Half of federal employees considering leaving for the private sector, survey finds

The Baltimore Sun ^ | February 21, 2014 | Matthew Hay Brown

[Stalwart]

Market Connections, based in Chantilly, Va., performs polls, surveys and other research for federal agencies and contractors. When the firm conducted the survey of 370 civilian and defense workers for the newsletter FierceGovernmentIT, Market Connections President Lisa Dezzutti expected the percentage of employees who acknowledged considering a job switch to be "a big number." But she didn't anticipate it would reach 50 percent.

[Stalwart]

I had no idea so many FedGov types were considering moving to the greener pastures of the private sector.

FierceGovernment?

Should this article get a humor tag here?

[Peter W. Kessler]

I believe the overwhelming majority of government workers would be useless to private industry.

They would be required to WORK and PRODUCE something.

Besides, there aren’t any jobs to be had in private industry.

So, I suppose we’ll just continue to support the useless mass.

[MeshugeMikey]

Their discontent is understandable their chances of finding employment in a dwindling economy....seems unlikely.

do they feel no sense of SHAME, wanting to abandon the great leader in his hour of need?

[yldstrk]

I agree with you, they think they are not getting the high pay their “civilian counterparts” are, but they are actually making more. I know, I was a government worker, they whine and complain like children about how they are mistreated

[conservative cat]

Better benefits and better pay. Many of my private sector friends and I talk about going to government jobs for less stress, less hours, better medical, and pensions. They are obviously not aware of the real world.

[blueunicorn6]

My Grandfather told me, “Every person you meet will tell you that they are overworked and underpaid.” He was right.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Unless they are staff attorneys, wait til they see the salary offers, the lack of benefits and unionization, and [lack of] job security, and let that simmer in their little brains for half a minute. Not 10% of them would or could follow through with even a half hearted attempt. Yeah, they’re “thinking” about it. Pfffft. Uh huh, at age 59, I’m thinking about becoming an NFL quarterback. Deeply.

[Dr. Sivana]

In these surveys a lot of people will always be “considering” leaving. Considering is a far cry from doing. During the Dinkins administration, similar numbers were “considering” leaving NYC, few actually did.

[conservative cat]

I talked to a couple once who complained about their pay freezes, so I looked it up in the database. I wish I had their pay freezes! They were making more than I was, and had increased their pay by much greater percentages than I had over the last few years, and I work for a very profitable private company.

[Our man in washington]

One thing to consider is the huge number of baby boomers in the Federal service. If they can get an early retirement, they could take a lower-paid job in private industry and end up with more money on the whole. Anyone in their fifties in the Federal sector with some marketable skill and a whiff of intelligence is going to be considering that option.

And for those who don’t think Feds have marketable skills, let me say as a Federal employee myself how the employment system works. Let’s say you have an auditor in the Federal government. They had a degree in auditing or at least enough college coursework to meet the requirements. Thus, they know something about the field. Is there dead wood in the Federal sector? Yes, but it’s not because people are hired without some skills on paper. The problem is they sometimes become dead wood after hiring.

[Hostage]

Maybe they got a much needed wake-up call from Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee?

If I was fat, dumb and happy with a mortgage and a job inside the Beltway. my house would now be up for sale and my CV would be updated. But then that would make me one of the smart ones so I contradict myself.

Thank you Senators Cruz and Lee!!!

[sportutegrl]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/18/for-federal-employees-office-often-closed-25-of-fi/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS

Good luck finding a job that won’t require you to work more than 75% of the time normals do.

[Hostage]

The people that determine pay raises for the fed government are usually government contractors who compile data from selected sources to maximize the outcome in favor of their government customers; likely unwittingly.

The data usually come from large high cost of living urban areas where there are a lot of government contractors and a lot of government workers. This contractor-government nexus feeds on itself and drives the cost of government ever higher.

[stocksthatgoup]

Many are getting near retirement age. Time to double dip!
Average government worker earns 2x private sector worker.

[skeeter]

My guess is most of these federal workers polled are related to the defense industry.

There's no way the louses & lardasses working in the DMV, educational establishment, EPA, etc are considering leaving. They're rolling in dough.

[muir_redwoods]

The other half don’t want to have to work

[babygene]

Hi tech jobs are not direct government jobs in most cases. The government doesn’t pay well enough for that. The good ones work for private contractors and many are very good at what they do and get paid much better than government workers.

[ArtDodger]

I hear this ‘threat’ from useless bureaucrats all the time. ‘I had better get my raise or I am outta here!’ But, they never go. They just continue sucking the life blood from society in jobs so pointless they can't even pretend to justify their existences. These are the ones the zombies are going to eat first.

[ArtDodger]

I hear this ‘threat’ from useless bureaucrats all the time. ‘I had better get my raise or I am outta here!’ But, they never go. They just continue sucking the life blood from society in jobs so pointless they can't even pretend to justify their existences. These are the ones the zombies are going to eat first.

[A CA Guy]

Did these manage to avoid the 300% over payment of government.