I would have posted this in old school but looks like I still don't have access. I am curious how many twwers have government jobs and what is your exp. getting them, etc. I am currently applying to a lot of jobs and wanted to know what can i expect as response times.

I have a BA in poli sci and this Dec. will have my MA in int. politics.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated as well.

10/6/2008 2:32:03 PM

send a PM to roddy. or wait for him to post here. im pretty sure he's mentioned a few hundred thousand times that he works for the gov't

10/6/2008 2:33:11 PM

If you can't even access all of the forums on here, I don't think you should have access to all of the nation's top secret information

10/6/2008 2:40:58 PM

oh thanks omar, now I can. yay.

10/6/2008 2:43:34 PM

Depends. Are you gunning for a job with clearance? If so, you could be waiting for nine to twelve months while the government sorts out the paperwork. Its even worse these days because they've got some insane backlog of background investigations to clear out.

10/6/2008 5:03:47 PM

do you want a job where you can dick off most of the day?

10/6/2008 9:23:05 PM

ive been in the navy and i had offers to work for the gov't or to come here and work for a private company

government job is probably gonna be lower paying but you'll probably get more days off and more stability, but also less flexibility with the ways things are done.. you'll probably never have to think for yourself, f*** that.

but that would depend on who you're comparing it to

i definitely got more money and a much better location taking the job here, i have a very flexible work schedule and practically the same benefits as the government offered, except i dont have to go to navy doctors as a first choice now.. gov't hospitals suck ass

10/6/2008 9:41:47 PM

Its a joke. i say this through experience in my fiancee's jobs doing lab work for the university (in two different departments) and in working for the S.B.I.

lab work. slack? yeh who guessed it.

The big shocker was the SBI. It was so poorly managed that she'd come home every other day pissed off. she couldnt start work after training, because there is a six month rule. she finished her training, passed the tests, and there is a HUUUUUGE backlog of work.. but nope. she just needs to sit tight and wait until its been six months.. wtf? The level of professionalism was also very low. the secretary would send out jesus and christian emails all the time. right wing political (some rather hateful and surely in violation of some antidiscrimination laws) email as well. They'd hire new people fresh out of school to positions above her only to find out later that they didnt have the right classwork so they had to send them back to school for a semester! but the semester didnt start for another two months.. so they sat getting paid...wtf. meanwhile my gf has ALL the classes required AND the experience AND passed all the training tests, but is still sitting and getting paid less.

thats just the tip of the iceburg. it took all i had not to bust in that place and thrash the director. its an absolute crime against the tax payer.

now we're in Australia and she's working for the University here. surprise, same ol shit.

10/7/2008 1:45:44 AM

i had a state government job; i quit it after a little less than 2 years. it is a good place to get experience (to apply for a better job), but it seems like most smart, creative, or driven people move onto better things outside of government. government jobs usually have good job security though, but then again they usually pay less.

10/7/2008 8:24:20 AM

Yeah, you can definitely do better with your education

10/7/2008 2:56:04 PM

I work for the federal government but my region is a pretty no-bullshit region. I started as a manager straight out of grad school.

I do work for a sort of unique type of job, though. I'll be looking for something in the private sector soon enough.

But for now I do enjoy it.

10/7/2008 5:02:10 PM

I think I'd say that there is a pretty big difference between work for the (or a) state government versus the federal government.

What level are you interested in working at?

If you work for the state, expect to never get any raises, to deal with people who may or may not be good (and who will likely be pretty laid back compared to what you'd find in an office environment), and to have to deal with lots and lots of political bullshit. This is all stuff I learned from my coworkers/bosses when I worked at the DOT, and from what I've heard from relatives who have worked for the state, it's not all that different in other departments (though not everywhere is bad I suppose).

I figure you aren't going to work for the DOT with your degrees, though. *shrug*

10/7/2008 7:35:24 PM

The grass is always greener not matter what level you work on. Just find a job you like. What I mean is: I had my heart set on working for the Fed, but I got offered a job at the local level that had comparable benefits (if not better) and good pay and I haven't nor plan on looking back.

[Edited on October 7, 2008 at 7:57 PM. Reason : More Info]

10/7/2008 7:56:16 PM

If you want to work in a government-like job get a position with a contractor to a federal or state government. A contractor will pay competitive salaries and weed out the incompetent.

10/7/2008 9:00:52 PM

I work for the feds. I was recruited from the College of Textiles. My former boss (who hired me) is an alum. Hey-o GS scale!

10/8/2008 10:02:53 PM

as someone who has worked in, out and around fed gov for the last few years

Quote :

"A contractor will pay competitive salaries and weed out the incompetent."

laff

10/8/2008 10:12:55 PM

I work in one of the state labs.

There are advantages & disadvantages, yes. Retirement & job security are obviously big.

In addition to what's been said, the state is in the process of career banding positions. This will allow more flexibility in salary depending on performance. But many managers rate everyone the same to avoid resentment and conflict.

If you work in a position with many levels though, you are pretty much guaranteed promotions every time someone higher leaves/retires/transfers, because they promote from within.

Because of that though, it's very hard to get any jobs except entry level positions, if you don't already work for the state.

10/9/2008 9:15:04 AM

Quote :

"A contractor will pay competitive salaries and weed out the incompetent."

You haven't met the contractors I work with...

10/10/2008 1:56:00 AM

usajobs.com

contract employees get paid more.....but then again, they arent perm.....it seems that is the way to get in nowadays, start as contract employee then when there are openings apply. That way, there is less risk of a fail....it is nice for managers who can pick the ones they want out of the contractor pool. It is a training ground for future government employees.

[Edited on October 10, 2008 at 11:57 AM. Reason : w]

10/10/2008 11:38:59 AM

our contract employees are, in a word, worthless.

they arrive at 9 and leave at 4:30 every day. listen to the radio all day/talk on the phone.

it amuses me that it's the private sector employee who is a worthless POS

10/10/2008 1:20:26 PM

Does anyone have any experience going from a MPA program to the Federal government? I am sure there are a lot of people on here that work in the government that are engineers, but I am more interested in hearing from someone that ended up with a budget/analyst job and what the actual hiring process is like.

11/12/2008 6:41:21 PM

I've worked for the state gov't for 4 years. An internship allowed me to develop contacts. Those contacts are probably part of the reason I was hired. My app process was 6months total (expect up to 2 years with the Feds). I graduated State in the Spring of 04 and started the job I have now that Fall.

11/13/2008 8:26:29 AM

I work for the university...a lot of what has already been said does apply. The positives are excellent job security, competetive benefits (nice health plan that you don't pay a cent for, good amount of vacation, ability to take classes for free, and a traditional/pension-based retirement plan), and a generally laid-back atmosphere. The negatives are less-than-competetive pay, it's hard to fire people so incompetence is tolerated, they don't do any kind of matching for 401(k), and there is a degree of political BS (though no worse than in some corporate settings, from what I've heard). I wouldn't say that creative/intelligent people necessarily look elsewhere, there are a lot of smart people around here who are good at their jobs. There are also a lot who are not and are just sitting on what they've got, though, so...

Overall I like it. I don't think I want to work here for the rest of my career (eventually I'd like to get paid what I'm worth, for one) but I'm in no rush to leave. Definitely a good place to get started and get acclimated to the work world before venturing out into the private sector, also. In my opinion.

[Edited on November 14, 2008 at 2:39 PM. Reason : v]

11/14/2008 2:37:58 PM

after being in the military for 9 years, there is no way in hell i would ever take another job in the national government

11/14/2008 3:17:57 PM

Been working for Local Gov't for ~5 years now. Benefits, retirement, and the like are great, and well there is the job security aspect as well, and honestly the pay isn't that bad for what we do. My application to hire time was 6 months...

11/14/2008 11:07:04 PM

alright no one told me about this diff. format for a resume b/c they don't really take private sector resumes.

11/18/2008 2:12:12 AM

surely you aren't implying that the gov't doesn't take private sector resumes? and instead that the particular place you are applying doesn't prefer them?

11/18/2008 5:59:00 AM

Working for a school system (which is a state employee position) is pretty nice. Much more relaxed, but I still have deadlines and stay busy. Just not as stressful as private sector work. Pay is easily competitive in a rural place like where I work. Excellent job security and benefits are pretty damn good. Can't say as I can complain much. And not being a manager or director, I'm not involved in any of the office politics or actual political stuff. Not as much of that in a school system as I'm sure it can be in certain state/federal departments, esp. with elected officials as the bosses.

11/18/2008 2:40:50 PM

Classified work will BORE YOU TO TEARS.
It's the most unrewarding, boring job I've ever had. I'm basically getting paid to read wikipedia.

11/18/2008 10:03:50 PM

You cant just submit a resume for the Feds (you can, but you will not get far), there are usully 4-6 questions that you have to answer (a page each) relating to the job you are applying for. Most people are lazy and see that and dont apply.

11/18/2008 10:21:25 PM

no i've seen all the questions, and yes they are time consuming. I'm working on the "Fed" resume.

It just sucks that they take so long to respond. One job took 4 months to send me something that i'm in the running for one position but then that could take a while longer before decisions are made.....

[Edited on November 18, 2008 at 10:52 PM. Reason : tooo time consuming. ]

11/18/2008 10:51:53 PM

I work for the government via the Navy. Life is good right now because I just teach 2 classes at Penn State for their NROTC program.

Quote :

"Classified work will BORE YOU TO TEARS."

It depends on the classification. Some of the SCI stuff is pretty sweet.

11/18/2008 10:58:08 PM

I work for a national lab which is managed by a contracter to the federal government. Generally I find the people here to be much more competent than state workers or those I dealt with at NCSU. Perhaps it is because my lab offers pay and benefits somewhat competitive with industry or perhaps because the clearance investigations tend to really remove the unreliable people from the pool. It isn't a perfect situation but I'm quite happy with my current employment.

11/19/2008 12:02:14 AM

Quote :

"It depends on the classification. Some of the SCI stuff is pretty sweet."

I'm on the TS/SCI side. Bored. Out of my mind.

12/25/2008 7:41:51 AM

One industry that you dont want to work for the Feds is IT....unless you want to make 40k less than in the private sector.

12/25/2008 4:00:08 PM

I Work for the Weekend

12/25/2008 5:04:08 PM

I work for the state - got an internship last January after meeting a recruiter at the COM career fair, hired full-time in September (would have been May but I wasn't able to work full-time until then). If you can get an internship and can handle the low pay for a few months, it will both enhance your chances of getting an offer and reduce the application to hire time.

One caveat: I have specific industry experience that my department needed for a particular project, which likely accelerated the hiring process for me.

But anytime you get a chance to work as an intern or contractor before getting hired, take it. You will have much more bargaining power when you hammer out your initial salary if you've had a few months to wow them. Plus they will have done all the orientation & training while you were at a much lower rate, and you'll be immediately effective when they hire you as opposed to someone off the street. Applies to both gov't & private sector jobs.

Good luck - I know how competitive poli sci jobs are, which is why I went back to school for MIS.

12/26/2008 12:32:52 AM

Requires that you have an extremely high tolerance for seeing things done incompetently with no fix in the foreseeable future.

12/27/2008 1:37:59 AM

i haven't read all of this thread, so someone may have covered this

but with your degrees, you should be looking at the public sector as a stepping stone

its sort of like major league baseball

nobody is making their millions from their first contract; you get a gov't job, make shit for 3-5 years, and then use your contacts/experience to pull in a private sector job

also, you've missed a pretty golden time to get a job - if you can get on with a federal level campaign you'll make contacts at every other level of gov't....

just my two cents...

12/28/2008 12:14:28 AM

Quote :

"Requires that you have an extremely high tolerance for seeing things done incompetently with no fix in the foreseeable future."

I'm going to have to agree with Lowjack on this one. My first job was as at Virginia Tech (state government position). I'm now at big commercial company in RTP. World of difference. Also talked with some other folks who have had government positions. Let's start listing pros and cons:

Pros:
- 40 hours/week most weeks.
- Most positions are less stressful than their private counterparts
- Excellent benefits.
- Job security.

Cons:
- Status quo > change. Ambition / drive for improvement is not necessarily rewarded. Just because it's broken and you know how to fix it and fixing it will save time/money/etc. doesn't mean it will EVER be fixed. On this same point, expect technology / processes to be outdated by 5+ years.
- Stagnation. Takes 3-5 years to move in your career vs. 1-3 for private counterpart.
- There's a lot of politics / fiefdom's / toes you can step on quickly.
- Approx. 20% less pay. No guarantee of merit increases year to year pending state budget cuts.

Note: These are general statements and don't always apply to a specific / given environment. I would seriously consider going back to this sector if/when all of my debt is paid off and I wanted to focus more on raising a family. For now, I choose the private sector.

[Edited on December 30, 2008 at 9:13 AM. Reason : .]

12/30/2008 9:11:30 AM