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I'm a 26 year old mechanical engineer working for the DoD. I'm increasingly frustrated with the beauocracy, mismanagement, and with conducting business in this environment. I know not all government jobs are like this and that some private ones are as well. I'm currently located 90 minutes south of DC and my wife and I are not happy with the area and would like to move back towards New England or out west. There are a few jobs I have seen in private industry in New Hampshire and Iowa that are in areas we both like but would mean leaving the federal government and the benefits that come along with it.
Overall I'm looking for input on working in private industry vs government and any other thoughts and inputs to help us decide out path.
For someone like you, who is still young, has a good profession, gained an ok level of experience (I assume), and has a good head on their shoulders (again, I assume), I'm not a proponent of staying in a place that isn't very dynamic or just for benefits.
It varies of course but in general, you'll learn more in the private sector and likely have a higher income. There are trade offs as well of course and I'm sure you know what they may be. All that is maybe though - who knows which places are more stressful or offer more growth, etc.
Overall, my opinion is that for a person in your situation and your current place, I would not consider staying for the benefits. I mean if your unhappy now, you certainly won't stay for your entire career so will end up giving up the benefits at some point anyway. I'd dip my toe in the water and see what else is out there. I'm in Boston by the way. We visit NH for day trips and some long weekends. Great place.
Private or public, you will almost face the problem that you might not like. The only way to really overcome it is to deal with it. In public, you might have bureaucracy you need to deal with and you really don't like it, but in private sector, you might even have to say things that your supervisor like even though you really don't want to, or else you might loss your job. One way or the other, my opinion is that, do your job and do what you can, and don't take it personal.
With government job, you tend to get weekend and holiday off, and with private, you might not have any of these.
In my opinion, one way or the other, you have to deal with it, if there's nothing much you look for in a job, seek for the monetary value because that's how you are going to support your family. Yes, it sound awful, but trust me, without the proper salary, you can't last too long before you know it.
Do not think you will escape bureaucracy and mismanagement by going to the private sector.
That is very high possibility. Thus, OP, you should really not think base on the bureaucracy issue, one way or the other, you have to face it. Look for a job that you stand in the neutral position, don't hate it too much, but don't like it too much as well.
Having worked first in private industry and then public, I can say that I had frustrations in both environments. They were just different types of frustrations. I kick around the idea of going back to private industry every once in a while but I just cannot give up the benefits (paid overtime, flex scheduling, job security, fitness program, benefits, etc.). Could you try to transfer to another agency? Maybe even move to a different location? Get on usajobs and start looking around?
I wish I had gone to the public sector sooner. I am currently trying to get in and it is difficult. So if you choose to leave, it might not be easy to get back in should you want to down the road. I have suggested to my daughter that she do at least ten years as a federal employee and then if she still doesn't like it she is still young enough to make her way in private industry.
Honestly when I see my friends in federal jobs have their days off (far more than I will ever see in private industry as vacation, sick, and holidays off are being cut drastically), paid overtime (our company no longer allows overtime, if your position requires it they make you salaried so you don't get paid for overtime), and the cost of medical/dental/vision/life insurance for a family...there is no comparison to the private sector.
Many of us in the private sector works long hours, lunch at their desk, don't even think about joining the gym they can't afford or have time for, don't dare to take a vacation or sick day. Our staff never takes a sick day (getting the rest of us sick as well and we cannot take sick days either, it now comes out of our two week PTO) and we don't dare ask for a vacation day except for a very few periods when our business is not busy. I don't know of anyone who has taken more than a long weekend in the last two years at our firm. Two week vacations are a thing of the past. Don't even think about a doctor or dentist appointment during working hours, going to your child's recital at school, or anything else between 8 and 5. Our staff has been cut in half over the last year and the employer realizes that they can get the same work from fewer employees even if the customers have to wait longer and call us repeatedly with complaints. If we dare to send a call to a supervisor we are written up for not handling our responsibilities. We are told not to be seen talking to other employees as it is always perceived as personal business. Heck, just last week someone was fired for "starting a rumor" about a supervisor that has been going around for as long as I've been here, becacuse she was in the lunch room for a rare moment away from her desk and had negative conversation with another employee that was overheard. But I am in a right to work state so they don't even need a reason. Since I work for a small employer the benefits are explensive and we do not have the protection of things like FMLA. If you are gone longer than two weeks (or whatever PTO time you have on the books) you are out of a job.
I'm sure there are public sector jobs that can be equally difficult, but think twice before moving. The grass is not always greener.
I'm a 26 year old mechanical engineer working for the DoD. I'm increasingly frustrated with the beauocracy, mismanagement, and with conducting business in this environment.
You'll be trading this for ( | ) rape, ridiculous politics, and insecurity in the private sector. A lot of people, myself included, would love to work for the FED and just show up, do your job well, and get a decent paycheck and not worry about layoffs, managers and coworkers more interested in surrounding themselves with buddies and cronies than in hiring good workers, the politics and nepotism, and with the large corporations several layers of management looking for ways to bleep over workers to save a buck. For all its flaws I have more regard for government jobs than the private sector.
Last edited by MSchemist80; 02-21-2015 at 03:11 PM..
I've worked as an engineer at a military research facility before working in industry, so I can speak from experience. First of all, yes, the bureaucracy and compliance training was endless. It's amazing that anyone ever got anything done. On top of that, the military job was incredibly boring. Industry is so much more fun and fast-paced than government work. I would never even consider going back. I think working for the government is good for people who just want a cushy, layoff-proof job that makes it easy to coast by.
Also, I'm not sure if this is your situation, but I was working on classified projects which means that I could not list my work on a resume. This makes it harder to change jobs. People that work on defense projects for too long can paint themselves into a corner.
But I am in a right to work state so they don't even need a reason.
The concept you are referring to here is employment-at-will, not right to work. The two terms are commonly mixed up, even though they have nothing to do with each other.
Right-to-work is an anti-Union concept that prevents an employer from firing an employee who refuses to join a union.
Employment-at-will is pretty much the law of the land throught most of the U.S., but may not apply to government jobs where civil service rules, tenure, or union rules come into play.
Which is another thing the OP may want to consider. For most of us in the private sector, our jobs can disappear for any reason, or no reason at all, at any time.
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