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Get a government job. If you're an established professional (read: not straight out of college) you'd be starting as a GS-12 or GS-13 in most places. GS-14 if y
by Jtsummers 4y ago
Get a government job. If you're an established professional (read: not straight out of college) you'd be starting as a GS-12 or GS-13 in most places. GS-14 if you're an expert in some field and they need your expertise (these aren't very common, though) or in some higher cost of living locations. GS-13 is increasingly becoming the "working level" (roughly: the baseline for individual contributors) for government programmers (career field is "1550", computer scientist, on paper). GS-13 pay starts at $98k if you're in "Rest of US" which is the lowest paid part of the US. That means that in the worst case of being in a Rest of US location and starting at GS-13 Step 1 you'd be making more than $100k after a year.
And that's working for one of the worst paying (for professionals) organizations in the US. Worst case, use this as a bargaining position with your present or future employers: I don't want to be paid worse than a government employee, with worse leave options (federal employees get 13/20/26 days of annual leave a year depending on length of service and 13 days of sick leave that never expires and 11 federal holidays), and worse health care.
- giantg2 4y agoSeems like there are many lower paying positions than that. https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/Results?jt=Software%20Developer https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/Results?jt=Software%20Develop...
- Jtsummers 4y agoSearch for 1550 series jobs or an engineering series (08xx) if you qualify by your degree. Those pay better usually than the many IT and technician jobs you found. Your search is also finding roles that start at GS-7 or 9 and go up to 13 or 14. With experience, if they hire you, you would cone in as a 12 or 13. https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/Results?g=12&g=13&g=14&g=15&j=1550&p=1&k=1550&gs=true&smin=82830&smax=177978# https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/Results?g=12&g=13&g=14&g=15&j...
- giantg2 4y agoStill quite a few postings in that search that are under $100k.
- Jtsummers 4y agoYou're overthinking this. Most of those (I did accidentally include GS-12 in my search, didn't mean to, so a couple jobs cap at GS-12) have a pay grade spread from something like GS-7 to GS-13 or even GS-15. You wouldn't be getting hired in at anything below GS-12 if you've got more than a year or two of professional experience and a degree. And if you've got a masters degree and 10+ years of experience, getting hired in at GS-13 is not too hard a sell anymore (it would've been a decade or so ago).