I have a connection who can bring me into the system. Any opinion is welcome.

11/21/2013 9:59:46 PM

Depends on the job, where you work.

They do surveys on different agencies... Results should be coming out soon. I would check it out.

There are going to be tons of retirements in 2014, so that may open up even more career options.

11/21/2013 11:26:43 PM

Con.

But, more seriously, it depends on what you are doing and what you want to do. Generally, the pay is lower than what you could make with the same skillset in other places, the benefits are better (but probably not enough to overcome the pay gap). Job security may or may not be good, depending on the job and politics. Some jobs require significant travel or moving, and you may not have a choice. Other jobs will never move.

You have more details?

11/21/2013 11:27:06 PM

Don't take this dummy seriously.

[Edited on November 21, 2013 at 11:32 PM. Reason : ]

11/21/2013 11:30:48 PM

Yeah. I'll do IT work, maybe technical maybe business, and it's in wake county.
He tells me that the working pace is extremely slow, and there is much bureaucracy.

11/22/2013 7:01:41 AM

You sure they don't want you to have another degree?

11/22/2013 7:29:22 AM

You shourd be an interpreter for the State Department since your Engrish is so impeccabre

11/22/2013 8:05:37 AM

Pros:

Good job security: Of course it depends on politics, as stated before. A new department head can come in with their own agenda and try to streamline processes, etc. But if you do essential work, then you'll probably be ok. In that case, you'll have to try hard to get fired, let go, etc. As stated before, there will likely be a slew of people retiring in the next several years (unless the economy gets shittier lol) so there will be ample opportunities that should open up.

Benefits generally good - I work for county govt, and we have the option to participate in a wellness program that shaves off the monthly rate for health care (comes out to about a $60 savings a month for me----so about $25/mo. comes out of my check for health insurance). Also, some may require you to have a cell phone if you have to work outside of the office. I had the option of having an iPhone supplied to me as a business phone, but I chose to get an extra $24/month as a stipend to use my personal cell phone. Of course not all govt agencies have these options, it just varies between departments. I think most agencies give you the option to divert your retirement savings to stuff like 401k instead of the old fashioned pension plan, but again it varies (my job doesn't have that option). You also typically have annual & sick leave that tends to accumulate at a faster rate once you have worked there a certain number of years.

Work typical business hours: Great so you can have weekends off like most people, in case you care about your social life. Some agencies also allow things like flexible schedules (longer hours per day to get time off later, etc.) and even work from home, but again it varies depending on the type of work you do.

Slow pace work: Again it can vary between agencies. The pace of work has been much slower in my experiences since getting out of the private sector. It may be too slow for your liking, but it does give you down time to try and work on your own research projects if you have the ability to do so. It can also give you time to redesign Excel speadsheets and other things that have gotten too bloated or way more complicated that it needs to be. I think the key thing here is if your work is slow, then try to shadow others within your department and just get involved with other things so it looks like you are really busy (and will reflect well in your annual review!).

On the job training: I think govt agencies are the best for starting out in your career field. You can get extensive on the job training and those skills can be easily transferable to a higher paying job in the private sector. I took a pay cut when I first got into state govt, switching my career path. My previous job involved marine meteorology forecasting for shipping vessels. I worked in Oklahoma and wanted to move back east, but the only other companies that did similar work are either in Houston or places in New York So I decided to venture into air quality meteorology. Since all states have to comply with air quality regulations set forth by the EPA, I knew that I had more opportunities in this line of work. I also didn't have a lot of experience (other than weather forecasting experience and several air quality courses I took in school), but I got trained up fairly well and built up enough experience to land a higher paying job with county govt doing more or less the same stuff. Not sure if I will move on from this position, but I know there are several private companies that would probably give me a look after a few more years of experience.

Cons:

Slower pace: Yeah, it can be a pro. But sometimes it really kills me when I finish things too fast like I tend to do. As I said before, just try and get involved with other things during your down time if you can.

Govt bureaucracy stuff: There can be a lot of politics that go on within govt agencies. I tend to question things a lot, and did it fairly frequently at my past job. There can be a sense of agencies always doing things the way they have always done them and are not accepting of alternative methods. They can also hold on to a lot of outdated files and equipment/electronics that probably belong in a museum instead of state surplus. As I said before, new department heads can also come in and make sweeping changes, especially if an agency has had problems in the past (even moreso if it's been made public).

Public perception: I never knew how important it was to have a spokesperson/media rep for govt agencies until I worked at one. Some agencies have a negative public perception and the press & those with agendas will go out of their way to find anything they can turn into a negative piece to shed light on that agency. We always had to filter calls/inquiries through the higher ups & media reps before we could answer them. And we had to give the higher ups/media reps the answer so they could relay them to the caller.

Climbing the ladder: Sometimes it can be hard to move up within your department since there are a lot of people that tend to stay at their jobs for a long time. If you're flexible with moving, you can obviously move up faster----but I guess that can be with any job.

Ageism: This could also happen at any job, but it seems worse to me in govt agencies. At my last job, I was always seen as the "youngin" by those older than me in my department (which was everyone), so I felt like I got treated differently. Those with more experience in the department got to work on more projects while I got to work on generally easier things (even though some of the others were much slower and made more mistakes). It was harder for me to get involved in more things because of that, and is generally the reason why I left (other than the huge increase in pay).

11/22/2013 8:26:31 AM

OP -- Are you talking about local, state, or federal government?

[Edited on November 22, 2013 at 9:15 AM. Reason : ]

11/22/2013 9:15:38 AM

State government, wake county.

[Edited on November 22, 2013 at 9:34 AM. Reason : ^^ Thanks for sharing! I'll PM you.]

11/22/2013 9:19:49 AM

haven't you been looking for a job for years or something? i'd say take it.

11/22/2013 9:31:09 AM

5 months.

11/22/2013 9:34:33 AM

pros:
can't get fired.

cons:
shutdown furloughs

11/22/2013 9:43:29 AM

Are you even an US citizen at this point? Working for the government is generally good for job security and overly generous benefits, but the work you do sucks and will destroy your soul for mediocre pay. Stick with the private sector if you have any real skills.

11/22/2013 1:29:07 PM

More than 3 months of unemployment looks bad, I'd take it unless you have some other decent job prospects

11/22/2013 1:49:33 PM

^^I'll be a citizen soon.

11/22/2013 3:25:27 PM

^ Are you allowed to apply if you are not? I'd assume any opportunity that is out there for you would have some type of urgency for being filled.

11/22/2013 4:03:23 PM

Yes, of course.

11/22/2013 4:20:10 PM

It is better if you are a pro, than a con. Convicts are not hired at the same rate as professionals.

11/22/2013 5:07:11 PM

If you are considering working for State under an appointed director/chair/etc...run the fuck away and never look back. /thread.

11/23/2013 9:36:01 AM

The biggest pro about government work is the retirement system. In most cases the state and small government retirement systems will easily make up the difference in pay vs similar private jobs, especially if you're like most people who aren't disciplined and knowledgeable in personal finance.
How much money do you have to put away in order to retire after 28 years and have 80+% of your previous salary (and health insurance) for the rest of your life? In most government jobs you can expect to retire after 28 years rather than 30 due to accumulated sick and vacation leave (comp time is easy to come by).

Another pro is getting paid to train and cross train and having the opportunity to actually do it. I've been in government for about 7 years and there's no telling how many months I've spent training and how much that all cost. I could use that training to make some good money on my own if I was willing to move.

Related to training is specialization. You can find your own niche and most jobs will allow you enough flexibility to focus on that.

Public perception is both good and bad. Sometimes you're a representative of all that is wrong with government and other days you're a hero. It just depends.

Promotion opportunities really depend on a lot of things. In my experience, if you're willing/able to physically move then there are a lot of opportunities to climb up. Some agencies are better for this than others though.

So yeah...it really depends on which agency you're talking about but I think overall government jobs are a good thing. Most people who bad mouth government jobs have never worked one or aren't intelligent enough to understand the value of the retirement system.

11/23/2013 10:28:10 PM

I work in state government and I like it but don't be fooled about the benefits, the state health plan kind of sucks and retirement takes 10 years to vest now. My wife is in the private sector and her benefits are outrageously better than mine.

11/24/2013 8:51:41 AM

It really depends on the agency/government, but typically working for cities/couties are far better than working for the state. Durham & Raleigh both have far better health plans, they work less too, and are paid very well (considered the number of actual work hours is way less than private jobs)

Work hours - city/county employees work 37.5/wk. State works 40/hr. Tons of time off either way, so they are great for those with families.
Pay - state jobs pay is based on the previous person's slotted salary, so the max pay is what the previous person made. City/county positions typically can actually pay based on qualifications and have flexibility.
Raises - city/county employees get auto raises typically. The cumulative COA's from the state is like 2% combined over the last 8 years.
401k - city/couty often get 5% match. State gets nothing.
Health plan - city/county will contribute more toward family plans. State plan only pays for the actual employee.
Retirement - basically it's the same for all gov. employees, except it can be easier to accumulate time & retire early with the state.

11/24/2013 10:20:23 AM

This thread makes a government job sound like a good idea, if only it weren't for the virulent strain of Rethugnicanism infecting Congress and the state legislatures

11/24/2013 12:06:00 PM

It's fine if you like being a lazy leech on society.

11/24/2013 2:55:08 PM

you're plainly incompetent at what you do. you'll fit right in. go for it


^^ you never miss a chance to act like Sarah Palin, do you

[Edited on November 24, 2013 at 7:12 PM. Reason : ]

11/24/2013 7:11:47 PM

I'd like to refudiate that remark

11/24/2013 8:46:11 PM

It would be a total and complete change for my career. I spent most of my career time in academic institutes, 4 months in commercial world, but never in a government.

11/25/2013 10:57:28 AM

Quote :

"If you are considering working for State under an appointed director/chair/etc...run the fuck away and never look back. /thread."

Or have a lawyer review your contract before accepting, make changes if needed, and run if not accepted.

For positions ive held in the past this usually involved a 3 or 5 year contract instead of 1, and a provision to allow them to buy me out.

*shrug*

Unless this is a government janitorial position he doesnt stand a fucking chance, lol.

11/25/2013 11:06:03 AM

Hater of shoot

11/25/2013 11:07:14 AM

Oh thats not true-

You arent real.

11/25/2013 11:08:35 AM

I met some TWWers face to face.

11/25/2013 11:10:43 AM

That hardly qualifies as proof of being real.

11/25/2013 11:12:50 AM

LOL. Then how should you proof that you are real? You douche bag.

11/25/2013 11:14:25 AM

You are too Asian to be real.

11/25/2013 11:18:59 AM

Which agencies have the good reputation?
Here's what I applied:

Dept of Transportation
Dept of Insurance
Dept of State Treasurer
Community College System
Dept of Health and Human Services
Office of Information Technology Services
Dept of Revenue
Office of the State Controller

12/15/2013 11:29:28 AM

I thought you had a connection

12/15/2013 11:38:32 AM

OK. Thanks for reminding me.

12/15/2013 11:41:32 AM