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Tortilla Maker posted:I think this should be triple quoted. I forget what the statistic is but open season for FEGLI is really rare. The last two were 2004 and 1999. The next one is 2016.
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Sep 14, 2015 23:52
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P.D.B. Fishsticks posted:Does your job have any sort of 7-9-11-12 track (or target some rank)? If so, yeah, you're stuck at low pay the first year but should advance quickly to the target grade. I'm not sure. It's with Peace Corps, and my understanding is that they use their own pay scale. I received an email saying that I need to acquire my USAccess identification credential. I was told I had to complete this within a week, but all of the centers are in the States. Has anyone done this from abroad before?
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Sep 15, 2015 08:16
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Max Peck posted:The last two were 2004 and 1999. The next one is 2016. Before jumping in to FEGLI you should also get a quote on term life insurance. Once you get into your late 20s / early 30s that's worth considering because the FEGLI cost increases pretty drastically with age. https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/publications-forms/benefits-administration-letters/2011/11-205attachment.pdf Insurance at 60 is around 26 times as expensive as insurance at 30 and you can lock in a comparable price through a term policy if you are healthy. FEGLI, dental insurance, and vision insurance are all worth having outside quotes for so that you know whether you are getting a good price for your age, health, and location.
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Sep 15, 2015 12:55
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I'm very interested in the IRS, but unsure if I'd fit. I'm currently a small-team manager at a shipping/receiving warehouse. I deal with numbers a lot, as well as creating/filing reports, communicating with customers, working under deadlines, helping coworkers and subordinates solve problems, things of a general managerial nature. I live in Kentucky, and I see the Covington office often hires clerks, and the duties listed in the job description sounds like things I can handle. I also only have an Associate's degree at the moment, so I'd pretty much have to start at a GS-4 position like the Clerk one. Would the experience I have as a warehouse manager make me useful in an IRS office?
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Sep 22, 2015 08:05
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Does GS-5 require a bachelor's degree? If not, look into USCIS Immigration Service Assistant positions, as they sound like potentially good fits for you. Possibly even a GS-5 officer. They just changed the old 5/7/9 11/12 split to be a 5/7 9/11/12 split; I honestly do not know if that will decrease or increase competition for the 5s. I would guess decrease, but I never fully understand job markets. I do know we current 9s got screwed over in this deal since we do not get converted and now all people who were 7s for a year can compete for our promotions too. Ah well, so it goes. Still a good job.
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Sep 22, 2015 21:00
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How flexible are USCIS ISO work schedules anyways? Just for the hell of it, I applied for a position with them for that 9/11/12 ISO position in Crystal City.
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Sep 23, 2015 17:35
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It depends, which is of course the answer for everything, but Service Centers usually have pretty flexible schedules, like work whatever 80 hours you want as long as it is between 6 A.M. and 6 P.M. weekdays. Add that to working from home after a year (or shorter if you are already in the Government), though it is not like you snap your fingers when you have done your time and magically get to work from home. Not sure if Potomac is the same way, but it probably will be since the big difference in work styles is really just whether the public needs access to the building.
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Sep 23, 2015 21:29
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I've been referred to interview for Asylum Officer in Arlington, VA. Any pointers?
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Sep 24, 2015 01:13
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kys posted:I've been referred to interview for Asylum Officer in Arlington, VA. Any pointers? I've been asked for my references for the same thing in L.A. So I'll second this. 
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Sep 24, 2015 02:15
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Awesome for both of you! Either of you not have a legal background? I feel like in the long run I would want to be a Refugee Officer, and we heard (from officials at the division during a job talk) that asylum is a good bridge between general adjudication and refugee work. (Oh, and we hear both asylum and refugee offices love lawyers, haha, hence the question)
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Sep 24, 2015 04:23
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Nope, no legal background. I've got a Masters degree and was a Peace Corps Volunteer though. I got through the process with my non-competitive eligibility.
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Sep 24, 2015 12:57
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I was a CBPO for a few years at the Southern Border, with five years in the military.
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Sep 24, 2015 18:08
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And hey, I got referred to the guys in Vermont for hire. LA here I come! From the East Coast 
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Sep 25, 2015 00:54
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Slaan posted:And hey, I got referred to the guys in Vermont for hire. 420 Peace Corps NCE everyday Congrats! Now you can leave the blighted coast for the land of sunshine and plenty.
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Sep 25, 2015 01:24
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Double post...
Thesaurus fucked around with this message at 01:26 on Sep 25, 2015 |
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Sep 25, 2015 01:24
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FOXDIE posted:I'm very interested in the IRS, but unsure if I'd fit. I'm currently a small-team manager at a shipping/receiving warehouse. I deal with numbers a lot, as well as creating/filing reports, communicating with customers, working under deadlines, helping coworkers and subordinates solve problems, things of a general managerial nature. I live in Kentucky, and I see the Covington office often hires clerks, and the duties listed in the job description sounds like things I can handle. I also only have an Associate's degree at the moment, so I'd pretty much have to start at a GS-4 position like the Clerk one. I looked at the positions currently listed. "Clerk" covers a huge variety of positions, and it generally involves doing the same thing over and over again. For example, one of the current positions is in document control. Effectively, you would be receiving large piles of stapled docs, determining what the doc is, assigning a control number to it, stamping that number on every page, and putting that doc into a sorted pile. Your job performance is judged almost entirely by how many docs you file. Sounds riveting, doesn't it? I'm not saying that you shouldn't apply. If you're planning on getting a bachelors and want to work for the IRS, being a clerk will let you apply internally. But you should understand that low-level positions here are typically little more than paper filing. It can be really difficult to get ahead here. I know people who got stuck at GS-7 for years. Going from 7 to 9 can be worse, and getting an 11 seems to require an act of God. But if you can get on a 5-7-9-11-12 ladder (get an IT degree), it is relatively easier to move from 12 to 13 than from 7 to 9. Also be aware that the IRS is very unpopular in congress right now. Our budget gets cut every year. No one is sure when we will actually be able to start back filling positions, and we desperately need to.
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Sep 25, 2015 05:12
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Slaan posted:And hey, I got referred to the guys in Vermont for hire. 
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Sep 25, 2015 06:25
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I'm not totally sure I understand this shut down that might be coming. If I get furloughed, do I get paid later? Or if I work through it, do I not get a paycheck until after the shutdown is over? I've heard some confusing stuff from guys I work with about the last one.
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Sep 26, 2015 13:22
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Depends on if you are excepted or non-excepted. If you are excepted, you still have to work and don't get paid until a budget gets passed. Last time around, it was two weeks. If you are non-excepted, you go on unpaid furlough after winding down operations at your facility (which usually takes about half a day for most spots) and there's no guarantee that you will get paid. The past shutdowns, there were laws passed to make whole the folks who were non-excepted, and Ben Cardin has such a law in front of the Senate right now. Look up your agency's shutdown contingency plan. It should give you an idea of who will have to keep working and who is going out on furlough. Must Love Dogs fucked around with this message at 14:19 on Sep 26, 2015 |
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Sep 26, 2015 14:16
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For what it's worth, it may be possible to go on unemployment during a shutdown. However, if the government does pay employees for the time during the shutdown, you would be expected to repay the benefits, and there's generally a waiting period before benefits start. The Washington Post has posted a useful article on what federal employees can expect for their pay and benefits during a shutdown: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2015/09/18/what-happens-to-federal-employee-pay-benefits-in-a-shutdown/ By the way, it appears unlikely that there will be shutdown this week, because Boehner is expected, before his resignation takes effect in October, to reach an agreement with the Democrats that would tide the government over until December. However, December now looks more likely, due to the need to raise the debt ceiling then and because the Republican leadership may be more inclined to go the shutdown route with Boehner out of the way. Given that, it might be prudent to put something aside for December, if possible.
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Sep 28, 2015 05:41
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House passed the CR. No shutdown tomorrow. Government's funded until December 11.
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Sep 30, 2015 22:12
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Ah, but how quick can the printers produce an engrossed bill and get it to the President?
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Oct 1, 2015 03:48
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This is kind of a strange question maybe but I didn't see it addressed in the opening post -- do any goons (particularly foreign service goons but anyone with federal government work experience) have any experience with the hiring process in regards to being physically disabled and the Schedule A hiring authority? I'd like to kind of just talk about the experience and what to expect, if anyone has any experience with it or great knowledge about it. I'm signing up to take the FSOT during the February session and preparing for that, as well as getting in touch with the coordinaters at the various agencies, just kind of interested in hearing if anyone's dealt with the disability side of it too.
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Oct 1, 2015 04:50
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Somebody here not only has experience with it, but I think(?) was even hired. Not sure where in the thread it was, but probably no more than 10 pages back? Maybe.
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Oct 1, 2015 14:25
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Really?! Awesome, I didn't have much hope since it's kind of a specific area. Time to read back further than I apparently did! EDIT: I'm dumb this morning and missing something obvious I think, if whoever that person was reads this, drop me an IM or comment here? Tendai fucked around with this message at 15:35 on Oct 1, 2015 |
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Oct 1, 2015 14:45
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I'm doing the same thing re Schedule A, though not trying for the foreign service. I'd be interested in what you can dig up.
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Oct 1, 2015 16:48
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I'm kind of just trying to hit any opportunities I can. I did well on the practice FSOT and am studying for the actual test in February in the hopes that I can just hopefully find something normally, but having been out of work since March after ski-resort layoffs, I'm willing to take any advantage I can at this point.
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Oct 1, 2015 17:34
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I might be thinking of Spacewolf, so if so, I am glad he? is still posting. My work here is done! *flies away* "...But you didn't do anything helpful?" *flies away harder*
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Oct 1, 2015 19:01
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So rather than a question about GETTING Federal Employment, here's a question about LEAVING it, for a change. I've been on a 7-9-11-12 track with the DoD as an engineer for a couple of years. I'll hit 12 in 6 more months. I work with DCMA at Raytheon in Tucson. My job is basically to observe the work of Raytheon's software engineers, write corrective action requests (CARs) if there's a contractual violation, and to report my observations and metrics to the program office and office of the SecDef. My job right now is very clerical and administrative, but I come from a background of actually designing electronics, and this is of course reflected on my LinkedIn. Starting around April, I started getting contacted by Raytheon recruiters who were finding my LinkedIn profile, and seeing my history of writing FPGA firmware. As it happens, Raytheon REALLY needs people who know FPGAs, and has something like over 200 current open positions for FPGA people, with more on the way as there are numerous retirements on the horizon. At first, I just kinda ignored these overtures. They were for jobs starting at $78k or so, when I'll be doing almost that good as a GS-12, even though part of me would really like to go back to design (which sadly federal employees don't do) and get away from administrative engineering. However, a couple weeks ago, something changed. The jobs I'm being poked for now are around like $96k-$120k! That's a little harder to ignore. When I onboarded for my current job, I signed something that said that I could be required to "pay back training costs" if I left Federal service prior to the end of the 3 year "internship period", so I definitely don't plan on leaving for at least the next six months. But I'm giving some serious thought to jumping at this after that. Here's what I'm not sure about : ethics. The US Office of Government Ethics has some rules regarding seeking outside employment while a government employee. Relevant website, basically: US Office of Government Ethics posted:A criminal conflict of interest statute, 18 U.S.C. § 208, prohibits an employee from participating personally and substantially, in an official capacity, in any “particular matter” that would have a direct and predictable effect on the employee’s financial interests or on the financial interests of a person or organization with whom the employee is negotiating or has an arrangement concerning prospective employment. A related executive branch-wide regulation, Subpart F of 5 C.F.R. part 2635, prohibits an employee from working on a particular matter if the employee is “seeking employment” with a person or organization affected by that matter, even though the employee’s job search has not progressed to actual negotiations. And I'd be "seeking employment" the moment I respond to any overture with anything other than a rejection, or send an unsolicited resume (basically). I guess I'm just not sure if the above-quoted necessarily prohibits me from seeking employment at Raytheon. On the one hand, I observe and report on Raytheon, and have some small power in the form of a CAR if I spot a contractual violation (and a history of CARs can potentially affect contract negotiations in the future). On the other hand, I don't directly have any financial power, so I'm not entirely sure. Any ideas, goons, or do I just need to talk to my office's lawyer (and incidentally, ethics POC for the office)?
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Oct 2, 2015 05:35
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Talk to them as a CYA measure. But what you're working on doesn't sound like the type of situation the statute is intended to cover.
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Oct 2, 2015 06:15
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I actually think this is precisely the sort of situation that statute would cover, as you would be seeking employment directly related to your official duties (albeit from the opposite side). BUT it also could be that I am reading it too critically; clearly TheMadMilkman's advice to talk to someone at the agency about this would make sense.
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Oct 2, 2015 16:44
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That's my uncertainty - how broadly it's interpreted. I think the spirit of it at least would be to prevent a situation where I could be bribed with a plum position into say improperly approving high value contracts. Like I said, I don't have that kind of direct financial authority, although some people in my agency definitely do, and those people technically do depend on my input, so I suppose it's a bit of a gray area. I mean, Raytheon is clearly not bribing me, but is just really hard up for people with FPGA skills. But yeah, I should definitely talk to our counselor. I know avoiding bribery is only part A of why these rules exists, and part B is avoiding even the appearance of impropriety in the government.
Justus fucked around with this message at 17:22 on Oct 2, 2015 |
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Oct 2, 2015 17:19
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Just submitted an application with OPM for a Writer-Editor job. https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/416815800 Long shot, but anyone here work for OPM or in this particular office? Any pointers? I'm 99.9 positive I'm well qualified for the job, but knowing more might help. Also it's been over five years since I've applied for a Federal job. Should I still expect to hurry up and wait and not get a letter or phone call either way for at least 2-3 months?
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Oct 2, 2015 19:06
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Is this the thread to ask about joining the CIA? And what specific skills does an analyst job require?
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Oct 5, 2015 02:37
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Spacewolf posted:I'm doing the same thing re Schedule A, though not trying for the foreign service. I'd be interested in what you can dig up. My husband was hired using Schedule A for disabilities. I think he posted in here way back when he first came on board in 2010 (Silent Nature). I helped work with him to get the paperwork and getting applications out. He used his vocational rehabilitation counselor, but I know other people who use their doctor to also write up the qualifying letter. Just to note, the Selective Placement Coordinators at the agencies never really did much when reaching out to them. He got his interviews from attaching the schedule A letter to all of his applications and marking his eligibility.
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Oct 5, 2015 03:17
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Grouchio posted:Is this the thread to ask about joining the CIA? And what specific skills does an analyst job require? Any information more detailed than what they have on the official website is probably not going to be openly discussed here on the forums. The site isn't a bad one, to be honest.
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Oct 5, 2015 03:20
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Justus posted:That's my uncertainty - how broadly it's interpreted. I think the spirit of it at least would be to prevent a situation where I could be bribed with a plum position into say improperly approving high value contracts. Like I said, I don't have that kind of direct financial authority, although some people in my agency definitely do, and those people technically do depend on my input, so I suppose it's a bit of a gray area. I mean, Raytheon is clearly not bribing me, but is just really hard up for people with FPGA skills. But yeah, I should definitely talk to our counselor. I know avoiding bribery is only part A of why these rules exists, and part B is avoiding even the appearance of impropriety in the government. Yes, it's worth getting Official Guidance ASAP. The amount of crap that can ensue if you don't check the boxes and fill the ovals in the correct order in this sort of situation is probably not something you'd want to deal with.
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Oct 5, 2015 22:56
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Grouchio posted:Is this the thread to ask about joining the CIA? And what specific skills does an analyst job require? This is why I am working for an only kinda-secretive agency! Way easier.
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Oct 6, 2015 04:06
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Quarex posted:It was only a few pages back that I last busted out my "are you sure you are asking this, citizen" schtick so I will just instead point out that the webpage says you cannot discuss applying with anyone, so presumably that would include the Forums. It was also with the same poster that you busted it out, so it probably wouldn't have an impact with him this time either.
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Oct 6, 2015 04:27
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CronoGamer posted:It was also with the same poster that you busted it out, so it probably wouldn't have an impact with him this time either. Hilarious I choose to believe this is a CIA plant who posts on every message forum on the Internet attempting to draw out traitors.
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Oct 6, 2015 05:36
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