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There's probably a bit more nuance to this. I've worked for Gov, Consultancies and Private sector clients. They all have shared part of the blame at some poin

There's probably a bit more nuance to this. I've worked for Gov, Consultancies and Private sector clients. They all have shared part of the blame at some point. But, I've specifically seen the companies charge £75k for firewall changes or sever upgrades, when the reality was they're already paid £10,000,000 a year manage servers that a couple of good puppet admins could have done. Point being, it's sometimes not about not wanting to pay, but simply about not wanting to pay for something that should have already been done. Of course, this all comes back to the fact they gleefully oursorced their tech competency, based on the recommendation of consultancies, based on their lack of long term strategic management, so they apparently get what they deserve. It's a shame that Gov is spending tax money though.

sailfast 7y ago
Outsourcing of technical capability (especially prevalent in government) bites you hard when you lose the ability to work directly with your contract teams and have to rely on their direction. (Especially if the management is non-technical) There’s a clear conflict of interest on the part of the contractor, and you need to be able to set their direction competently. I would recommend always having an in-house capability, even if it’s just an in-house consultancy, so that you don’t run into these kinds of issues and can provide adequate direction / oversight.
- jcadam 7y ago
  The GS payscale is not set up to be able to hire and retain highly skilled technical experts. Even if I were to be hired at the GS-15 level, I'd take a pay cut from what I earn as a contractor. I once worked on a contract in a Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) capacity, which was both an odd and eye-opening experience - basically advising the govt customer, as a technical expert, on contractors' proposals and sitting in on reviews and such.
  - sailfast 7y ago
    That's a good fallback option, though it's still difficult to control turnover and feel like you are aligned in terms of value using that approach. You'd want to find somebody that you trust and bring them on in that special capacity, rather than just putting an RFP on the street for a SETA advisor. Agreed on the GS payscale and its ability to keep up with high-end private sector pay though I also think that the entire hiring process may be more of a barrier than the pay itself. All that said, a non-supervisory GS-15 in the DC area (18% locality pay bump - more if you're SF or NY) is maxed out in the 170s which isn't shabby!! When you combine that wage with generous retirement matching options, job security, good work/life balance, and excellent health insurance at well negotiated rates it ends up being a pretty attractive offer. Furthermore, there are other government agencies and roles that have their own specialized payscale outside of the GS scale. This can include financial regulators (higher pay to avoid revolving door problems) as well as "cybersecurity" billets across different places.

sailfast 7y ago

Outsourcing of technical capability (especially prevalent in government) bites you hard when you lose the ability to work directly with your contract teams and have to rely on their direction. (Especially if the management is non-technical) There’s a clear conflict of interest on the part of the contractor, and you need to be able to set their direction competently. I would recommend always having an in-house capability, even if it’s just an in-house consultancy, so that you don’t run into these kinds of issues and can provide adequate direction / oversight.

jcadam 7y ago
The GS payscale is not set up to be able to hire and retain highly skilled technical experts. Even if I were to be hired at the GS-15 level, I'd take a pay cut from what I earn as a contractor. I once worked on a contract in a Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) capacity, which was both an odd and eye-opening experience - basically advising the govt customer, as a technical expert, on contractors' proposals and sitting in on reviews and such.
- sailfast 7y ago
  That's a good fallback option, though it's still difficult to control turnover and feel like you are aligned in terms of value using that approach. You'd want to find somebody that you trust and bring them on in that special capacity, rather than just putting an RFP on the street for a SETA advisor. Agreed on the GS payscale and its ability to keep up with high-end private sector pay though I also think that the entire hiring process may be more of a barrier than the pay itself. All that said, a non-supervisory GS-15 in the DC area (18% locality pay bump - more if you're SF or NY) is maxed out in the 170s which isn't shabby!! When you combine that wage with generous retirement matching options, job security, good work/life balance, and excellent health insurance at well negotiated rates it ends up being a pretty attractive offer. Furthermore, there are other government agencies and roles that have their own specialized payscale outside of the GS scale. This can include financial regulators (higher pay to avoid revolving door problems) as well as "cybersecurity" billets across different places.