What is the appeal with Govenrment Jobs? Isn’t your salary capped? When we were in school, we had folks from the Dept. of Treasury and IRS trying to recruit and no one wanted to take those jobs. They were seen as the ‘very last resort’ jobs.
Good article that sums up government workers IMO. Separates them in 2 groups: the Ambitious and the Comfortable. Who wouldn't want good pay, benefits and job security lol?
Why Government Workers Deserve Mockery Every Now And Then
Among government workers whose jobs do not call on them to risk life and limb, there are two relatively distinct categories: the Ambitious and the Comfortable.
The Ambitious really could leave government work for more money elsewhere, but they stay because it satisfies the non-monetary desires that driven and talented people often have. The salary may be lower, but the power and prestige tend to be greater, and the work more interesting and meaningful. Opportunities for advancement and development tend to come sooner. And, eventually, many of these workers return to the private sector to cash in on the skills and contacts they developed in government.
For example, ambitious students at good law schools compete fiercely to clerk for federal judges after graduation, rather than immediately going to Big Law. The experience and career-long prestige are more than worth the lower salary for a year or two. And those federal judges could themselves make more money in the private sector, but it is rare for one to resign to do so. They stay on the bench because they have a lifetime appointment that gives power, respect and a job that interests and challenges them. Skilled lawyers often rotate between private practice and government, and both are glad to have them.
It is not a bad thing if ambition and other self-interested reasons induce high-quality professionals to work hard in the public sector for much less than they could earn in private practice. But for every skilled professional whose ambition or interests enables government to snag her services at a discount, there are many more government workers (including many mediocre professionals) who wouldn’t get a better deal in the private sector.
These are the Comfortable, who are less ambitious, and usually enjoy easier hours along with excellent benefits, pensions, and job security. In many areas, government jobs are some of the best around, especially for lower-skill workers. These workers may do their jobs well, but they were never going to be highly-paid hotshots in Big Law, Big Industry, Big Pharma or any other private-sector Big.
But when it comes time to negotiate over salaries and benefits, the Comfortable pretend that they are like the Ambitious, who could easily make more in the private sector. But if the Comfortable could, they would. The
data suggest that except for a small number of professionals and experts, federal workers are making as much as they would in the private sector, and often more. The variety of state and local governments precludes easy comparison, but there is little reason to believe that the dynamics differ significantly from those of the federal government and its employees.
