Fema Employment
Government Jobs?
I will be graduating from college in 2009 with degrees in Management Information Systems and Speech Communication. I have been encouaged to seek jobs with government agencies. What are the advantages and disadvantages for these employers? Please address areas such as salary, benefits... etc. Thanks in advance for your responses.
Public Comments
- Salary sucks compared to private sector, good benefits as far as medical and dental, and lots of holidays.
- i am a government worker and can never, ever imagine not being one the advantages: 1. 100% free healthcare, great benefits 2. Gurantee advancement 3. Job security (you will only get fired if you truly mess up. we have a guy at my job who stole money from purses of his female coworkers and he was not even fired, do not know of anyone at my organization that got fired) 4. depending on the job it takes anywhere from 20-30 years to be able to retire witha pension so if you are 18 when you start working for the government you can get a pension as young as 38 years old. disadvanatges: depends on the organization i guess but the national park service (depatrment of interior) there are no disadvantages but when i was in the military (USCG) the disadvantages were not being able to choose where you'll get station. and for salary. i always, always make more money than I ever know what to do. My job fulfills me inside and I do not have the need to fill a void with material goods so I am more than happy with how much I am making. oh yeah if you are NOT a veteran, you will face discrimination. in the government, having served your country is more valuable than a college degree. do not be surprise if the one with military experience and a GED advances before you do or is your boss even if he is younger and has less experience. even if you are both working side by side a veteran is always going to be of a higher pay grade AND get more vacation time and gets to retire quicker.
- Salary may lag at first but I was able to advance through the years. Certain job skills are in demand and come with hiring bonuses. The retirement plan has good matching funds and the ability to put funds in many tax deferred investment vehicles. Health care is not free but they have good plans with the government kicking in a substantial amount, even after you retire (which I have). There were travel opportunities for me and the work was interesting. Once in the system, you may find other jobs in other areas appealing and you can transfer without a loss of seniority or benefits. Sometimes Congressional budget cuts can require an agency to trim staff but they have fairly good relocation programs should that happen. I attended some good schools while working for the DoD. If nothing else, it is a great place to get experience and then see what the job really looks like. You can then transfer to the private sector if you find a good reason too.
- Don't automatically think that public sector = poor salary. It totally depends on what part of the country you're in. Where I'm at (desert southwest) we have private sector people banging down the door to get in. I started as clerical person five years ago (which - good for you - you won't have to do). My starting pay was $19/hour. I got my 8 holidays off per year + 2 weeks vacation per year + sick time + tuition reimbursement... Since then, I've gotten promoted three times and now make twice my original salary. My husband who has been employed at the same place for 20 years will retire in 10 years and make 80% of his "high three" for the rest of his life ($100,000 +/year). On the down side, some people I work with have no motivation because they know they'll never get fired. Bureaucracies can be frustrating because things move slowly; you can't be prepared to change the world in a day. Also, though I make good money now, I'll never get rich where I'm at. Bottom line - look at what is important to you. Do you have a family to support? Is job security a big thing? Or do you want to implement a hundred great ideas and get rich doing it? It's a trade-off just like anything - good luck!
