<p>My son is an '09 grad from a distinguished university. He currently works for the federal government in one of their “hottest” agency right now. By hot, I mean, frequent media exposure for the agency and its top officers, owing to the nature of their mandate and currency of purpose. Forgive me for not disclosing anything specific, naming names etc. When son was hired, he got a lowball salary package but considering the overall job climate, he was more than happy to get a “premier” job that makes use of his college training in math and economics. As he opined later, the “prestige factor” alone was worth an additional $10K to the position itself. He gets terrific job assignments, networking opportunities with “gods” who are just a few armslenght away, and the heady atmoshpere of working in DC. He feels the “worth” of his work when he gets to be the “go to” person on analytics and “quant” issues. </p>
<pre><code> When their (the agency) work folds up next year, what would be a desirable move for him, going the private sector route or staying with the government? How do you think a private employer would “price” his services considering his current salary now? One caveat, my son eschews working for a bank because of their money grabbing ways or as he portrays it - the way i-banks do their recruitment on campus by highlighting what you can earn with them. As a parent, and of a different culture and time, I’m apt to think that the better job would be the one that offers you more financially. But my son is probably a better person than I am. He intends to go to grad school after one or two more years of work. Any insights…
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<p>Stay with the feds. The benefits are awesome. My husband works as a contractor for the federal government, and many of his coworkers on projects are retired government people now working for contractors. So, they’re pulling in government pensions, plus making a nice salary as a contractor, while still young enough to enjoy nice vacations and homes. It is very hard for a contractor to transfer to government, so if your son has his foot in the government door, he’d be wise to keep it there. He may be earning less now, but it will definitely pay off in the future.</p>
<p>I would have to agree with last poster. The great contracting jobs can come later on. Doesn’t the federal government also have great education benefits? He could go to grad school part-time while working for Uncle Sam and still feel that he is doing “good work”. the benefits of the Federal government are still substancial, adn that is something that can’t be overlooked as he begins a family.</p>
<p>My hubby is a career fed employee. S just took a job with them, his 1st upon graduating as an EE. While the pension benefits are not as good now as they were when H started, they are still significantly better than MANY other options and they are unlikely to go bankrupt (may have agencies fold & people transfer to different places, but has been a great employer for H in his decades there).</p>
<p>Since $$ isn’t such a big thing for your S, I would think he should be able to find something he enjoys with the federal government & he may get a nice increase in salary as well (they often have grade & step increases based on their tenure with the federal government, with target grade & step when they are hired initially).</p>
<p>Glad your S is enjoying his 1st job; my S will be heading to the East Coast & I hope he has a great experience as well.</p>
<p>Having had a great federal career, in a job with no real private sector equivalent, I also would advise staying with the federal government if he can find a job he loves and finds worthwhile. To be fair to himself, he could look around for something better, but should compare opportunities on all factors…salaries, benefits, travel, education…he may find an agency that will pay for all or part of an advanced degree.</p>
<p>wow, such overwhelming response to stick with the feds. Thank you all. I’m however partial to trying the private sector. A new work environment would be a welcome change, an added “color” to his career, and provide balance to a “world view”. </p>
<p>HImom, your son will definitely find the change exhilarating. I’m assuming that he is coming from the sun and surf of HI. The best be with him…</p>
<p>Will he (my son) have a jaded general outlook of the private sector if he commits himself to a federal career this early? He already has preconceived ideas of big bad banks.</p>
<p>S actually was disappointed that he never was able to get a job in the private sector. When he was interviewing, most weren’t hiring ANYONE or at least very few. He went to one interview where they were frantically calling around to try to get funding so they could hire him (this was a call back interview at his potential job site). He didn’t feel any job offer there would be as firm as the 3 solid federal government job offers he had in hand if funding was that ephemeral. He has worked at jobs on campuses & also an internship with the federal govt. He has attended school in CA, so he’s not used to the cold (or hot) beyond what you get in LA & HI.</p>
<p>It can be nice to get a good job in the private sector if there is one that is attractive & interesting to him. One of the issues with private sector jobs is that they can have VERY long hours, especially in the beginning. A friend’s S has been working for BP this summer (intern) & enjoyed it a lot more than he had expected. He made a presentation & hopes to be invited back next summer. </p>
<p>Why doesn’t he apply around & see what offers are out there? My S said that only 1/3 of the usual firms (50 instead of the usual 150) came to engineering career fair this year & of those, many were just handing out info and were NOT hiring. It is far better to compare what is actually OFFERED to what MAY be offered or searched for–there may be fewer options than you think.</p>
<p>^ Good advice. I am a retired gov’t employee working for a consulting company. If I had started consulting earlier I would not have my pension but would have a higher salary. It’s all a matter of what you want.</p>
<p>It’s only in the private sector where you could double your salary in a year, and it is only in the private sector where you could be fired with no cause. No risk, no return. It really depends what kind of person you are. When you are young that’s when you could afford risk.</p>
<p>DH worked in industry and in law before joining the fed gov’t. He’s in one of those “hot” agencies, too. LOVES his job. Gets to combine a variety of skills and is involved in real groundbreaking policy decisions. Works like a dog, too – hasn’t been home before 10 pm for the last two weeks, and looks like that will continue for months to come.</p>
<p>Older bro, got his econ BS from Pton, Took a job at FRB NYC, for ~8-10 years. Got his phD from them on night school. Got an offer from a big bank in oversight/advisory position similar to FRB, where he has been for 30+ yrs. He has friends and acquaintances in regulatory and private realms. In his capacity, there is some abililty to move between the two spheres…Not all positions have mobility to move from GOV-> Private or Priv->Gov</p>