Furloughs: Fed Employees in the DMV area (live, move)

[smarterguy]

Originally Posted by CaliTerp07

The good news is they are all still employees of their company, so if they can find another project/client to roll them on they are all still fine. The bad news is that 3 other major clients had the same announcement yesterday, so there are definitely surplus people around DC. I don't know what his company's presence is in other cities to know if traveling weekly is a realistic option.

Yeah, but you gotta remember that all the people that had their contracts cut are looking for other contracts to jump on as well.

They'll get put on standby by the contractor if they're lucky for a month or two if nothing pops up, but after that, its layoff time.

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by smarterguy

Yeah, but you gotta remember that all the people that had their contracts cut are looking for other contracts to jump on as well.

They'll get put on standby by the contractor if they're lucky for a month or two if nothing pops up, but after that, its layoff time.

That's exactly what I meant when I said there are surplus people in the area. I worked in the industry for 5 years--generally you have 6-8 weeks of time on "the bench" before they start striking people, slightly less if you have a low performance history, slightly more if you're historically a rock star. You can sneak in some internal work during this time to extend your life on the bench as well.

What you can't do is be picky. If they find you a project in Omaha, NE, you have to be willing to jump on a plane tomorrow. As soon as you turn down work, you're on the naughty list.

[Caladium]

CaliTerp--sorry to hear your news. What a bummer, but I'm glad to see you're being realistic about how to deal with it. Another bummer about this whole thing is people may be offered jobs quite a distance from their house. In better years, you could turn down a job offer with a horrid commute, but that's not a smart move these days.

[Caladium]

Does anyone happen to know what will happen to the people who are in the pipeline to get a full poly? Will they still need them or will there be some sort of freeze on issuing any more of them?

[smarterguy]

Originally Posted by Caladium

Does anyone happen to know what will happen to the people who are in the pipeline to get a full poly? Will they still need them or will there be some sort of freeze on issuing any more of them?

Depends on the agency, the hiring office, and probably a few other things. Things are still moving at a few places I know of...

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Caladium

CaliTerp--sorry to hear your news. What a bummer, but I'm glad to see you're being realistic about how to deal with it. Another bummer about this whole thing is people may be offered jobs quite a distance from their house. In better years, you could turn down a job offer with a horrid commute, but that's not a smart move these days.

Is work from home not an option? I just took a new job in my company that I targeted based on the fact that it can be done remotely. Granted most all my work is done on a PC and over the phone. I won't be leaving the couch from which I do my current job. My new boss works from home in the Midwest. My wife also works for a large company from home. I would think there would be such opportunities in most large nationwide or global companies. Perhaps expand your search beyond services performed only in this area.

[queenswake]

Originally Posted by Caladium

Does anyone happen to know what will happen to the people who are in the pipeline to get a full poly? Will they still need them or will there be some sort of freeze on issuing any more of them?

Don't worry. There is still a great need. Contractor cuts at that level will not be anywhere near DOD levels.

[vicnice]

Originally Posted by CaliTerp07

My husband called me from work yesterday. He is a consultant for one of the big name firms. His agency (a Navy client) has no money, and has shut down all projects effective Friday. They went from a project of 100 to a project of 3 (keeping on only a few people to do maintenance work on existing systems). He is one of the few staying on, and was told that "maybe" he would have a team back by May or June. If not by then, they'd let him go as well.

Sorry to hear that. That's exactly what I mean by people need to brush up on their resumes and stop acting like this won't happen.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Is work from home not an option? I just took a new job in my company that I targeted based on the fact that it can be done remotely. Granted most all my work is done on a PC and over the phone. I won't be leaving the couch from which I do my current job. My new boss works from home in the Midwest. My wife also works for a large company from home. I would think there would be such opportunities in most large nationwide or global companies. Perhaps expand your search beyond services performed only in this area.

Great idea, as long as you're not doing work that requires a secret clearance. It would be great if that option could help out CaliTerp's husband (and others in this situation). By the way, just as a clarification, I'm watching this unfold as a bystander who lives in the area and has family and friends going through this. I'm not looking for work, though. I retired last month.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Caladium

Great idea, as long as you're not doing work that requires a secret clearance. It would be great if that option could help out CaliTerp's husband (and others in this situation). By the way, just as a clarification, I'm watching this unfold as a bystander who lives in the area and has family and friends going through this. I'm not looking for work, though. I retired last month.

There are plenty of secret clearance jobs done working from home.