Unsure about starting a federal career in DC

Submitted by newbureaucrat1 t3_11dp6qd in personalfinance

I have about 3 years in hospitaliy acquisitions. For the last 3 years I have barely earned 20k/yr. Only in the last 7 months have I been earning $15/hr, and yet I am not salaried. My company simply can't afford to pay me over 40k, and I'm living at home in a place with very few options as a disabled person. I got a degree in political science and was recently offered a job for 43k with promotion potential to the mid 50s in the following 2 years.

With this job being in the DC area I am aware I'll need roommates, that I won't be saving a lot.. but this is a foot in the door to being in an area with actual job opportunity for a disabled person to live. I can't drive, and this country feels actively hostile to those are blind or otherwise can't drive. Most nations and cities aren't great, but most nations at least have public transit that functions. I will have 4-6k saved up prior to moving, and I am trying to find a place to rent with roommates under $1,100 a month.

I am wondering, is federal employment worth it longer than the first few months to get me into the DC area? I have a fair amount of prior experience in media work (social media, copywriting, proofreading, editorial), and could earn mid 50s from the jump.. provided I actually get an offer. All the healhcare benefits, retirement (TSP program)...are any of these worth it when most Americans actively want the government to be cut in half? The country feels so uncertain right now that me getting a job in a generally secure line of work feels equally as uncertain as private sector work. I can't confidently plan 10 years ahead much less 2, given my medical situation and how things seem to be going with inflationn, the math just doesn't work.

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nick898 t1_jaa7cd7 wrote

I’m a government contractor living in Northern Virginia. Moving to this area has been one of the greatest decisions I could have ever made financially and professionally.

The economy around here is as close to recession proof as you can get possibly get. Lots of job opportunities. Federal government is very secure work. You won’t get rich, but you can live a solid life with great benefits and a pension. If the position provides opportunities to get a clearance it’s even better.

I think the public transit in DC is pretty good. Haven’t used it in a while but always felt like I could get to where I needed to go in DC.

You’ll very likely need roommates like you said.

If you don’t see a ton of upward movement in your current job I see very little downside to moving to DC for a career in the federal government. Seems like a no brainer to me.

I wouldn’t be too worried about the state of politics in our country. You can’t predict the future. This seems like a great foot in the door opportunity that could lead to bigger and better things 5 or 10 years down the line.

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newbureaucrat1 OP t1_jaa9thi wrote

Thank you for the sound advice, and honestly cutting through the political noise. I saw a lot of posts today about Republican grandstanding at cutting federal telework policies and other things basically designed to starve out fed staff. Made me second guess whether it'd be even right to walk into a situation like that, ya know?

But you're right, it is basically recession proof. My current job doesn't require a clearance, but it's a foot in the door and as long as I get any part time work cleared, I should be just fine financially. As you say I won't get rich, but a solid life is what I'm after. I grew up a child of Central European immigrants so as you may imagine there's some leftover prestige in working for the state and respect for those civil servants/contractors, even if the average American thinks of them as just some bean counter or under-achieving IT student lol.

I am serving the nation, in my own way.

> I think the public transit in DC is pretty good. Haven’t used it in a while but always felt like I could get to where I needed to go in DC.

For context, around here the Commission for the Blind can do most everything except transit. It's really only Uber or Lyft, and they can't subsidize that (for obvious reasons, cost is too wildly in flux). There is zero public transit here, unless you want to go from your hotel to the Boardwalk once per day.

Is 4k on the low end of what might be enough to get someone set up? I know inflation has been kind of rough lately, eggs at $6/unit and all. I figure even if I don't put in 30 years, I can at least put in a solid decade or so, and get some type of secured pension.

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nick898 t1_jad5296 wrote

I would imagine you can get setup here with 4k. I'd definitely prioritize things though and try to live as barebones as you can early on. The point is just get here and start getting a steady income stream coming in and then you can start buying things that you put off that weren't absolutely essential.

And yea agreed I wish there was some more prestige for federal workers. I don't think Americans realize just how much is done on their behalf that they don't know about. Their impressions come from their experience at the DMV or what they hear on the news. Michael Lewis wrote a good book, The Fifth Risk, that sort of highlights some of the unsung heroes in the federal government. I found it pretty interesting and it definitely rang true to me. If you're passionate about that sort of stuff it would probably be a good thing to bring up whenever you have an interview. I imagine they look for people like that.

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Artanthos t1_jaa8rma wrote

There is a lot here to think about. As a background; I started with the federal government ~12 years ago, am currently a GS 12, and have a good shot at being a GS13 in the next month (let my interview go well).

  1. Look at room rentals if you want to be in the DMV. Areas like Temple Hills are cheaper, but have much higher crime rates.
  2. The further out you live, the cheaper housing gets. I commute ~50 miles by train and pay less than half DC rates. Nearly all of my coworkers commute by rail.
  3. The fed subsidizes rail/bus/subway. I pay nothing for transportation to and from work and never have.
  4. Promotion potential: there’s no real upper limit given personal ability and time. My current Director is someone I helped train. My desk today sits ~10’ from where my desk was 12 years ago.
  5. Work life balance. Generally you can make more outside the government. Getting better work life balance and job security is much more difficult. When 5:00 hits, most positions require you to stop working. Not accounting for alternate work schedules (AWS)
  6. AWS: most agencies will allow you to set your work schedule, within certain broad limits. Generally not before 6am and not latter than 6pm. Four 10 hour shifts per week is a common choice.
  7. If you want to job hop a little, it’s much easier to get a federal job if you already have a federal job.
  8. Benefits: They tend to be very good. Vacation time is separate from sick time, health insurance is very good, subsidized commute, pension + 401K
  9. High job satisfaction. People don’t tend to leave federal employment without good reason. Retirement is a popular reason. You’ll find a lot of coworkers with 20-40 years of experience.
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newbureaucrat1 OP t1_jaab4wn wrote

I lived in Arlington during my time in college. My biggest mental hurdle is just theh fact that most Metro stations aren't like.. right next to housing, you have to walk/drive a good distance. I am reliant on rail not just to get to work, but to get around NoVA and the DMV at large.

Wrt renting, I saw one place with no joke a 20-30 minute walk time to the Metro (in Reston) offered at $1,200/month... What? Prices can't be that crazy, can they? This was for a basement unit, if that matters.

> Promotion potential: there’s no real upper limit given personal ability and time. My current Director is someone I helped train. My desk today sits ~10’ from where my desk was 12 years ago.

I'll be coming in at a GS5-1, with Excepted Schedule A service.. You think it's impossible for me to make GS10 by the time I'm in my early 30s? I am unsure about getting a clearance, but I want to set myself up for a solid career in the event my vision does start to go more than it already has.

> The further out you live, the cheaper housing gets. I commute ~50 miles by train and pay less than half DC rates. Nearly all of my coworkers commute by rail.

Does the Metro really go out that far?? I always had this assumption the Orange Line went maybe 30 miles as the crow flies into Virginia, and barely into Maryland. Cool stuff :D I am happy you've managed to make it work so long.

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nick898 t1_jaafgq5 wrote

He’s probably referring to the VRE. Not the metro

Though I believe they recently extended the silver line further into VA I think all the way to Ashburn

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newbureaucrat1 OP t1_jaag7wn wrote

> He’s probably referring to the VRE. Not the metro

Ah, oop. I sometimes genuinely forget there's a difference. I see rail, my brain goes "Metro".

Thhey extended one of the lines to VA, yeah.. maybe to Dulles? I forget how the better airport (National bad, no food before the gates :C ) relates to Ashburn's locality.

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nick898 t1_jaagoyu wrote

Yea the silver line now stops at Dulles Airport. I think Ashburn is two stops after that if that helps.

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newbureaucrat1 OP t1_jaavqvi wrote

It does, yeah! I had thought Dulles was the end of the line. That's super cool stuff :D thank you

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epitone t1_jaacwsf wrote

I've lived in the DC area my entire life and the metro rail here is honestly one of my preferred rail lines. It goes pretty far into Maryland and VA - though it won't get you to say, Virginia Beach or Baltimore.

Honestly if my partner didn't live all the way across the country I'd probably never leave here - it's just so much nicer than any of the other areas I've visited bar like, San Diego.

If you can get a job that requires security clearance, you'll be pretty much set - not sure about how it works now but back when I was graduating, places were really hurting for people who could pass the clearance (granted this was back in like 2016). I have family who've worked in the government and while it's not the most glamorous of jobs, the security cannot be beat, so it's a tradeoff on that front.

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Artanthos t1_jab1m7y wrote

>I'll be coming in at a GS5-1, with Excepted Schedule A service.. You think it's impossible for me to make GS10 by the time I'm in my early 30s?

It took me 7 years to go from GS5-1 to GS 12-1, with one change in job title.

What is they range for your position? My first position started at GS5 with promotions to GS6 and GS7 at one year intervals. I changed jobs within the same office to a job that had a pay scale range of GS7 to GS12 about 9 months into GS7, to early to get bumped to GS9 right away and had to wait another full year for that bump. After that I got annual promotions to 9 / 11 / 12, where I've been for a while. Positions above 12 don't open up that frequently and have a lot of competition. That said, GS12-4 hits 100k/year.

This is with a small agency, so I don't know how things will work for you. Worst case, build your resume, take all the free training you can get, and if your advancement stalls, keep an eye on usajobs.com It's usually fairly easy to get a lateral change with a higher promotion potential if you don't mind changing agencies once or twice and have good performance evaluations.

Don't burn bridges, stay on good terms with everyone, and network. People, especially senior people, network and people talk. Having a good reputation will go a long ways.

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newbureaucrat1 OP t1_jab33c4 wrote

Currently I'm on the same range. It caps out at 7, and I am not really sure how large or small federal offices can be. The new office is certainly larger than my current corporate office by a matter of degrees. I am unsure what opportunity there is for advancement, but one of the people on the panel did seem to be at GS8 or 9 after their years of service to the org.. so there could be some movement?

I'd be totally fine switching agencies, provided the right opportunity came up. I am unsure if I want to go through the TS process, but I am certain that the series I'm entering in on 0303 is very much a "foot in the door" billet. Like, you're in, now find something to do that isn't so generic.

What kind of free trainings could exist, broadly speaking? Do you mean leadership training, or would it be more like a cert to get someone into IT work? My absolute dream job (from my college days wargaming at GWU) would be to work in State at some small obscure desk (think.. Moldova, or Laos, or Algeria), but I am unsure what exactly could put someone in that position. Besides being in the USFS. It's a small dream, but it's something, the novelty I hink is what I find so appealing.

Ultimately, I know that I'd like to do some TDY rotations abroad, especially while I've still got some sight left, within my first couple years. Do those opportunities only really exist with the DoD?

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Artanthos t1_jab80zt wrote

>I am not really sure how large or small federal offices can be.

It's agency dependent. When I was Department of Labor, it was tiny cubicles for 11s and 12s.

With my current agency? You can tell how important someone is by the size and placement of their office. As a GS5 to GS7, my desk was in the hallway. When I changed job titles at GS7 I moved to an interior office. When I made GS11 I got a window office. My supervisor has an office 3x my offices size. My Director has a corner office 2x the size of my supervisors.

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>I am unsure what opportunity there is for advancement

This is very agency dependent. But a foot in the door allows you to change agencies eventually.

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>What kind of free trainings could exist, broadly speaking? Do you mean leadership training

Leadership training does exist, but also professional writing courses, online self-study, mental health, emotional health, general professional courses. Most last 2-3 days, some longer.

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>My absolute dream job (from my college days wargaming at GWU) would be to work in State at some small obscure desk

I'm unsure what exactly they would be looking for. That said, I mentioned networking and training opportunities. I've taken classes at the state department once or twice, and that would be a good topic to bring up during a break. There are also occasional opportunities for detachments, where you temporarily work somewhere else to broaden your experience. Usually it's withing the same agency, but not always.

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Evaderfield24 t1_jaam4to wrote

I work for the VA in a VA clinic. The benefits outweigh any negatives. I'm not sure what you mean by "most Americans actively want the government to be cut in half." Federal employment is about as secure as you can get. You will hear the phrase "It takes an act of Congress to fire a Federal employee." It really does take a lot to get yourself fired when working for the government.

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newbureaucrat1 OP t1_jaar3bq wrote

Regarding the "government cut in half", thing, I'll tell you a small story that I think illustrates it. I went down to rural West Virginia on a church mission trip in my youth. Growing up, the idea that a town doesn't provide drinking water or electricity was something unthinkable. The country my family comes from was under the Iron Curtain so for a while things were grim, but not "no more rural water system" bad. As it turned out, this little community just an hour from a National Park, was a place where every resident was on well water by necessity. It also was a food desert, and the only place that seemed to have consistent electricity was the local church. These same people would say to us that the government could only make their lives worse. You ask three people you get five different answers.

The US isn't some social democratic paradise, but I'd like to think the people I serve don't resent my existence, you know? I have faith in this country, and I want to do my part to give back what it gave my family when we basically had nothing. I can't pick up a rifle, so I help make sure those who did get taken care of in some small way.

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