Government jobs offer good pay, benefits |
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"At age 55, I would have had guaranteed health insurance," Cooper says.
"The long-term benefits were pretty good and more complex than the private sector," she says.
Does she regret
not taking that job? No, says Cooper.
She says she saw a lot of unhappiness in the city's bureaucracy. "I followed my heart instead," she says.
One man's poison is another's passion
Daniel Kohns is a 39-year-old former Capitol Hill staffer who has
spent the majority of his working years punching one government
time clock after another. Today he works Congress from the other
side of the aisle, doing lobbying and strategic communications work.
Kohns' experience includes various stints with the
United Nations and as a domestic aid to New York Attorney General Andrew
Cuomo (prior to Cuomo's appointment to the attorney general's office). Kohns says
he loves what he does now, but says his former jobs, which paid
much less than what he is earning in the private sector, were labors
of love.
"On Capitol Hill, regardless of what side of the aisle we were on, we really believed and felt we were taking
part in shaping history," Kohns says.
Kohns categorizes the pay as "quite horrible considering what one would make in the private sector." But, he
admits, the benefits were good -- from health insurance to retirement.
Nick Farr, 29, is a GS-10 level accountant. He prepares financial reports, reviews financial statements, disbursements
and collections, and assists with preparing loans and budgets.
The base grade wages for a GS-10 range from $43,824 to $56,973. However, Washington, D.C., has a 20.89 percent
geographic adjustment, which bumps the GS-10's salary range to between $52,979 and $68,875 for agencies without separate wage
schedules.
Farr says he's making more in his federal capacity than he was in the private sector, but he points out that it's
very expensive to live in the nation's capital and that federal cost-of-living increases are modest, but fairly consistent.
Farr says he is more satisfied with his federal job.
"I believe I am part of a team that actually makes a difference. I can't say that about any private sector job
I've had."
You decide
Careers expert Shelley Canter, author of "Make the Right Career
Move," says the big difference between the public and private sectors
comes down to money and style of operation. While the public sector
may offer bankable peace of mind, "the private sector offers more
freedom and balance. You have to look at the trade-off," Canter
says.
Public jobs tend to be more security-oriented, while
private jobs are more rewards-oriented, according to Canter.
If you're contemplating government employment, don't expect to land a job overnight. "The employment process is
very bureaucratic and very long," she says.
As to whether or not government service is right for you, Damp says people
who can't follow rules and work within finite parameters don't belong in government jobs. "The ones that learn to make the rules
and regulations work for them are the ones who will succeed."
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