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So, I've been comparing jobs and opportunities lately. I found an interesting government job working for the navy. Basically, I'd be in a ship yard all day making replacement items for the Navy. The pay kinda sucks... $15/hr, raises every 6 months and required training to earn certs. I think they start at $20-something after completion. But you also get a pension, decent bennies, retire at 55 (56 in my case) etc. Several of my friends work for the government and they seem to like it. They didn't start at much more and they have college degrees, so I guess you gotta start on the bottom.
Oh, and this is in Virginia. Money goes much further out there, so I guess it ain't that bad. Is it worth it to work for the government? Private sector today is a real slave driver. If you're making good money, they really find out how far they can push you... And then push just a little bit harder
I think the only con I found while applying for government jobs was that it takes foreverrrrrrrrr for ANYTHING to happen. I've never actually worked in a government job so other than that I don't have much to say.
I think the only con I found while applying for government jobs was that it takes foreverrrrrrrrr for ANYTHING to happen. I've never actually worked in a government job so other than that I don't have much to say.
Besides fast food jobs in college, I've only worked in the government sector. There is some truth to government employees not doing their work very hard. However, I've worked in positions where we got pressure from elected officials and constituents which can be stressful. The one thing that was draining was the mountain of bureaucracy I faced. We had many audits, surveys, reports and such that was the majority of the job at times. Politicians want to make sure we aren't wasting money, but it can be a bit much. We were supposed to be setting policy decisions, but often times that took a back seat because of red tape. There was also less room for creativity in assignments. I've heard those in the private sector say otherwise about their careers which is why I am trying to get into that side of the work force.
I like the private sector better. I have found insane incompotence in the public sector. I worked for the government for 3 years. I've seen things like poor leadership, ineffective management, ego tripping, wasteful spending, etc. You name it. There are mistakes that I saw happen when I was with the government that no private company could ever get away with. I'm talking about screwups like projects running 10 million dollars over budget, or glitching software to where employees didn't get their pension checks. THAT BAD. Any private company made those mistakes, they wouldn't be in business anymore. So in many many ways, the government can be the worst job you've ever had. You also aren't working with a lot of talented people in the government. So you deal with people who have about 3 times less talent than the average private sector employee, yet has about 5x more ego. The government also doesn't pay a ton either.
Government is only good for benefits and job security. But in terms of career, it's one of the worst places, unless you want to kiss a lot of ass. If you're ambitious and goal oriented, the government wouldn't be my first choice. But if you just want a pay check, then the government may be a good option.
Besides fast food jobs in college, I've only worked in the government sector. There is some truth to government employees not doing their work very hard. However, I've worked in positions where we got pressure from elected officials and constituents which can be stressful. The one thing that was draining was the mountain of bureaucracy I faced. We had many audits, surveys, reports and such that was the majority of the job at times. Politicians want to make sure we aren't wasting money, but it can be a bit much. We were supposed to be setting policy decisions, but often times that took a back seat because of red tape. There was also less room for creativity in assignments. I've heard those in the private sector say otherwise about their careers which is why I am trying to get into that side of the work force.
I've heard a few similar things from a friend I have who has been working for the government for two years now. I was mostly just referring to the hiring process in my last post. I applied for some jobs and it was WEEKS before there were any shifts in the "status" of my application.
The job in the private sector that I just got works with non profits and the hiring time from the date I submitted my application was 10 days (applied on a Wednesday, hired the following Friday, and I start the week after next because I have to move).
"I worked for the government for 3 years. I've seen things like poor leadership, ineffective management, ego tripping, wasteful spending, etc. You name it. There are mistakes that I saw happen when I was with the government that no private company could ever get away with. I'm talking about screwups like projects running 10 million dollars over budget, or glitching software to where employees didn't get their pension checks. THAT BAD. Any private company made those mistakes, they wouldn't be in business anymore"
10 million. I know a private company in the late 1990's that wasted 75 million on a virtual reality system that never saw the light of day and they are still in business.
I'd argue it depends on what you want. Here's some good bad and different.
I would say that as time goes on government has become more like business and business has become more like government
How so?
The private sector on the other hand has to market more of itself to make it relevant. Given the scandals of the past 12 years it has to in order to sell. Fighting transparency doesn't help anyone.
The public sector can create quasi government entities that generally run faster and involve less politics.
The public sector has much more in terms of a unionized workforce than the private. In some cases this is expected but in others it just looks odd. Like seeing a town accountant in a steel workers union?!? The good thing about unions is their CBA's can be open so if you want to know about a health plan or investments it's all right there. Private sector unions it can be harder to tell. Private can go on strike, public is not allowed but they could try (boston bus union had a wildcat one, postal service did in the early 70's and of course there was patco)
The private sector can also get political and this has been increasing. If they take a stance on an issue it can backfire like the gun issue with starbucks. In addition proxy fights and corporate takeovers still occur. I worked at a private company before and on one day one man bought TEN percent of the company. No one knew who he was or what his plans were. Months later he sold it. Even more than a decade later questions have not been answered. Then there is also the possibility of a scattered ownership of which it implies that no one is really in charge. So if the largest shareholders of company xyz hold 2% and there's dozens of them then there really is no solid skin in the game. On the other end if insiders own a majority it can practically be a piggy bank (see Adelphia cable systems)
The openness of government can be good and bad, it depends.
Case in point recently I found a job posting in a city that is limited to not the city employees but to the EXACT department.Keep these in mind
1) The department has only four people. One of which already has this position so therefore this looks to be a retirement
2) The person holding the deputy position will probably move up. How do I know this? Because I looked up the head and she was a deputy for 23 years!
So that leaves another vacancy. If it gets posted I don't know if they would seriously allow it to just two people. If one of them takes it then it might create another which again might be posted but to post for just one person would be odd to say the least. This could potentially take a few months to sort out whereas with the private none of this would be disclosed and it might take two weeks.
On the inverse of this if someone holds a position and is a top candidate for another that could be in the news as government is always in the news making it a bit different vs the private sector in that not much can really be hidden.
In the public sector pay records and ranges are open. In private not so much. So there is a bit more of a sense of if you are at the top or bottom.
I would argue that the private is become more like the public as companies increasingly have become more publicly traded. It is hard to argue that a company can keep something private from its shareholders. If the entry point to knowing more about a company is just buying one share of stock then frankly that is hardly a deterrence for the most part. Also in the past a company could probably hide things but these days they can't. If it's public there's the SEC and if it's private it just takes a whistleblower or someone with a smartphone. Hyperlinks subvert hierarchy.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I would suggest the best of both world's, a quasi-private government agency. Those that do not depend on taxes or politicians passing a state or federal budget for funding. That would include many utility districts (funded by rates and fees), most airports, and port authorities.
Government is best if you start early in your career so you collect all the grade and step increases. It is less attractive if you start around age 45 or so as a gs-07 step 1 for $39k except in my profession govt is always an improvement over $15 an hour perma-temp jobs or worse. It is tough to negotiate a higher starting salary though in the govt usually is it step one of whatever the grade is.
So, I've been comparing jobs and opportunities lately. I found an interesting government job working for the navy. Basically, I'd be in a ship yard all day making replacement items for the Navy. The pay kinda sucks... $15/hr, raises every 6 months and required training to earn certs. I think they start at $20-something after completion. But you also get a pension, decent bennies, retire at 55 (56 in my case) etc. Several of my friends work for the government and they seem to like it. They didn't start at much more and they have college degrees, so I guess you gotta start on the bottom.
Oh, and this is in Virginia. Money goes much further out there, so I guess it ain't that bad. Is it worth it to work for the government? Private sector today is a real slave driver. If you're making good money, they really find out how far they can push you... And then push just a little bit harder
I guess it really depends on what's important to YOU. Some will absolutely lose their minds dealing with the bureaucracy of a government agency. And others would never be able to cope with a small startup that has no real policies/processes. In essence they all have their pros and cons. The key here is which of those factors matter to YOU the most.
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