7 ms·

Great UI, love it. Didn't realize how many cushy jobs the government has...damn. Now I know why my parents kept telling me to look in the public sector first an

Great UI, love it. Didn't realize how many cushy jobs the government has...damn. Now I know why my parents kept telling me to look in the public sector first and foremost.

eli 13y ago
Not a very cushy job this month...
- robmcm 13y ago
  Or very cushy, (if you don't mind not getting paid).
  - eli 13y ago
    I know many people who were furloughed this week and not a single one of them is happy.
    - mcguire 13y ago
      You can't say that anymore! I'm not a government employee, directly, but I am a contractor that has been furloughed for two weeks now, and I'm happier than I've been in a long while. And no, I won't get back pay; the first two weeks were "administrative leave", which I have to make up (typically with vacation time), and starting this week the charge code is leave without pay. Apparently, my job sucks worse than I thought.
  - maaku 13y ago
    I'm not sure how being out of work without pay is cushy...
    - whathappenedto 13y ago
      They'll be paid back when the government is no longer shut down. So if you have savings, it's essentially a forced paid vacation.
      - Jtsummers 13y ago
        With a backlog of work to do once you return. Its not like an office or factory suspending operations because there is no work. Many of these people have deadlines that they won't be able to meet without a great deal of effort and likely overtime (if granted). So not only does this shutdown give them a "paid vacation" it's going to pay extra so that the work can still get done close to on time.
        acdha 13y ago
        … and don't forget the politically charged atmosphere. You're still going to hear about how government agencies don't work but most of the attackers won't mention things like e.g. the way the VA was making progress on their backlog until October 1st: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/10/09/backlog-of-va-disability-claims-grows-amid-shutdown/ http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/10/09/backlog-of-va-disab...
      - GabrielF00 13y ago
        Workers who have been furloughed will only be paid back if Congress explicitly passes a bill to pay them. That has happened in previous shutdowns but it is not certain to happen this time.
        Jtsummers 13y ago
        For what it's worth, back pay is apparently part of the package in the Senate today. The House already passed legislation guaranteeing it, but for whatever reason (this article suggests Senate Republicans, but I don't know) it didn't get through the Senate. http://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2013/10/back-pay-furloughed-feds-senate-deal-reopen-government/72020/?oref=top-story http://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2013/10/back-pay-furloug...
      - maaku 13y ago
        They only get paid if Congress specifically includes language paying them. People are merely assuming congress will do so on what, good faith? Given the nature of this whole bruhaha, I wouldn't discount entirely the possibility of no back-pay.
    - aianus 13y ago
      Maybe you have more money than vacation time? This is a nice way to take a break without anyone looking down on you or forbidding you.
phaus 13y ago
Most of the people who are making 100-200k would make at the very least double that if they were in the private sector. A GS-15 is equivalent to a Brigadier General(Who would be in charge of thousands of people). Now, keep in mind that some technology positions have inflated GS ranks because it was the only way they could get the salaries high enough to attract talent. Security analysts and programmers don't come cheap. Working for the government can be great, depending on who you work for and whether or not it fits your personality, but don't be deluded into thinking that the majority of government employees have cushy, high paying jobs. Note: Politicians and Senior Executive Service employees are a different story, many of them are overpaid and ineffective at their jobs.
- Jtsummers 13y ago
  Paywise they're peers to Colonels and Brigadier Generals, position scope tends towards being equivalent to Colonel (AF, can't speak to other services or departments), with SES employees being the civil service peers to General officers.
  - phaus 13y ago
    You're right, I was a rank off. That being said, a Colonel is often still in charge of a couple thousand people.
    - Jtsummers 13y ago
      Absolutely, and the comparisons get kind of hairy sometimes. GS-12+ aren't all supervisory, it's possible to have GS-14 and 15s that are mostly specialists with few or no individuals in their direct charge. For those curious, the general mapping of GS grades to officer ranks: GS-15 = O-6 (Colonel/Navy Captain) GS-14 = O-5 (Lt Colonel/Commander) GS-13 = O-4 (Major) GS-12 = O-3 (Captain, this is the journeyman level for engineesr) GS-9/11 = O-1/2 (Lt's, apprentice stage) GS doesn't start at 9, though. The lower grades are typically limited scope, no supervisory responsibility, office jobs (secretaries, mail room, clerk, data entry, etc.). Or they're training positions, straight out of college an engineer may be a GS-5/7 and after 2-4 years a GS-11/12. They don't really have a clean comparison to military ranks, that I know of.

Great UI, love it. Didn't realize how many cushy jobs the government has...damn. Now I know why my parents kept telling me to look in the public sector first and foremost.

eli 13y ago

Not a very cushy job this month...

robmcm 13y ago
Or very cushy, (if you don't mind not getting paid).
- eli 13y ago
  I know many people who were furloughed this week and not a single one of them is happy.
  - mcguire 13y ago
    You can't say that anymore! I'm not a government employee, directly, but I am a contractor that has been furloughed for two weeks now, and I'm happier than I've been in a long while. And no, I won't get back pay; the first two weeks were "administrative leave", which I have to make up (typically with vacation time), and starting this week the charge code is leave without pay. Apparently, my job sucks worse than I thought.
- maaku 13y ago
  I'm not sure how being out of work without pay is cushy...
  - whathappenedto 13y ago
    They'll be paid back when the government is no longer shut down. So if you have savings, it's essentially a forced paid vacation.
    - Jtsummers 13y ago
      With a backlog of work to do once you return. Its not like an office or factory suspending operations because there is no work. Many of these people have deadlines that they won't be able to meet without a great deal of effort and likely overtime (if granted). So not only does this shutdown give them a "paid vacation" it's going to pay extra so that the work can still get done close to on time.
      - acdha 13y ago
        … and don't forget the politically charged atmosphere. You're still going to hear about how government agencies don't work but most of the attackers won't mention things like e.g. the way the VA was making progress on their backlog until October 1st: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/10/09/backlog-of-va-disability-claims-grows-amid-shutdown/ http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/10/09/backlog-of-va-disab...
    - GabrielF00 13y ago
      Workers who have been furloughed will only be paid back if Congress explicitly passes a bill to pay them. That has happened in previous shutdowns but it is not certain to happen this time.
      - Jtsummers 13y ago
        For what it's worth, back pay is apparently part of the package in the Senate today. The House already passed legislation guaranteeing it, but for whatever reason (this article suggests Senate Republicans, but I don't know) it didn't get through the Senate. http://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2013/10/back-pay-furloughed-feds-senate-deal-reopen-government/72020/?oref=top-story http://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2013/10/back-pay-furloug...
    - maaku 13y ago
      They only get paid if Congress specifically includes language paying them. People are merely assuming congress will do so on what, good faith? Given the nature of this whole bruhaha, I wouldn't discount entirely the possibility of no back-pay.
  - aianus 13y ago
    Maybe you have more money than vacation time? This is a nice way to take a break without anyone looking down on you or forbidding you.

phaus 13y ago

Most of the people who are making 100-200k would make at the very least double that if they were in the private sector. A GS-15 is equivalent to a Brigadier General(Who would be in charge of thousands of people). Now, keep in mind that some technology positions have inflated GS ranks because it was the only way they could get the salaries high enough to attract talent. Security analysts and programmers don't come cheap. Working for the government can be great, depending on who you work for and whether or not it fits your personality, but don't be deluded into thinking that the majority of government employees have cushy, high paying jobs. Note: Politicians and Senior Executive Service employees are a different story, many of them are overpaid and ineffective at their jobs.

Jtsummers 13y ago
Paywise they're peers to Colonels and Brigadier Generals, position scope tends towards being equivalent to Colonel (AF, can't speak to other services or departments), with SES employees being the civil service peers to General officers.
- phaus 13y ago
  You're right, I was a rank off. That being said, a Colonel is often still in charge of a couple thousand people.
  - Jtsummers 13y ago
    Absolutely, and the comparisons get kind of hairy sometimes. GS-12+ aren't all supervisory, it's possible to have GS-14 and 15s that are mostly specialists with few or no individuals in their direct charge. For those curious, the general mapping of GS grades to officer ranks: GS-15 = O-6 (Colonel/Navy Captain) GS-14 = O-5 (Lt Colonel/Commander) GS-13 = O-4 (Major) GS-12 = O-3 (Captain, this is the journeyman level for engineesr) GS-9/11 = O-1/2 (Lt's, apprentice stage) GS doesn't start at 9, though. The lower grades are typically limited scope, no supervisory responsibility, office jobs (secretaries, mail room, clerk, data entry, etc.). Or they're training positions, straight out of college an engineer may be a GS-5/7 and after 2-4 years a GS-11/12. They don't really have a clean comparison to military ranks, that I know of.