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Government employee thread! (Being a government employee is sweet) (5 Viewers)

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dgreen said:
urbanhack said:
belljr said:
urbanhack said:
Question / advice. My lady has been approved for a position at the VA - medical records.

They have started the process of offering her the job with the base salary, benefits, etc. and then also said she can negotiate based on her experience.

I’m curious if there is standard here where if you ask for a modest increase over your base salary do they accept it if is reasonable or meet somewhere in the middle? I realize this might not be the case for all federal positions, but I’m curious if anyone had a similar process. Thanks for any feedback.
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This will vary greatly. I tried to negotiate and was basically told we will negotiate but it has to go back to Washington so it could take a few weeks. I was already a contractor so they already knew my salary and gave me a bump. I was trying to negotiate leave accrual.

Anyway standard bumps have been 6-10% for normal promotions, becoming an employee.

Will she be on a GS scale? You could ask to start at a higher step?
Sorry I don't have a better answer but I think this varies from agency to agency
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She’s GA6 - entry level.
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I"m not familiar with GA. Do you mean GS?

Either way, if she has prior experience or education that qualifies her for a higher grade, then she can potentially negotiate for that. However, it also depends on the position she applied to. If it's strictly an entry-level position, then the position itself may not allow for a higher grade. Positions have what's called a career ladder, which are grade increases that someone can obtain within the same position and without competing with others for the increase. For example, I entered government out of college in a position that had entry level of GS7 and career ladder of 7-9-11-12. That means I entered as a 7 with a bachelor's degree (masters start at a 9) and then every year I was eligible to move up to a 9, then 11, then 12 simply based on the experience I gained each year and my performance. Had I entered that position already with, say, two years of relevant experience, I could have tried to enter as an 11.

She should talk to HR and explain any relevant experience and education she has to see what she's eligible for. It might be possible for a higher grade or maybe a higher step within the grade. Also, as mentioned, negotiating to have years of work experience apply towards a higher leave accrual is also possible sometimes. When you enter federal government, you start earning 4 hours of AL per pay period. After three years of service, that goes up to 6 hours and it is 8 hours after 15 years.
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Oh yes…GS.
 
urbanhack said:
dgreen said:
urbanhack said:
belljr said:
urbanhack said:
Question / advice. My lady has been approved for a position at the VA - medical records.

They have started the process of offering her the job with the base salary, benefits, etc. and then also said she can negotiate based on her experience.

I’m curious if there is standard here where if you ask for a modest increase over your base salary do they accept it if is reasonable or meet somewhere in the middle? I realize this might not be the case for all federal positions, but I’m curious if anyone had a similar process. Thanks for any feedback.
Click to expand...
This will vary greatly. I tried to negotiate and was basically told we will negotiate but it has to go back to Washington so it could take a few weeks. I was already a contractor so they already knew my salary and gave me a bump. I was trying to negotiate leave accrual.

Anyway standard bumps have been 6-10% for normal promotions, becoming an employee.

Will she be on a GS scale? You could ask to start at a higher step?
Sorry I don't have a better answer but I think this varies from agency to agency
Click to expand...
She’s GA6 - entry level.
Click to expand...
I"m not familiar with GA. Do you mean GS?

Either way, if she has prior experience or education that qualifies her for a higher grade, then she can potentially negotiate for that. However, it also depends on the position she applied to. If it's strictly an entry-level position, then the position itself may not allow for a higher grade. Positions have what's called a career ladder, which are grade increases that someone can obtain within the same position and without competing with others for the increase. For example, I entered government out of college in a position that had entry level of GS7 and career ladder of 7-9-11-12. That means I entered as a 7 with a bachelor's degree (masters start at a 9) and then every year I was eligible to move up to a 9, then 11, then 12 simply based on the experience I gained each year and my performance. Had I entered that position already with, say, two years of relevant experience, I could have tried to enter as an 11.

She should talk to HR and explain any relevant experience and education she has to see what she's eligible for. It might be possible for a higher grade or maybe a higher step within the grade. Also, as mentioned, negotiating to have years of work experience apply towards a higher leave accrual is also possible sometimes. When you enter federal government, you start earning 4 hours of AL per pay period. After three years of service, that goes up to 6 hours and it is 8 hours after 15 years.
Click to expand...
Oh yes…GS.
Click to expand...
Ok. So it's going to depend on the position. If it was advertised as something like GS 6-7 then that means the position can be either grade 6 or 7 and she can try to prove that she qualifies for 7 if she has the right experience or education required for that job series. If she doesn't convince them she should start at a 7, she will be eligible for a promotion to a 7 after one year. However, if the job announcement was just GS 6, then that means that position only pays in that grade level. with no possibility of promotion in that position (everyone is obviously free to apply for other positions that are at higher grades). Each grade has 10 steps, though, so there is an opportunity to try for a higher step within the grade if it's limited to just grade 6. I know some agencies are willing to start you at a higher step if you have a written offer from somewhere else at a higher pay. I'm not sure if they take into account pay at a previous/current job or not, but it's worth asking.
 
To add to to the AL @dgreen mentioned you also accrue 4 hours of sick time per pay period (13 days) of sick. This is NOT negotiable. But it is yours to use in perpetuity and anything accrued counts towards your service years upon retirement
 
Question on the use or lose leave........I assume it's not a hard cap throughout the year and is only a carryover cap from year to year. For example, if my cap is 240 hrs and I carry over 220 hrs will I stop accruing in 2024 once I get to 240 hrs or can keep accruing throughout the year and just be under that 240 limit come the year change over from 2024 to 2025?
 
Gally said:
Question on the use or lose leave........I assume it's not a hard cap throughout the year and is only a carryover cap from year to year. For example, if my cap is 240 hrs and I carry over 220 hrs will I stop accruing in 2024 once I get to 240 hrs or can keep accruing throughout the year and just be under that 240 limit come the year change over from 2024 to 2025?
Click to expand...
Accrue as high as you want during the year. On pay period 1 it goes down to 240.
 
dgreen said:
Gally said:
Question on the use or lose leave........I assume it's not a hard cap throughout the year and is only a carryover cap from year to year. For example, if my cap is 240 hrs and I carry over 220 hrs will I stop accruing in 2024 once I get to 240 hrs or can keep accruing throughout the year and just be under that 240 limit come the year change over from 2024 to 2025?
Click to expand...
Accrue as high as you want during the year. On pay period 1 it goes down to 240.
Click to expand...
That is what I figured.
 
I assume the pay raise isn't until pay period 1. Since 2023 had 27 pay periods, with pp27 starting the latest possible date of 12/31, then I don't think I'll see my first bump until 2/3. Or is there some way that pp27 will actually include the annual raise?
 
dgreen said:
I assume the pay raise isn't until pay period 1. Since 2023 had 27 pay periods, with pp27 starting the latest possible date of 12/31, then I don't think I'll see my first bump until 2/3. Or is there some way that pp27 will actually include the annual raise?
Click to expand...
Yep period starting 1/14 paid on 2/6. (I assume everyone is paid on Tuesday's?)

Stupid. 12/31 pp start
 
belljr said:
dgreen said:
I assume the pay raise isn't until pay period 1. Since 2023 had 27 pay periods, with pp27 starting the latest possible date of 12/31, then I don't think I'll see my first bump until 2/3. Or is there some way that pp27 will actually include the annual raise?
Click to expand...
Yep period starting 1/14 paid on 2/6. (I assume everyone is paid on Tuesday's?)

Stupid. 12/31 pp start
Click to expand...
My paychecks are available in my account by Saturday with a posted date of Friday. :pickle:
 
dgreen said:
belljr said:
dgreen said:
I assume the pay raise isn't until pay period 1. Since 2023 had 27 pay periods, with pp27 starting the latest possible date of 12/31, then I don't think I'll see my first bump until 2/3. Or is there some way that pp27 will actually include the annual raise?
Click to expand...
Yep period starting 1/14 paid on 2/6. (I assume everyone is paid on Tuesday's?)

Stupid. 12/31 pp start
Click to expand...
My paychecks are available in my account by Saturday with a posted date of Friday. :pickle:
Click to expand...
I don't know if we've had an unannounced change but i've been getting paid on Fridays now
 
The main difference between state and county is the access and interaction with actual decision makers. With the state we were far removed from the governor and state legislators. Whereas with the county, I am regularly in meetings with department directors, county administrators, and occasionally with Board members. I have written proposed amendments to local codes. It is much different from that aspect.
State = insulated
 
WVU Alum said:
belljr said:
WVU Alum said:
I’m local government. That count?
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Have you filled out the required forms?
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In triplicate.
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We’re going to need you to come in on Saturday,
WVU Alum said:
The main difference between state and county is the access and interaction with actual decision makers. With the state we were far removed from the governor and state legislators. Whereas with the county, I am regularly in meetings with department directors, county administrators, and occasionally with Board members. I have written proposed amendments to local codes. It is much different from that aspect.
State = insulated
Click to expand...
if you think state is insulated, try federal.

I want to work for the city or county but the pay here isn’t in the same ballpark.
 
I work for one of the wealthiest counties in the US. My pay is significantly higher than for the same position for the state. It is higher than average federal pay as well. It was a no brainer for me to switch
 
Wondering what the future of telework is going to be like with the new admin. To be fair, Biden seemed generally opposed to it, although it was never really rolled back.

Also hoping this thing about schedule f and getting rid of jobs isn’t true.
 
Capella said:
Wondering what the future of telework is going to be like with the new admin. To be fair, Biden seemed generally opposed to it, although it was never really rolled back.

Also hoping this thing about schedule f and getting rid of jobs isn’t true.
Click to expand...
I fully anticipate regardless of who the admin was that eventually telework was going to go back to pre-covid where it was going to be unique circumstances, at least for my department
 
belljr said:
Capella said:
Wondering what the future of telework is going to be like with the new admin. To be fair, Biden seemed generally opposed to it, although it was never really rolled back.

Also hoping this thing about schedule f and getting rid of jobs isn’t true.
Click to expand...
I fully anticipate regardless of who the admin was that eventually telework was going to go back to pre-covid where it was going to be unique circumstances, at least for my department
Click to expand...
my agency has been requiring 40% in office for the past year. they would like to make it more, but they got rid of 1/2 our office space...so.

i think people should be more concerned about serious RIFs.
 
Orange&Blue said:
belljr said:
Capella said:
Wondering what the future of telework is going to be like with the new admin. To be fair, Biden seemed generally opposed to it, although it was never really rolled back.

Also hoping this thing about schedule f and getting rid of jobs isn’t true.
Click to expand...
I fully anticipate regardless of who the admin was that eventually telework was going to go back to pre-covid where it was going to be unique circumstances, at least for my department
Click to expand...
my agency has been requiring 40% in office for the past year. they would like to make it more, but they got rid of 1/2 our office space...so.

i think people should be more concerned about serious RIFs.
Click to expand...
Not sure how they can do that with most tenured government employees in the GS system. Certainly the SES or other select agencies. But guess I don’t really know.
 
Capella said:
Orange&Blue said:
belljr said:
Capella said:
Wondering what the future of telework is going to be like with the new admin. To be fair, Biden seemed generally opposed to it, although it was never really rolled back.

Also hoping this thing about schedule f and getting rid of jobs isn’t true.
Click to expand...
I fully anticipate regardless of who the admin was that eventually telework was going to go back to pre-covid where it was going to be unique circumstances, at least for my department
Click to expand...
my agency has been requiring 40% in office for the past year. they would like to make it more, but they got rid of 1/2 our office space...so.

i think people should be more concerned about serious RIFs.
Click to expand...
Not sure how they can do that with most tenured government employees in the GS system. Certainly the SES or other select agencies. But guess I don’t really know.
Click to expand...
I'm not worried per se if it comes down to merit it's just random willy nilly potential that may be uneasy
 
I welcome an internal government audit. We've been doing more with less for two years now and have at least another 2-3 more years of cuts coming. On one hand we get no monetary bonuses and can't charge OT... The other hand, we have an innovations department with more money than it can spend and recently spent almost 300K replacing office chairs because they are about to hit a 10-year lifecycle...
 
Max Power said:
I welcome an internal government audit. We've been doing more with less for two years now and have at least another 2-3 more years of cuts coming. On one hand we get no monetary bonuses and can't charge OT... The other hand, we have an innovations department with more money than it can spend and recently spent almost 300K replacing office chairs because they are about to hit a 10-year lifecycle...
Click to expand...
I think this varies greatly by agency and department. We've been hamstrung with all the budget bickering but there are definitely people that need a wake up call/cut bait I will admit
 
Orange&Blue said:
my agency has been requiring 40% in office
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Same. The change is far more likely to affect things like DEIA programs than telework. As it is we’ve been looking at ways to get more remote work and telework because that’s what new employees seem to want while we’re recruiting.

I’m thinking my job is going to be more challenging but no real changes affecting us directly. Ethics attorney in the Army. I was disappointed at the time, but my boss said she couldn’t afford to let me take a detail to the White House during the transition. I would have been an ethics attorney for the change in cabinet positions and support staff. That would have been fascinating.
 
Every federal employee I’ve talked to is *freaking out* about the new admin and what it means to their jobs. If you’re permanent career there shouldn’t be much to worry about right? Or am i being naive.
 
Capella said:
Every federal employee I’ve talked to is *freaking out* about the new admin and what it means to their jobs. If you’re permanent career there shouldn’t be much to worry about right? Or am i being naive.
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I'm not completely freaked out, maybe half...., but you never know with all the talk about slashing everything :shrug: on paper I should be fine as I've done my job for 4 different presidents now so it doesn't really matter who is in charge "normally".....there is nothing "political" in my job, other than proper funding ....which is always a crapshoot.

The fear is it's made partisan/political
 
Capella said:
Every federal employee I’ve talked to is *freaking out* about the new admin and what it means to their jobs. If you’re permanent career there shouldn’t be much to worry about right? Or am i being naive.
Click to expand...
My wife is nervous. She’s a legislative attorney with an agency. Concern that he will try to go down the Schedule F route again and try to turn it into a political position.
 
belljr said:
Capella said:
Every federal employee I’ve talked to is *freaking out* about the new admin and what it means to their jobs. If you’re permanent career there shouldn’t be much to worry about right? Or am i being naive.
Click to expand...
I'm not completely freaked out, maybe half...., but you never know with all the talk about slashing everything :shrug: on paper I should be fine as I've done my job for 4 different presidents now so it doesn't really matter who is in charge "normally".....there is nothing "political" in my job, other than proper funding ....which is always a crapshoot.

The fear is it's made partisan/political
Click to expand...
:yes: I really don’t think there will be a direct impact on my specific job, but there’s risk for everyone. We’re DoD (Army), so less likely to be affected than some agencies. But my job as an ethics attorney is going to be interesting if politics / partisanship is brought into it.

We had a DEIA committee until last year when we transformed that into a “betterment” committee. I won’t say that was with future politics in mind.
 
I have a technical/safety role in my agency.

There really is zero political to my job. I just happen to serve a government agency. The only time politics come into play is when projects get delayed for funding and then the higher ups complain it's taking too long
 
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