Fema Employment
I am thinking about accepting a GS 5 level job in government work. Are government jobs stable and are?
promotions readily available? What about transferring to different jobs once I am in the government system? I know it is alot to ask but I am looking for a helpful answer to help make up my mind. I would appreciate any advice or information you can give.
Public Comments
- Yes, government jobs do tend to be more stable. You can find out about promotion potential in vacancy announcement, there should be a line that says "promotion potential" and lists the highest grade you can attain in that position without having to compete against other candidates. Once you are in government service you can apply for jobs that are open only to those in government or those in your agency. The federal Office of Personnel Management expects a wave of retirements over the coming years (though their projections have been too high lately), so there should be good opportunities to advance.
- I know some GS employees. I think when you reach a certain level, it is nearly impossible to be fired or layed off. I hear of people playing solitaire for weeks on end because they have no real duties. Your job is most likely not that bad, but I'm almost certain the job is stable. And promoting people to a higher GS level just to move them to another position (thus getting rid of them) is also a common story. It almost seems like the best thing to do if you're a GS employee is be worthless. Now government supervisors still seek out and promote good GS employees, don't get me wrong. But there's a lot of frustration about the people who should have been fired a decade ago.
- Yes, they are relativly stable. However, make sure the position you thinking of accepting is listed as "career" or "career conditional" if you want stability--a term or temporary appointment will not guaruntee you that same stability. Once you are within the system, it is indeed a lot easier to eventually transfer to another job, as you can apply as a status candidate. Again, however, this will only apply to you if the position you take is not a term or temporary appointment. In addition to the above, there's a lot of satisfaction that comes with government work (at least there is for me)--You get the knowledge that when you get up for work in the morning, you're doing it for much more than just a paycheck. I wish you luck! :)
- I worked for the Government for 25 years first as an ART (Air Reserve technician) -- (which is just an Air Force reservist that works as a civil servant for 160 hours per month, and the one week-end per month you change into your Air Force uniform and work an additional 16 hours) I started at a wg-8 level because of the (then 8 months) of training I received as an Air Force Reservist "Avionics Electronics Specialist." My job description was under position AF job classification position number 32830 “Avionics Communications Specialist” This was a 6mo. temporary position. As I neared the end of the 6 months, I was able to get a “Career conditional” position offer for the same job and same pay, the only difference is that I had to move my family 2000 miles to Vienna AB, near Youngstown Ohio to work for the (then) 910th TFG (Tactical Fighter Group) to work on the avionics gear in the twin jet engine Cessna built A-37 “Dragonfly” – it was a cool little jet and fun to work on. While in this location I was promoted to wg-11 and also moved up in military rank from Airman Basic to Sergeant in the AF Reserves. I also went from career conditional status to Career status. It is at this point where it starts to get difficult for the government to get rid of people that don’t do their jobs, because there are a LOT of regulations protecting civil servants – this is why Civil Servants get a bad reputation – (it is also my opinion, why we have pin heads running the government, but that is another bedtime story) Anyway I worked at this location for 2 and 1/2 years and then applied for a lateral transfer to my original work location at Hill AFB in Utah * ·* Side note to the moderator: pay attention and I will reveal enough personal info that you can find out exactly who I am and then complain about my other politically incorrect posts on yahoo, and then whack my yahoo account ·Or just save time and ask me, I’ll tell you, and then you can whack my yahoo account ·Or save even more time and just whack my yahoo account. Not a hard decision is it? Any way back at the ranch; I got the Lateral transfer back to Hill but I had to compete with other Career Civil servants with equivalent training and skills and good yearly appraisals and BLAH BLAH BLAH – what it boiled down to is that I got my old job back for the same reasons anyone would get their old job back. ·I worked hard ·I went from a wg8 to a wg-11 in less than 3 years (which doesn’t happen often) ·They knew who I was and how I worked ·And of course; “It ain’t what you know it’s WHO you know” that gets a LOT of jobs – yeah it isn’t fair, but neither is life – cowboy-up and deal with it. I worked for the 508th TFG for about another 3 years and then when they got the new F-16 Falcons, (and became the 419th TFG), well let me put it this way; Did your parents ever buy a new car when you were a kid? – all of a sudden you weren’t good enough to ride in the new car were you? Well that is sort of what happened to me. All of a sudden I wasn’t cutting my hair short enough on Reserve weekends and my mustache was too long, I just wasn’t making the grade in keeping compliant with the Air Force Regulation 35-10 (their dress code) So away I went on another lateral – which I had to compete with just the civil servants on Hill AFB this time, and got magically transformed from an ART to a straight Civil Servant doing depot level maintenance on Avionics ATE (Automated Test Equipment) Now I was still working on the F-16 but I was repairing the Circuit cards that went into the Avionics Black boxes. So skill wise it was like going from being a dental assistant to a brain surgeon. BOOWAHAHAHA! That will teach them to make me cut my hair! uh, No, I don’t suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it! Anyway I did a lot of other stuff for the Government, (some pretty cool stuff actually) transferred several more times, ect. If you want to read more of that bedtime story I have an autobiographical web page that I had to put up for an "online Visual Basic programming class" of all things it’s at http://www.greywolf.vcn.com/bio.htm Basically there are three or four job classifications in Civil Service. Seasonal – these are the kids they hire to cut the grass in the summer – great jobs for kids and if they have half a brain they will start networking with the people on base that they meet -- remember it ain’t what you know it’s who you know… Temporary -- this is how I got in, It is kind of risky, but I was sick installing Burglar alarms Fire alarms and Muzac systems (think bad elevator music) for ADT, and besides it lets you get to know the people on the inside (network network network) Career Conditional – This is like when they hire you on the outside and tell you that you are on probation for 90 days, if they like you and your work ethic you are in if not, bu’bye! Don’t let the door hit you on the … Career – getting a career job right off the street only happens to people that know the right people, or to people that have a skill set, and references on their resume’ so impressive they can just bypass the career conditional status – doesn’t happen very often, but it DOES happen. (Think: Cisco Network Engineer with a ten-year work history and excellent references from former employers on this one) To get completely confused at a higher level visit the OPM website (Office of Personnel Management) at: http://www.opm.gov They have “more information there than humans should be allowed to have” (Thank you David Letterman) So you got a “personal” look from me, now you can get the “personnel” look and official story from the OPM website. Good Luck! Oh BTW, for 25 years we had RIF’s and Layoffs, and threats of base closures, depot closures, etc. – a lot of them happened, and some of them didn’t. This is where they get rid of the dead wood, so if you get on board, here is some free advice; “Make yourself valuable to the people you work for, and be LOYAL to them – at least till you get a better job.” NLS sndz…
