5 ms·

Check out jobs with the federal government and/or with government contractors. The work might not be as sexy or as lucrative (although sometimes it is), but the

by csa 8y ago

Check out jobs with the federal government and/or with government contractors. The work might not be as sexy or as lucrative (although sometimes it is), but the pay is stable (lolol... shutdowns notwithstanding) at a middle-class level. The government is desperate for people who can code.

a3n 8y ago
The last month should demonstrate that the government is a terrible steward of jobs. Shutdowns and dysfunction are on a bad trend. Half the board (Congress) won't talk to the other half, and the CEO (President) is a narcissist at best. I don't think anyone who relies on a paycheck should work for the government, unless God himself touched their heart with his finger and made that their calling. Although the man in the article is probably desperate enough to give that a shot.
- Wowfunhappy 8y ago
  I don’t think the shutdowns are quite that bad yet (unless you’re a contractor). Everyone—except contractors—got back pay when the government re-opened. A vouple months delayed pay can absolutely be devistating to someone at a certain income level, and I don’t want to discount the hardship the recent shutdown has caused. But, I imagine most people well-off enough to have a programming job wouldn’t have too many cash flow issues, given proper financial planning.
- johnny22 8y ago
  most governments in the world don't have shutdowns like the US though. The US doesn't need to have them either.
Novashi 8y ago
>The government is desperate for people who can code. Not desperate enough to teach people to code who want to learn though. But I bet half the need is from mountains of shit code anyway. The contracting and procurement processes are fucked (source: friend who works in gov't IT contracts -- stay far away from any dev positions involving Dept. of VA). Demand for good devs is going to be won by companies. We clearly can't even fill private sector roles even at these salary levels. I'm not sure how anyone can look at our really picky labor market with the government's lack of salary and perk offerings and think "yeah we can fill these if we just try a bit harder". Government really needs a different approach to solve their staffing needs in this regard. They aren't competitive.
- WalterBright 8y ago
  > Not desperate enough to teach people to code who want to learn though. There's endless free material online for those who actually want to learn.
  - AstralStorm 8y ago
    Those people end up in companies if they're any good at it, presuming they can somehow pass the filtering.
- csa 8y ago
  I agree with many parts of your reply. That said, the context was about older and experienced devs who, for some reason, can’t find a job in the private labor market. The federal government is a much safer bet for these people. As bad as it can be, it’s better than unemployed. Some of the jobs are actually good.
dragonwriter 8y ago
> The government is desperate for people who can code. If it was desperate, the pay would be better.
towaway1138 8y ago
I did end up getting an offer at something like this. Low pay, worthy and mostly interesting work. So no real complaints.

by csa 8y ago

a3n 8y ago

The last month should demonstrate that the government is a terrible steward of jobs. Shutdowns and dysfunction are on a bad trend. Half the board (Congress) won't talk to the other half, and the CEO (President) is a narcissist at best. I don't think anyone who relies on a paycheck should work for the government, unless God himself touched their heart with his finger and made that their calling. Although the man in the article is probably desperate enough to give that a shot.

Wowfunhappy 8y ago
I don’t think the shutdowns are quite that bad yet (unless you’re a contractor). Everyone—except contractors—got back pay when the government re-opened. A vouple months delayed pay can absolutely be devistating to someone at a certain income level, and I don’t want to discount the hardship the recent shutdown has caused. But, I imagine most people well-off enough to have a programming job wouldn’t have too many cash flow issues, given proper financial planning.
johnny22 8y ago
most governments in the world don't have shutdowns like the US though. The US doesn't need to have them either.

Novashi 8y ago

>The government is desperate for people who can code. Not desperate enough to teach people to code who want to learn though. But I bet half the need is from mountains of shit code anyway. The contracting and procurement processes are fucked (source: friend who works in gov't IT contracts -- stay far away from any dev positions involving Dept. of VA). Demand for good devs is going to be won by companies. We clearly can't even fill private sector roles even at these salary levels. I'm not sure how anyone can look at our really picky labor market with the government's lack of salary and perk offerings and think "yeah we can fill these if we just try a bit harder". Government really needs a different approach to solve their staffing needs in this regard. They aren't competitive.

WalterBright 8y ago
> Not desperate enough to teach people to code who want to learn though. There's endless free material online for those who actually want to learn.
- AstralStorm 8y ago
  Those people end up in companies if they're any good at it, presuming they can somehow pass the filtering.
csa 8y ago
I agree with many parts of your reply. That said, the context was about older and experienced devs who, for some reason, can’t find a job in the private labor market. The federal government is a much safer bet for these people. As bad as it can be, it’s better than unemployed. Some of the jobs are actually good.

dragonwriter 8y ago

> The government is desperate for people who can code. If it was desperate, the pay would be better.

towaway1138 8y ago

I did end up getting an offer at something like this. Low pay, worthy and mostly interesting work. So no real complaints.