Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I spoke with a friend today, a PhD who has worked for over a decade for the government and now several years for private contractors. She has a top secret clearance. Her summation was this. If you want to make a lot of money, and don't mind working really hard, often with very long hours, go with contracting. She has many weeks where she gets fewer than 5 hours of sleep a night. Two nights this week she slept 2 hours! With another project due on Tuesday she doesn't expect to sleep much this weekend. She can very rarely take a day off. Yes, she is making money for the contractor, and she is well paid for it, but it's extremely difficult to have a life outside of work. If you want more regular hours, more of a life outside work, but less potential to make lots of money, go with the government. Your government job may not be as exciting, but you will definitely get more sleep and see your partner more! Oh, she also said if sick leave matters, as opposed to just a "pot of leave" to use for illness, vacation, whatever, then the government is also better for you.
You can always find anecdotal evidence for everything if you look hard enough. I can tell you that your friend is not the norm for a contractor. In my case, I work far harder as a fed than a contractor. But I do realize that is just me. Our contractors can't sign their name to anything or be the ultimate responsibility for anything. They do their thing and turn it over to us and we then have to work it more for the "responsibility" aspect of it. Signing it/submitting it, etc. It is coming to the end of the fiscal year for us and many government workers are working 12 hour days now, working through their weekends, analyzing budget data to get these budgets completed. The contractor isn't doing that--I assure you. Well, at least OUR'S aren't.
I think you are going to see a wide range of contractor responsibility throughout the government. Because your friend doesn't have a life, doesn't mean that's true for all. I also know someone who does top secret work for a contractor, gets paid VERY well, works very hard while at work, but has a very flexible schedule as far as hours, days of the week, part time versus full time.
Can sick leave be used like personal leave? Can it be used because you need to pick up someone at the airport, because you are waiting for a maintenance person, or because you feel like visiting the country that day? Do some agencies allow sick leave to used for things like that? I am asking because some government workers insist that sick leave is personal leave and can be used for anything, like the above examples. But you are saying it is only for medical appointments and illness, which had always been my assumption.
Thanks!
If a supervisor is doing their job correctly and not committing fraud, no you cannot use your sick leave for anything.
You can wake up and not feel good and call in sick (of course, who really knows if you are out jaunting through the countryside).
You can use it if you have a medical appointment.
You can use it if someone in your family has an appointment or illness.
If the worker starts patterning with large amounts of call-in sick leave and the supervisor suspects that there is some fraud going on, I do believe they can go to HR and look into it. I'm not sure what is actually done or if anyone ever takes it that far but they probably can.
I know that in our office, all of the first line supervisors have a computer application that they fill in when a person either calls in, has planned sick, or plan vacation. It shows up in different colors with regard to how you took your leave. When they bring an employee up, based on the colors and the amounts filled in, it gets real easy to see who is abusing things.
You might think so now. It sounds nice until you find out who is asking to have your sick leave. Most often they are people who use sick leave for the reasons that I previously stated. They use sick leave the second they get it, for all kinds of goofy reasons. They have a headache, they feel sad, they ''need'' to go shopping, the weather forecast is iffy, they have to pick up someone at the airport, a thousand silly reasons. They've worked for the government for years and years and never saved ANY leave. It has never occurred to them that they might someday need sick leave. Then they need surgery, or are injured in a car accident, and they've saved NO leave. So some nice people who haven't used every bit of leave, and have thought ahead, give them their leave. After that, they go right back to using all their sick leave, just as they've always done.
Yes, we certainly have those folks.
For our sick leave donation, we get a list of who is asking for donated sick leave. We do get to choose who we give our leave to, thank goodness.
I've never understand the whole government contractor thing. You've got a bunch of slouchy full-time employees, but the contractors, who are paid 3x as much actually run the company and are the work horses of the company. I never understood why the company would just hire competient full-time employees instead of highering contractors.
Huh? Why would (i.e. why should?) the gov't pay 3x more for contract workers? It is this attitude that is killing our budget. If a full-time gov't worker isn't good enough, then they should find someone else who can do the job. These days, it shouln't be hard to find talented, motivated workers to fill gov't positions (and the same thing for military) Its time to invest in our military of the future! Cut the contracts, and cut the fed gov't! Who wants to pay higher taxes? If you raise your hands yes, then I have a sloution... we should allow people to send in more money than they owe. Its optional... A low flat tax, with the option to pay more if you're feeling "patriotic"
Huh? Why would (i.e. why should?) the gov't pay 3x more for contract workers? It is this attitude that is killing our budget. If a full-time gov't worker isn't good enough, then they should find someone else who can do the job. These days, it shouln't be hard to find talented, motivated workers to fill gov't positions (and the same thing for military) Its time to invest in our military of the future! Cut the contracts, and cut the fed gov't! Who wants to pay higher taxes? If you raise your hands yes, then I have a sloution... we should allow people to send in more money than they owe. Its optional... A low flat tax, with the option to pay more if you're feeling "patriotic"
Do you work in Gov. HR/OPM? If not, don't presume that it's easy to find and hire qualified and motivated people to do government work.
Contractors are hired experts and should be paid accordingly. Without contractors, the work of the government can't be done.
Consider also that a lot of cleared contractors are put through the ringer with security and background checks. Not everyone walking off the street doesn't have a criminal record, hasn't smoked weed, isn't in ridiculous debt, etc.
Also, please clarify your statement "invest in our military of the future."
If a supervisor is doing their job correctly and not committing fraud, no you cannot use your sick leave for anything.
You can wake up and not feel good and call in sick (of course, who really knows if you are out jaunting through the countryside).
You can use it if you have a medical appointment.
You can use it if someone in your family has an appointment or illness.
If the worker starts patterning with large amounts of call-in sick leave and the supervisor suspects that there is some fraud going on, I do believe they can go to HR and look into it. I'm not sure what is actually done or if anyone ever takes it that far but they probably can.
I know that in our office, all of the first line supervisors have a computer application that they fill in when a person either calls in, has planned sick, or plan vacation. It shows up in different colors with regard to how you took your leave. When they bring an employee up, based on the colors and the amounts filled in, it gets real easy to see who is abusing things.
I know that supervisors CAN do something, but do they ever? Some folks in the government always, and I do mean always, use up every bit of sick leave, usually within months of getting it. These folks are not chronically ill, they simply find any excuse to take a sick day. It's my understanding from my friends who are supervisors is that it is too difficult to actually do anything about such abuses. Plus there is always the threat of an employee screaming discrimination for something or other and suing the boss. So why would a boss go to the trouble? It's so much easier to just let the automatic raises go through.
I have a friend who spent 35 years in the government, under the old system. She left with not one day of sick leave. She used every day, every year. She was not chronically ill, never been hospitalized, and had no children. She simply took days off when the weather was bad, when she thought she might be coming down with a cold, when her foot itched, anything and everything. Granted her job was not critical. She has a master's degree and did some kind of analyst job. Even some people on this board maintain that sick leave is personal leave to be used as they choose. All of that seems like cheating to me, but there is nothing to be done about it. <shrugs>
I know that supervisors CAN do something, but do they ever? Some folks in the government always, and I do mean always, use up every bit of sick leave, usually within months of getting it. These folks are not chronically ill, they simply find any excuse to take a sick day. It's my understanding from my friends who are supervisors is that it is too difficult to actually do anything about such abuses. Plus there is always the threat of an employee screaming discrimination for something or other and suing the boss. So why would a boss go to the trouble? It's so much easier to just let the automatic raises go through.
I have a friend who spent 35 years in the government, under the old system. She left with not one day of sick leave. She used every day, every year. She was not chronically ill, never been hospitalized, and had no children. She simply took days off when the weather was bad, when she thought she might be coming down with a cold, when her foot itched, anything and everything. Granted her job was not critical. She has a master's degree and did some kind of analyst job. Even some people on this board maintain that sick leave is personal leave to be used as they choose. All of that seems like cheating to me, but there is nothing to be done about it. <shrugs>
It is very difficult to "do something." Even in the private sector, it would be hard to let someone go because they happen to use all of the leave they were given. But they could find some other reason (lack of funding is always a popular one).
We do have those abusers in my agency. I have a 6 person office and we have one of them. We have two more that seem to be borderline abusive. There's a couple more within the larger organization. Fortunately, they are the minority and the do stand out. We all know who "they" are. Under the pay-for-performance plan, these people, because of their unreliability, did not receive the best ratings that could had they shown up for work everyday and were able to be counted on. Under the pay-for-performance plan, your performance could not be downgraded for illnesses and those people who did have documented illness (cancer patients for instance) were not penalized for missing work. However, those that called in randomly, never had a documentable illness did see some sort of "payback" if you will for their habits.
Now that they are abolishing pay for performance, we have lost that avenue to "unreward" them.
An acquaintance of mine works for Booz Allen in Herndon, and I am starting a job as a Gov't employee specifically an Intel analyst at one of the agencies. My "friend" and I were talking and she was saying how Booz is always getting Gov't workers to come to them and that overall they are a better and more flexible career option that Gov't.
To that I said that I think that Gov't is more flexible because you can get cross trained and start a entirely new career path within the same agency, or even transfer agencies. Also Gov't is more likely to provide the extra training needed whereas the private entities expect you to be on the ground and running. Not to mention full tuition reimbursement UP FRONT.
What are some of you guys opinions...I am interested to know.
BTW by WarPigs I mean Northrop, Boeing, Lockheed etc.
I am guessing here that your friend meant "better" pay and "flexible" career options. Mike McConnell joined Booz as a senior partner from a long distinguished government career. He is making around 4 mil. Folks in the trenches doing actual work do not get paid much more than their government counterparts, but there is always a faint hope that someday you can make it to the senior management. A private consulting firm will offer you more flexibility in your job options than a particular government agency.
I would not lump Booz with Warpigs together though the culture at Booz is slowly eroding with the pending IPO. Warpigs usually run large programs and they are not as flexible as firms who have lots of smaller contracts. When a big program gets cut in Warpigs, there is a good possibility that layoffs will occur.
It's not about a coolness factor, it's about practicing discretion which is NEVER a bad thing in this industry. I know all I had to go through for my TS and I still have to take a Poly for my SCI caveat and I don't want to do anything, not even by mistake or unintentionally to jeopardize that, because it could ruin my career, but more importantly it could possibly (and I stress the word possibly) lead to intel being gleaned and the person not even know it is happening.
At my last position our CI guy let us in on how social networking sites AND internet message boards can be used by foreign intel agencies to attempt to get info and access to people.
In this industry it's better to take the the better safe than sorry approach...this is NOT Hollywood where the storyline gets wrapped up in a few hours and the star always prevails, this is real life and EVERYBODY who works with ANY of the intel agencies or sensitive gov't positions (DOE, Homeland Security, DEA, ICE, etc.) in ANY capacity or position has a RESPONSIBILITY to help maintain the bubble of security as much as they possibly can.
Jason Bourne, ha.
The janitors that clean the toilets at the CIA have Top Secret Clearances. No one is stating to blab out secretive information or anything of that sort. I'm just saying, MOST analyst positions can already be found via AKO account or other means if in fact you do work for the government.
The janitors that clean the toilets at the CIA have Top Secret Clearances. No one is stating to blab out secretive information or anything of that sort. I'm just saying, MOST analyst positions can already be found via AKO account or other means if in fact you do work for the government.
Ok and?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
