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I was surprised we don't have one of these yet, and after the success of the Foreign Service megathread (holy poo poo, goons taking over State!) I figured it'd be a great idea for us to have a collective federal jobs thread. Please feel free to post your agency's openings here, talk poo poo about other agencies, gloat that you only work half days on Fridays, etc. List of threads about various federal agencies, other relevant threads, etc. (If you have one that's not listed here, please PM me and I'll add it to the OP.) U.S. Foreign Service Megathread (Probably can post general State Department questions here too). GIP thread on Defense Language Institute Ex-Military Contractors thread Peace Corps Thread Census Workers Thread A/T: US Military and Coast Guard Megathread War Zone Contractor thread Lawyers megathread MBA's megathread US Park Ranger megathread Why work for the Federal Government I could give you any number of reasons why, but to start, look around you. The job market is poo poo right now. People are terrified that they could lose their job and be unemployed in the middle of a financial crisis. Government jobs are for the most part highly stable, offer fairly regular advancement and many opportunities for lateral transfer into other agencies. You can work basically the same job for the State Department or the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or the Department of Commerce, or the CIA, or any number of other executive agencies -- yet despite the job being the same, the overall mission you're supporting can vary widely from agency to agency. Lets say for instance you're a lawyer, specializing in structured finance, but got hit with a layoff/didn't get a summer offer/partner hates you. You could find your answer working for the SEC, or the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, or advising US-run companies operating overseas with the Foreign Service. Or maybe you're graduating college, that BA/BS in Political Science or Philosophy in hand, and wondering "now what?" You could be an analyst at Department of Labor, or do compliance reporting for the EPA, etc. There's literally hundreds of thousands of jobs out there, in just about every conceivable field, not all requiring you to push paper all day. Police officers, doctors and medical specialists, truck drivers, maintenance, business CEOs and SVPs, you all have options in the federal government. Don't I need a degree, or work experience? No. Many jobs that wouldn't necessarily require a degree in the private sector have federal counterparts. Some jobs allow work experience to count in lieu of your education to some level. Some don't even require work experience. However, generally having a higher degree of education or work experience directly means a higher salary, and it's something you can usually find right up front. For instance, in the Foreign Service: quote:Candidates with a Bachelor's degree receive one additional step for each year of professional experience. For example, a candidate with a Bachelor's degree plus five years of professional experience receives FP-6, Step 10. Since you can just look up the salary that particular pay grade and step earns, you can know almost exactly how much you'll be making. Don't you get replaced every 4-8 years when a new administration comes in? For 99% of you, no. Most people working in the government are career hires. You're doing a job that has very little to do with the particulars of the current or future administration. Your senior staff and bosses might come and go, but if you're one of those people getting appointed, you don't need this thread anyway. What are the benefits of working for the Federal Government Welp, there are lots of them. The biggest for most people is job security. The second biggest is generally good working hours - most jobs are not going to have you working 60+ hours a week. Even in more intense jobs like staff attorney positions, you're still working less than your private sector counterparts are making. Others: *Regular pay adjustments for things like COLA. *Generally, a steady rate of pay raises that you can count on. *If you hate your job/boss/gerbil, it's not that hard to transfer around, or simply apply at a different agency. *You're probably working in D.C. *Many jobs send you to conferences, training, seminars, etc. *Lots of good networking. *Metrocard. *Thrift Savings Plan is a pretty drat good version of a matching 401K. *Health Insurance *Retirement and Pension benefits. *Most jobs give you a good amount of leave, even beyond the required minimums. Many jobs require they offer you the chance to take flexible work arrangements. *In some ways, your employer is significantly restricted in treating you like poo poo, and there are lots of ways to complain and take action about it if they are. Not that it never happens, but it's not like the private sector where if your boss doesn't like your red shirt, he can just fire you on the spot. *Disclaimer: In the Trump administration, all bets are off. There's no getting around it. Many of the traditional safeguards are being eroded or ignored at all levels. Understand very clearly what you're getting into. But doesn't the pay suck? I could make more in the private sector. The pay IS less than the private sector for some jobs (especially high earning ones), no getting around it. But for many people, it's not bad, and for some jobs, it averages MORE. *Federal employees earn higher average salaries than private-sector workers in more 80% of occupations, one study showed. *"Accountants, nurses, chemists, surveyors, cooks, clerks and janitors are among the wide range of jobs that get paid more on average in the federal government than in the private sector." - USA Today. *Overall, federal workers earned an average salary of $67,691 in 2008 for occupations that exist both in government and the private sector, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The average pay for the same mix of jobs in the private sector was $60,046 in 2008, the most recent data available. *These salary figures do not include the value of health, pension and other benefits, which averaged $40,785 per federal employee in 2008 vs. $9,882 per private worker, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. On top of that, how many hours are your private sector buddies working to make that money? A typical 40 hour work week, times 50 weeks a year (excluding holidays) is 2000 hours a year. The average associate at a major law firm could expect to BILL (not just at work, but active billing) 2000-2200 a year, and including time not spent bill probably ends up working closer to 2600-2800 a year. They're working 10-12 hour days or longer, while you're already at home, cracking open a cold one, or being goony and playing WoW or something. What kind of jobs are there? Just about anything you can think of. Everything from Architecture to Veterinary Medicine (I was going for something with a Z, but I have no idea what jobs start with a Z.) How does this GS/FP/FS whatever pay-grade system work? http://www.fedjobs.com/pay/pay.html Basically, there are 15 grades. Each grade has 10 steps. Generally GS-1 to GS-7 are "entry level", GS-7 to GS-12 are "mid-level" and GS-12+ requires significant longtime experience, or some serious doctoral degrees. The grade is usually determined by your job title/responsibilities, and many jobs will tell you what the maximum grade for that job is. Within that, you'll go up by steps every year (or two, at higher levels). So roughly speaking, an increase in grade is sort of similar to getting a promotion at work, while an increase in step is simply a raise for working long/doing a good job. Some jobs don't follow the GS (General Schedule). The Foreign Service uses their own pay schedule, which starts with FP or FS, and has 9 "classes" (like grades, except 1 is the highest) and 14 steps per grade, and there are lots of ways to jump immediately to step 14 in your grade.The military has their own pay schedule based on ranks. There is some table that converts Military and Foreign Service grades to GS, but it's stupid, you can view it here and scroll down a bit. How do find/apply for these jobs? There's a few ways. The first is to use USA Jobs, which is the official job search site. The second is to know people who can get you an interview. The latter is far preferable, and once you're in, that's the easiest way to move around. A few Excepted Service jobs have their own direct hiring -- see below section. Also, if you have a security clearance, there are some sites like ClearedJobs and such. Finally, the government does a lot of job fair hiring expos. After 3 years of living in DC, I am thoroughly sick of hearing that the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is hiring, or that there is such and such Washington Post job fair going on with hundreds of federal employers. Go to these, wear a suit, bring resumes. What is the difference between Competitive Service positions and Excepted Service positions? Most jobs are Competitive Service, which basically means the opposite of what it sounds: the job falls under the jurisdiction of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and is subject to the federal civil service rules and regulations on hiring. These are intended to give all applicants fair and equal opportunity to get the jobs. Excepted Service positions are those that are specifically excluded from Competitive Service. Whether because of the type of work, or the agency's mission, they don't need to follow the same guidelines and can make up whatever hiring criteria or tests they want. All lawyer positions are excepted service, as are things like the CIA, FBI, and most jobs in the legislative and judicial branches. There's also the Senior Executive Service, which probably applies to none of us here, but basically is for the equivalents of CEOs and Executive Directors. What is competitive status It is NOT the same thing as Competitive Service -- that refers to the position. Competitive Status refers to you, as an employee. It's something you can obtain after having worked past a probationary period in civil service, that basically allows you to bypass some of the open competition when changing jobs. If you have this, you probably know about it already, it doesn't apply to me so I can't say much about it. Do I need a Security Clearance? How does that work? Some jobs do -- the description will say. If you already have one, great. If not and you get hired (or more likely, a conditional offer of employment pending your clearance), you'll apply for one. I did X crime and have Y drugs, can I still get hired or get a security clearance? This is job dependent. Some agencies like DOJ have stricter rules than, say, library of congress. If your job requires a security clearance, you may be denied the clearance. They REALLY do not like it if you lie on your clearance application, that will gently caress you over right good (and is a felony). Coming clean on your applications often will still get you the clearance granted. For examples of some security clearances that were adjudicated by DoD in various situations over the years, and the reasons why, check this site out. Some examples: quote:Between 2001 and 2006, the police arrested and charged Applicant with driving while impaired on four occasions. After his 2006 arrest and subsequent trial, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to one year in jail. The police also arrested Applicant on numerous occasions for driving while his driver's license was revoked and on a tinted windows violation. After completing a Chapter 13 wager-earner's repayment plan, Applicant incurred additional debts, which are resolved. Applicant intentionally falsified his answers on his e-QIP regarding his criminal conduct, his finances, and substance abuse treatment. Applicant has mitigated the government's security concerns regarding his finances and criminal conduct, but he has not mitigated the government's security concerns regarding his personal conduct. Clearance is denied. Yep, these are the people you are working with/competing against. Do I get preference for being a veteran? Hell yes. It's awesome. There are two levels, called "5 point" and "10 point" preferences. Basically, 5 point applies if you were on active duty during war time, or if you deployed to war as a reservist. It's a little more complicated than that, so if you think you might qualify, check this out: http://opm.gov/staffingPortal/Vetguide.asp 10 point preference almost exclusively applies to disabled vets. The terms 5 and 10 point don't necessarily refer to how many points you'll get on your hiring; for instance for the Foreign Service, a 5 point preference equates to 0.175 points on the hiring register (in comparison most languages are worth 0.17). So make sure you find out what your agency uses for preference. What goons do we have that work in the federal government? -- way too many to list, I stopped maintaining the thread. Leif. fucked around with this message at 18:48 on Nov 4, 2018 |
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Jul 5, 2010 07:26
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Depends on the job and the crime. For some things it can be a denial of suitability or a denial of a clearance; for others they're willing to overlook it. Misdemeanors for possession of marijuana or other poo poo, especially if you've kept your record clean since and you disclose it during the background investigation process, often get overlooked. But if you lie about it and they catch you, you're in deep poo poo (in addition to having committed a felony.) It also depends on the job. DOJ will take a much stricter stance on this than say National Archives or the Smithsonian Institute. Don't let it stop you from applying though. Worst case scenario, you're back where you started; best case scenario you've got a job.
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Jul 5, 2010 08:54
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 If you guys want me to add you to the OP, just say so in the thread (not going to add people who don't explicitly ask for it) with your position and agency.Gomegoth posted:How big of an advantage do ex-military/veterans have in competing for government jobs, if any? Do they have something like competitive status? I'm not actually in the military, but its something I'm seriously considering doing after I get out of college. 5 point preference applies to vets who served: quote:During a war; or See http://opm.gov/staffingPortal/Vetguide.asp for more details. 10 point preference is basically exclusively for disabled veterans (and with limited cases, their spouses). Gonna put this in the OP.
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Jul 6, 2010 04:28
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For me, on the Foreign Service hiring register, my vet preference is the only reason I'm even capable of actually getting a job. Basically, we have a hiring register, with a minimum cut-off score of your Oral Assessment of 5.3; then they add in your language bonus points and vet preference. Well, anyone with a language is getting 0.17 points and anyone with the critical languages is getting 0.4 points. My vet preference is 0.175 points, which means that with my score, I have a 5.675 instead of just a 5.5. Since the hiring calls are going down into the 5.7 or 5.67 range, basically, I wouldn't be getting called without that veterans preference. -e- Foreign service is dumb; basically I need an above-minimum score AND my preference to get hired as a political FSO, but as a management FSO I would only need the bare minimum score to be competitive.
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Jul 6, 2010 04:38
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marvin gaye vs .38 posted:There are federal jobs in every major city I don't know why the OP focused on DC (I wouldn't be surprised if most federal jobs are found outside of DC to be honest) I focused on it, because a) I live in DC, b) it's the highest concentration of federal jobs in one place, and probably has more jobs in the DC metro area than most of the rest of the nation combined. But I'm more than happy to add sections on out-of-state jobs. I'll add anything to the OP as long as it's relevant.
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Jul 7, 2010 01:27
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Gravel Gravy posted:I'm curious myself, if there is one that is at least hiring more than others. Every interview or fair I've gone to since I moved were only interviewing to collect applications and resumes for who knows when? Might want to try State, especially Foreign Service. Russian would give you a nice boost, IIRC it's a critical needs language or some category that gives you a higher tier of bonus points. Could also try Foreign Commercial Service? Both have tests for entry that I personally think are more fair than an obscure resume submission. synthexic posted:Thanks for posting this! 1) Intern. Especially if your school has connections that can get you in. 2) Know a campaign manager. 3) Know a Legislative Assistant. He could often get you in for a temp internship that might turn full-time. 4) Many congressmen have some sort of application on their house.gov/senate.gov site if you're a constituent. 5) Work private sector in a firm/industry that deals with legislative advocacy, political analysis, regulatory/administrative law, etc. Leif. fucked around with this message at 01:40 on Jul 7, 2010 |
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Jul 7, 2010 01:30
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Adri posted:The GS system is pretty accommodating towards military spouses, yes? I mean with transferring and all that. Coming from my old firm that did workers comp, we dealt a lot with OSHA. There can be significant differences between what happens on paper and what happens in the real world.
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Jul 7, 2010 19:40
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ChadBroChill17 posted:You make poo poo money, and are surrounded by douchebag staffers and interns 24/7. A certain type of person is attracted to that place. (Sycophantic pricks) This. Oh god this so much. quote:Do you want to eventually move over to lobbying? I initially wanted to go down this path but after realizing that I could not stand working there I have begun to consider moving to the Executive Branch to put in some time there and eventually move over to public affairs. Depending on the interest group, it's often easier to move directly into lobbying first, especially if you can set up an internship or fellowship with them.
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Jul 11, 2010 02:20
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The SF-86 isn't actually the inconvenience (although it feels like it at the time); it's the actual background checking process that sucks rear end. Mine took a month and a half, and that veritably flew by - it was actually complete after 3 weeks, but for whatever reason it got reopened for another couple weeks. But my record was perfectly clean, I can imagine if someone had foreign contacts or travel or debts or whatever how much longer it would have taken.
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Jul 11, 2010 18:41
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necrobobsledder posted:The same sort of thing applies if you happen to marry someone that's not a US citizen - your access will be immediately revoked and in some cases that could mean you lose your job (marrying is a voluntary act and can imply resignation as a result). There are exceptions to that though; I don't know how they work but I've heard of FSOs at State doing precisely this. I think they have to notify people well in advance, I'm not entirely sure how it works. Someone from the FSO thread might be able to explain more.
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Jul 12, 2010 03:43
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Got this in today.quote:
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Jul 13, 2010 00:35
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Yeah, interesting side, is that those jobs I just posted require you to fill out a new SF-86, even if you already hold the same level of clearance. That doesn't necessarily translate into going through a new SSBI, but you'll still have to fill out the form. From a plain reading, that looks like the case even if you've already got a state dept. TS.
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Jul 13, 2010 04:14
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quepasa18 posted:Do not EVER send a resume/cover letter with errors. Yes, it will kill you. There is a lot of competition for those jobs, and they're going to be looking for reasons to whittle the number down. This. Also you want more than 15 copies.
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Jul 14, 2010 17:05
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Come work for the PTO so we can grab a drink (I live literally 2 blocks away.)
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Jul 16, 2010 06:37
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Pompous Rhombus posted:Are they really? From what I saw it sounded like any :files: was a tick against you, which is mostly why I quit altogether a while ago* (interviewer never asked me about it, IIRC). For something like the FBI, it could definitely create a problem/conflict with your job. Again, job dependent. I had a friend who didn't get clearance because of private (non-work) downloading. I was never asked.
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Jul 16, 2010 19:59
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Opportunity time! quote:The Civil Service Career Development Division (HR/CSHRM/CD) will be accepting applications to the Career Entry Program for five days, beginning Tuesday, July 13, 2010 (12:00am Eastern Standard time) through Saturday, July 17, 2010 (11:59pm EST deadline). Please note that Passport Specialist positions are also included in the Career Entry Program.
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Jul 16, 2010 20:14
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I'd imagine that being a Passport Specialist is a pretty good lead-in if you ever wanted to be a Consular FSO.
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Jul 17, 2010 08:50
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Filter your job search by DoD. Or look private sector for a contractor.
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Jul 19, 2010 08:00
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fivetwo posted:Lying on your SF-86 is a violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001 (false statements). A felony violation, no less, and without mitigating circumstances, likely to bar you from receiving a clearance subsequently.
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Jul 23, 2010 05:16
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I'd put down 1. You should have a chance to explain your contact with them and point out that there's nothing really of it, and you should be fine. Remember, foreign contacts are not that big of a deal if they basically aren't a security risk on you. 2. is probably a non-issue. You can always raise it when you do your personal interview with the investigator. There's a section where he'll ask you if there's anything else you want to talk about that might be relevant. It couldn't hurt to bring a list of anything you felt like you were borderline on and bring it up. As a bonus, it goes a long way to showing that you have the intent to be truthful and honest about things. I did so with several small but resolved debts that weren't on my credit report but I thought might be relevant. The investigator asked me for brief information about them, and as I was describing it he was like "Nah. Don't worry about those, those don't matter/don't count". And everything went through just fine on my clearance. I would much rather be as open and transparent as possible. It goes a long way to mitigating any security concerns.
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Jul 23, 2010 06:11
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Grand Fromage posted:Problem with interning is you have to be independently wealthy to do it, those of us who come from poor families and have student loans to pay are hosed. The death of the paid internship is one of the worst things ever to happen to the job market. It's not so bad for J.D. graduates because some schools will pay for your unpaid internship if it's public interest or a "fellowship" style position.
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Jul 25, 2010 04:13
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VA is a great opportunity to work outside of Washington but that being said, the VA is a lovely organization to work for, has terrible leadership, and will depress you at all levels.
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Jul 26, 2010 01:50
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prussian advisor posted:I keep hearing this. Anyone have any particularly depressing or illustrative VA stories? I did a lot of administrative and legislative reform work targeted at the VA when I was a director at Iraq War Veterans Organization. It's despicable how the VA treats veterans. They're basically like an insurance company, except instead of being motivated by making profit, they're motivated by cutting losses. So you have constant blind double-reviews, second signature requirements, runarounds on scheduling, etc. Plus the quality of care is absolute poo poo in some facilities (it's OK in others). -e- I had a veteran commit suicide on the phone with myself and several other board members who were conferenced in. He was depressed over having been denied care by the VA for his PTSD.
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Jul 26, 2010 02:40
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amethystbliss posted:I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this, or if all embassy jobs are technically U.S. federal jobs, but does anyone know anything about working as a Residential Security Adviser? I applied for this position at the London embassy and am anxiously waiting to hear back Ask in the FSO thread. It sounds like a local hire position, one of the FSOs there with more experience could answer better. It's linked in the OP.
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Jul 28, 2010 01:27
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My fiance is a leasing consultant in Crystal City (a block from the Pentagon City metro, so very convenient) at a nice building if you need a line on something; there are a lot of federal employees and contractors living there. PM me if you're interested.
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Aug 14, 2010 01:27
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The fact that it was negotiated down to probation mitigates strongly in your favor. Come clean on it dude.
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Aug 18, 2010 18:18
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Gravel Gravy posted:Well I finished the online assessment for DS special agent. Apparently I passed but I still need to wait to see if I am "competitive" for the next step. Oh I hope so. Apparently at least 3 or 4 people from my former company in the Army are now in DSS. 3 Rangers and a former Marine.
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Aug 20, 2010 03:51
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robertdx posted:Woah, just found this thread because DustingDuvet linked it in his Resume thread, awesome! I'm graduating from a Ph.D. program in about a year and starting a barrage of applications. Which resume thread?
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Aug 20, 2010 20:58
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Diplomat sappin' mah teleporter!quote:Forwarded msg:
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Aug 23, 2010 22:54
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Sundae posted:USPTO just opened a shitload of new positions for Patent Examiners in many disciplines. Stupidly long link below, or go to http://www.usptocareers.gov and find your way to the USAJobs site from there. Sadface, no Trademark Examiner positions though. 
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Aug 24, 2010 18:41
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Can? Probably. Should? Probably not. Why at your own expense though, or is that typical for everyone else but State?
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Sep 1, 2010 07:20
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Ugh, why would you go to law school. Did you not read the megathread?
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Sep 9, 2010 21:55
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Tesoro posted:Megathread doesn't appear to apply to me. I like law school and I'm incurring no debt. I have a secure job with flexibility that makes the balance really easy. There's a high likelihood my entire tuition will be taken care of by uncle sam pretty soon anyway. Networking with lots of smart and engaging people. Not relying on my degree for a job. Where's the downside? The opportunity cost of being able to do something else with those 3 years of your life if you're obviously not getting anything out of it?
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Sep 9, 2010 22:17
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Tesoro posted:Doesn't appear to be much of one. I greatly enjoy going to class and learning. The knowledge is practical. I am getting something out of it. There's no other discipline i'm interested in learning more about at the moment, and I have time to pursue other hobbies and pleasure like learning guitar, keeping a girlfriend, etc. Is there something I'm missing here, or are you projecting your own lamentations on me? Not really. I went with no debt as well and I have a job.
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Sep 9, 2010 22:33
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Lol at my former law school's idiot career services people trying to say that GS-13/15 positions with DHS are "entry level".
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Sep 23, 2010 23:46
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That's exactly what it means. It applies to the entire Executive Branch, including DoD civilians but not the military.
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Nov 29, 2010 18:42
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Finally got my foreign service offer. Yay!
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Jan 1, 2011 00:29
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Woot, FP 5 Step 9. Not as high as I'd hoped, but good enough I guess.
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Jan 21, 2011 19:33
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Skandiaavity posted:Congratulations, SWATJester! Sept. 2009 when I started the process.
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Jan 24, 2011 05:49
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Interesting DSS post. DSS agents are very strange, in that out of almost all law enforcement I've come across, they have at times the closest job to straight military infantry (which I did in the army), and at times one of the more paperwork heavy investigatory positions. It's a very strange mix.
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Feb 1, 2011 00:16
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