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Exactly. And when your career is so unstable (as you said, we're all afraid of sudden unemployment) that you might be looking for a new job at any time, and th

Exactly. And when your career is so unstable (as you said, we're all afraid of sudden unemployment) that you might be looking for a new job at any time, and that could mean having to move because the area doesn't have the density of tech jobs that the Bay Area has, that means that it's a really bad idea to take out a mortgage on a house. At least with renting, you're only stuck paying rent for the rest of the lease, or if you stay long enough to make it to month-to-month status (or you negotiate something in between, like my current renewed lease where there's a 90-day notice on either side), then you're not out too much money in case you have to make a sudden move. On top of all that, in the current era of women having their own professional jobs, that makes it even harder to settle down and have a family, since one of you losing a job means you have to move someplace, and that screws up the other's career. That means there's really a big disincentive to even date seriously and get married, because everyone's constantly moving around from city to city. I'm somewhat newly divorced and most of the professional women I see on Tinder/OKC in the metro area I live near (DC) have a string of characters in their profile indicating all the places they've lived: Boston, Philly, NYC, Seattle, etc. It's gotten to be a cliché. One woman I briefly dated complained that every time she made a new friend in the city, she (the female friend) moved away.

tropo 10y ago
You're near DC. That isn't cheap, but OK, not horrible. So... would you like a stable job? The DC area has stable jobs. Could you get a security clearance? There are many government agencies near you. Can you do low-level stuff like assembly? If so, my employer might want you. It's been 11 years, with growth, and we've never laid off a technical person.
- logfromblammo 10y ago
  Having worked for both private companies and government contractors, I'd recommend against taking a job with the latter, unless it pays at least $15k more per year than you could expect from the former. That's about how much I value having to deal with ridiculous nonsense on an almost daily basis. Sadly, the Beltway Barons can easily afford the differential. The least you can do is demand that they pay it.
  - dragonwriter 10y ago
    > Having worked for both private companies and government contractors Government contractors are generally also private companies; those aren't really separate groups.
    - logfromblammo 10y ago
      That's splitting hairs when every last dime of their revenues come from government contracts.
      - Grishnakh 10y ago
        True, but they're still privately-owned corporations. Working at one is not like working for the government: you don't get the job security and other perks that government workers get. However, working there isn't like working at a company in the commercial sector either. You have to get a clearance, you might work with classified information, you'll frequently work with government workers, you might work at government facilities even. And you'll be exposed to a lot of nonsense, as you said, because it is government work, even though you're paid differently. Basically, being a contractor has two big differences from being a government worker: you generally get paid more, but you don't have the job security and can be furloughed at any time (without pay) if there's a government shutdown or if the contract you're working under ends. (Government workers get furloughed too when Congress doesn't pass a budget, but they usually get back pay after it's over.) The big advantage with government work (government or contractor) seems to be that you can be a worse-than-mediocre worker and still have a job with decent security.
        tropo 10y ago
        I have heard this about job security with contractors. I have seen the opposite. It's been 11 years. During furlough stuff, most of our contracts were exempted due to high national importance. For the few people on contracts that had to stop, we found other work for them to do. It would be nuts to lose a good employee to a competitor because of a work stoppage. The crummy people do get fired.
- Grishnakh 10y ago
  Yes and yes. What's the name of your employer? (Why doesn't HN have a private message facility? Grumble...)

tropo 10y ago

You're near DC. That isn't cheap, but OK, not horrible. So... would you like a stable job? The DC area has stable jobs. Could you get a security clearance? There are many government agencies near you. Can you do low-level stuff like assembly? If so, my employer might want you. It's been 11 years, with growth, and we've never laid off a technical person.

logfromblammo 10y ago
Having worked for both private companies and government contractors, I'd recommend against taking a job with the latter, unless it pays at least $15k more per year than you could expect from the former. That's about how much I value having to deal with ridiculous nonsense on an almost daily basis. Sadly, the Beltway Barons can easily afford the differential. The least you can do is demand that they pay it.
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  > Having worked for both private companies and government contractors Government contractors are generally also private companies; those aren't really separate groups.
  - logfromblammo 10y ago
    That's splitting hairs when every last dime of their revenues come from government contracts.
    - Grishnakh 10y ago
      True, but they're still privately-owned corporations. Working at one is not like working for the government: you don't get the job security and other perks that government workers get. However, working there isn't like working at a company in the commercial sector either. You have to get a clearance, you might work with classified information, you'll frequently work with government workers, you might work at government facilities even. And you'll be exposed to a lot of nonsense, as you said, because it is government work, even though you're paid differently. Basically, being a contractor has two big differences from being a government worker: you generally get paid more, but you don't have the job security and can be furloughed at any time (without pay) if there's a government shutdown or if the contract you're working under ends. (Government workers get furloughed too when Congress doesn't pass a budget, but they usually get back pay after it's over.) The big advantage with government work (government or contractor) seems to be that you can be a worse-than-mediocre worker and still have a job with decent security.
      - tropo 10y ago
        I have heard this about job security with contractors. I have seen the opposite. It's been 11 years. During furlough stuff, most of our contracts were exempted due to high national importance. For the few people on contracts that had to stop, we found other work for them to do. It would be nuts to lose a good employee to a competitor because of a work stoppage. The crummy people do get fired.
Grishnakh 10y ago
Yes and yes. What's the name of your employer? (Why doesn't HN have a private message facility? Grumble...)