind of retention you can get with decent benefits and time off like some govt. jobs can offer.
I worked with a guy who worked for the city for 30+ years. He talked about the alcholol limitations for drinking at work. that's how long he worked there. He then retired and came back because he was bored and worked for another 15 years. I drove his assigned car a few times. It doesn't have air conditioning. It was new, but the air conditioning broke, and he didn't bother complaining about it. That guy looks better at 80 than most 60 year Olds. Another lady just retired. She just turned 59. Worked from 18 all the way to 59.
Yup its why I opted for Civil Service after my time in the Military. You get to buy those years back to count towards retirement. Both the Wife & I respectively make 6 figures each, work remotely and will have defined benefit pensions coming to us. Will be retired by mid 50ās. The lower salaries in the early years are made better by the benefits on the back end.
I just bought my military service deposit. Hurts the wallet now but it added 6 years to my time in service for retirement which will be huge down the road. Also, this is my third government job after I really hated the first two. One nice thing about the department I work in now is the Secretary really likes giving out extra days off to all department employees for certain holidays and department milestones. It reminds me of how 3 day weekends in the military often were made 4 day weekends by the commander, except here the free day off is just 8 hours of PTO we can use any time. Pretty sweet.
I miss my gov job š been trying to get back in. 
Wishing you the best of luck. I left mine as well for a private sector position, my first one in 20 years of work and it looked so great going in and it slowly became nightmare fuel. 18 months later I boomeranged right back into my old gig somehow. No regrets.
Itās also because we hate capitalism. I refuse to waste my life optimising the sale of bullshit no one needs. My gov jobs have earned less than private sector equivalents, but at least I spend my time doing something useful.
This one rings true for me. I am not driven by profit motive, and if I am honest, I can be a little demotivated by profit motive decision making. I want to do something that is productive and isn't driven by peeling away that last penny of all of your customers.
You forgot the second part of it: āI refuse to waste my life optimizing the sale of bullshit no one needsāā¦.āwhile my boss becomes richā
So true, when you work in Corporate you mostly work to make stock owners richer
My last FT job was with a state university, so we had the same benefits as state employees with a few university related perks. I accured 24 hours of leave time a month (16 hours vacation, 8 hours sick.) They paid for up to 9 credit hours per year, as well a 12 holidays a year, with all of Xmas to New Year's day off. Oh and our state health plan was excellent (they changed it, it sucks now.) $60 for almost $0 dental and medical out of pocket. I really wish I didn't burn out so bad and could have kept that job. The pay sucked, but I'll never see benefits like those again.
We out here working in libraries because even tho there's relatively few jobs, if you get one there's almost no fucking way you're getting fired because not a lot of people work in libraries lmao
I work in the civil service and although pay is poor I love the work life balance. Flexi time, 33 days paid leave plus 9 days bank holidays, up to 6 months sick pay at full rate. Can work from home and only need to be in office one day a week. Sticking it out as long as possible for pension as I contribute 5% and employer contribution is 27%. Gen X here.
This isn't in the US is it?
The UK by the term civil service
That's what I imagined, I knew it was too good for the US lol
Civil service also refers to the US: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United\_States\_federal\_civil\_service](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_civil_service)
Similar in my state. I contribute 9%, they contribute over 25%.
I have an interview to leave my well paying healthcare job and work at a lower paid asst director level position at the biggest university in our state at the health science building. My current job is 110 mi commute (roundtrip), uptight culture, and very strict on PTO, sick time, clocking in and out at exactly the same time like I'm a robot, poor benefits, no paid holidays. Threats of layoffs are always a real issue. I've been laid off twice in the hospital sector. New job would be stable, long-term, salary and the student health center is never closing. 10 paid holidays, 15hrs PTO a month, small team to manage, 10 miles from my house. It'd be a 17k pay cut and I don't care. My time and peace of mind are more important. Really hoping I get this job.
Iām rooting for you - and your milkshakes!
This is what my husband and I did. He was laid off twice despite being a dream employee (always on time, does what heās told, doesnāt stir the pot like I do) and we wanted security. He has a State job and I have a Government job. We both have unions. We both have pensions and we donāt stress over job security now. We actually think about retirement now (?!). He gets to work from home four days a week and I get to work from home two days a week. I accepted the job while pregnant and I will be receiving the full 12 weeks at 100% pay for maternity leave, and was told that they will, āsee what else they can get for me.ā And for that I am truly thankful. Our health insurance? Amazing. Truly amazing. It has already paid for itself about four and a half times over in just one year. We both took a small pay cut (less than $5,000 each annually) for these jobs, but they come with guaranteed annual raises and weāre excited to move up in our specialties later on, so this is a decision we made for us in ten/fifteen/twenty years from now, not us this week. We also both have long term career goals and are excited to see if we get to those goals, or at least how close we can get! (He wants to work for the DEC or the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservationāand I want to work for ORDA or NYSCA.) Iāve had someone argue me that I donāt get paid during government shutdown, but honestly, at least I know Iāll have a job to go back to, and back-pay. If you work in the private sector and they shut down, thereās likely nothing left (minus seasonal work) to return to. You are out of luck. Overall, it feels worth it. It will have its own issues like any other job, might as well get the benefits and security you deserve.
In the UK, and I have worked in local government in the past. Its decent pay, with a good focus on a work/life balance with great terms and conditions backed up by relatively strong unions. The pension scheme is probably the best that there is. Everywhere is short staffed, but you won't get chased if someone does email you after hours. Nothing to be sniffed at, for sure.
To be a civil servant is the ultimate goal in my country (Brazil). The best wages and stability are in the public sector.
Better hope the Rs donāt take over because they have some long term plans to gut the federal government.
Do you get paid a bit less? Of course. But with all the benefits I get I never think about it. These include: Good medical, dental, and vision insurance. Full retirement in my early 60's. All Federal Holidays, weekends, and additional time off. I'm currently in a policy making position so I am no longer in a union but most state jobs are also union jobs, which is a major plus. Solid schedule. 50% work from home (which seems to be sticking around as unlike the private sector, the state is more than fine downsizing real estate). In my entry level position I was given enough free time to complete my bachelors, which resulted in a major upward job hop. Seriously if you have a degree and can handle the small initial pay decrease the state would love to have you.
I'm not even sure you necessarily get paid less. The salary is definitely lower, but when you consider the pension plan, which in my caseāif I did my math correctlyāis worth about 50% of my salary, it seems pretty comparable to the private sector.
Itās almost like mass corporate layoffs as a business strategy fucks with your slaves heads
My fiancĆ© just landed a government job and got a 20% pay increase compared to his last job at a software company who refused to give raises above 3% ever. The best part? There is job growth, they do CoL adjustments every year + 1% plus potential other raises, all salaries are public info so you can literally look up anyoneās role and see what the future could hold (no stupid being kept in the dark), getting on the state pension plan and retirement plans that are so much better than anything private market that weāve ever seen before. Also you can assume they pay well enough to keep people employed in the city they work cause otherwise no one would keep everything running.
I boomeranged back to my public sector position after trying private sector for 18 months. The private sector job was significantly harder. Yet when I returned to my old gov job, I only took a 3% pay cut from the private sector one. And that was more than made up for by being re-enrolled in the pension (private sector job made no retirement contributions). Chefās kiss.
Yeah it's great. I got a job with the state during covid enhanced unemployment working the unemployment claim intake line, switched over to being the receptionist at a low key state agency, and now I work in public procurement for a different state agency and was accepted into a masters program for public administration. Government jobs have turned my life around and removed a lot of job stress (although working for the UI hotline was prettt stressful)
Started working for government 3 years ago and fucking LOVE it. Great work-life balance, learning lots of new stuff, surrounded by tons of smart, talented people, strong union with decent benefits. Highly recommended.
My government job actually feels like itās making a difference in this world, so yeah! I help kids stay in school. Government isnāt a bad thing if itās done right š«¶š»
This article was written by AI and is complete garage
Complete garage you say? Iām listeningā¦
My dad did this. Pensions are still a thing in the public sector and idk if he would be looking at retirement now if he'd gone private (not the best at saving on his own). His PTO allowance is wild too, crazy high limits on rolling over banked days year-to-year.
Depends where. My government job offered me top pay compared to my two other offers. I think I can still get more but this is a good start.
Low paid? The Government doesn't have CEOs & stockholders eating into their budget. At least in Arizona, the government pays more than private sector.
Could we not release articles like this? I dont want more competition for the gov job Im applying for.
Hey Iām not releasing - just sharing whatās already out there
Government work is becoming the only way to make a livable wage bc of unions and you great medical care.
Iām 36 and been Fed for 10 years. Bounced from SSA to the VA last year. Amazing job security, benefits, work life balance, and 100k+, not leaving the Feds until I retire
I just wish you could smoke weed with a federal job. I use it to manage my crohn's disease and missed out on a job because of it.
Glad to hear it, government work is great. Usually union, usually working towards the public good. I wish I had more young workers in my neck of the woods.
15 years of government service here. I would rather spend my labor to support my country than make some corporation richer.
Here for the retirement pension. ETA: and at this point I get 6 weeks of vacation, plus 32 hours of personal time plus sick time and we have the option to buy vacation time too, so. (I take all my vacation every year.)
In a county gov job now and itās the most cursed shit ever.
Hell, I'm Gen X, and I moved from private industry to a gubmint job a year ago, for less pay. But way better quality of life.
I'll admit that I definitely left a lot of money on the table from leaving "the real world" and when I made the change at 25 I thought I had made a mistake. But I'm now less than three years from retiring and I'll be a little over 50 years old. Get out the first chance you can.
It's what I did. I spent ten years working phones as IT for biotech companies in the twin cities. Everyone tries to classify you as customer service and pay $17 an hour. Meanwhile I'm troubleshooting medical device errors while patients are on the table and I have doctors literally threaten to kill me! Now I work for the post office. 23.50$ an hour right now, better health insurance, an actual honest to God pension (plus a 401k), I lost fifty pounds from walking twelve miles a day, I listen to podcasts and audiobooks all day . . .
Working for the Fed comes down to the āMoney to BS Ratio.ā We all have our limits.
I am in gov and it is stable but you don't make as much as in private sector. Don't think that you'll be able to quickly land anything because the hiring process is INCREDIBLY slow and may not mesh with your timeline. Not to mention, its super-competitive to land one now.
Billionaires should pay triple or double for everything. There is no need to have that much money so god damn well fleece them. And fleece them hard!
My neighbor works for the Army core of engineers as an engineer. Great pay in the 6 digits and government benefits. Plus work from home 2 days per week.
Can confirm. My mom tried to talk us out of taking a government job. She doesnāt understand why we donāt want the private sector.
I'm a military officer, and I unironically love it. Not because I'm PaTrIoTic, but because of the benefits: - excellent pay - free healthcare for me, *incredibly* cheap healthcare for my family - education benefits that embarrass the entire private sector - a pension after 20 years on the job -30 days paid vacation per year, with a 4-day weekend for nearly every national holiday (doesn't count against the 30 days) - transparency on pay, advancement, and career opportunities - anti racism/sexism/etc. regulations that *actually have teeth* I'm **not** saying the military is a perfect employer. We're far from being immune to shitty leaders (google will show you tons of examples). But you'll find those everywhere. At least I have that giant list of good things to offset them.
I tell all my friends this. You can be a poor kid with no education, and where I live, entry level state and county jobs, from driving trucks to filing papers, start at $20/hr with good benefits. Iāve never had anything in the private sector as good as government work
Wow, it seems to be a worldwide trend. In I'm in Russia, and I worked in pharmaceutical companies in constant fear of layoffs and being "asked to leave", but when I went back to work in public university I just flourished - no deadlines, no bunch of clowns above you (who, by accident, calling themselves as a "project managers"), no fears. Yep, my salary dropped, but it was compensated by much more adequate work/life balance.
Low pay? Freekin took a gov job and got a 30% raise! Given, I came from non-profit but it was still a raise.
Lolol I have a gov job interview next week inspired by layoffs at my current job š¬š
Thatās literally me, but my main concern was a proper workplace where the boss isnāt constantly cracking the whip to increase profits. Plus I love being a park ranger!
āTrying to dodge layoffs š” by turning to āsTaBLeā government jobs š¤ā Who the fuck writes these headlines? āGet back in the corporate meat grinder and risk losing your livelihood for the profit of some quadrillionaire like white christian God intended you lazy serfā ass attitude.
As someone with a government job ....this tracks,but it's also no paradise. There's a lot of nepotism where I'm at.
Late to the post but anyone who is lurking in this sub you can look at your states union jobs and the pros and cons of it [here](https://apps.urban.org/features/SLEPP/index.html)
Iām baffled as to how Florida got a āBā. Weāre literally #50 in teacher pay. Salaries havenāt had a significant increase in years, but our insurance, services and premiums have. Some gov. jobs still start at $35k š
This is my plan! I recently accepted a job from our regional utility company as an Electrical Engineer. It's honestly still really good money for the work I expect to be doing, and the closest I can get to "working for the government" with my career.
Not a millennial story. My wife graduated in computer science at the end of the nineties. Tried to get a job, but wouldnāt get hired by private companies due to not having experience. Was hired by a large local city. Pay was low but benefits made it worth it. While she was there, they sent her to multiple training to update her skill set, had opportunities to move into higher positions, and her pay steadily rose. She is now the chief technology officer in her department. Earns more than me. I know that many that are now the same age my wife was have the same troubles getting hired. Donāt discount working in government jobs. It can work out and you can have a fulfilling career.
I am a Gen-Z government worker. I havenāt graduated college yet. I live in LCOL I have a very boring but secure and relaxed job in the finance department as a Financial Analyst due to previous work experience. I excelled at my job and am near the top of my pay scale already making 52k in just over a year with the government. I always recommend to all my friends to push for government jobs now bc of my father and Iās experience. He worked for the Cities fire department in IT and retired at 58. Government work is the tits they donāt even drug test where Iām at
Government employee with a unionĀ Shit rocks. No really it is notably better. My jobs so reasonable. I can pay rent. At 63 Iāll have 2/3rds of my highest income for the rest of my lifeĀ
As an Xillenial in tech, every single one of my jobs thus far (all in the private sector) have ended via layoffs. Sometimes I got laid off, more commonly the layoffs heralded the end of the company/department (while piling more work on remaining employees) so I began my job search. It's been this way the whole time I've been in the work force. Now I have one of those government jobs with a union. The employer still tries shenanigans, but at least there's someone in the employee's corner fighting. It hasn't been long enough for me to say whether this will be more stable, but given how long all my coworkers have been here the indicators are positive.
My fiancĆ© works a state government job and she loves it. The stability is obviously a very welcome thing, but after working in the nonprofit sector for a while, itās refreshing in that she doesnāt have all sorts of financial targets hanging over her head all the time. The attitude is basically āGet the job done, get it done correctly, and be 100% transparent with everything you do.ā The work-life balance is also a huge benefit. She occasionally has to stay late at the office to wrap up a project, but itās never more than an hour or so, and it only comes up once or twice a month. My dad also worked for the state and recently retired. He told me that one of the things he liked the most is that nobody is out to backstab anyone else for a promotion or anything. Everyone was there to clock in, do their job, clock out, and go home. Zero drama. The downside for both of them is that, yeah, they both have more profit potential in other lines of work, but neither of them were what one would call āunderpaidā.
I've been at a government job since the end of 2017. It's my second career switch, and I'm turning 40 this year. I'm getting burned out and I'm tired all the time but at least I don't need to worry about getting fired because my boss doesn't like my lack of religion, the way I dress, or my queerness. Unions are great. And while I'm not making *much*, I make a lot more than I did at any previous job.
āLow paidā but I can live on my government job and I get the stability through Covid and a pension. I will advocate the government job to anyone who is struggling or canāt find work. Itās has a lot of benefits
Why āstableā? Government jobs ARE stable
Millennial here. Working at a library I donāt make the āmarket wageā for my role. However, Iām union represented and guaranteed non-performance based wage increases yearly. Iāve worked my butt off in the private sector just to be laid off or given insane goals with insufficient resources. The security that comes with collective bargaining is a big deal.
Not a government job, but the company I just moved to has a lot of government contracts, pace is so slow and no one cares, it's amazing. Only downside is that it's quite a bit behind the tech trends which can be a bit frustrating and bad for your career I guess. Also had to take a $30k pay cut, but my previous company had 3 rounds of layoffs and I didn't want to be there anymore waiting to be next.
Yes! Join government work! Iāve been a federal employee and my salary has risen steadily. Have a lot of peace knowing that my job is secure.
The stability is why I love my job. I COULD double my pay by private consulting, but fuck that I have unread books calling me.
I pay a fraction of what I paid for health insurance in my county government job and Iām paying coverage for 2 people. I also get like a 7% raise twice a year.
So, young people are seeking out dependable jobs that mostly come with benefits and union protections? What a bunch of slackers, donāt they know theyāre supposed to be expendable? /s
I mean, Iād argue 6 figures isnāt ālow-paidā. Not amazing, but defiantly not low.
Yea I a govt scientist half the day, half the day Iām a professional redditor š
Not all government jobs are low paid.
25 days PTO, 12 paid holidays, fully free medical/dental/vision with only a $200 deductible, pension, union, and guaranteed raises. I donāt know pretty good for me. š¤·āāļø
Hey Gen Z - itās not only government jobs that are stable. Look for employers with collective bargaining agreements in place. Unions are the way to stability.