Posted on 02/03/2010 7:26:09 AM PST by Poundstone
Excerpt: The budget answers critics, including Scott Brown, the newly elected Republican senator from Massachusetts, who say federal civilians earn much more than private-sector workers. There's a reason for that. Federal workers are better educated.
"The Federal Government hires lawyers to tackle corruption, security professionals to monitor our borders, doctors to care for our injured veterans, and world-class scientists to combat deadly diseases such as cancer," the budget says. "Because of these vital needs, the Federal Government hires a relatively highly educated workforce, resulting in higher average pay."
Consider these stats: Twenty percent of federal workers have a master's, professional or doctorate degree, compared with 13 percent in the private sector. Fifty-one percent of federal employees have a college degree of some sort, but only 35 percent do in the private sector.
Frankie and Flo may not be smarter than other folks, but they do have more schooling, and they get paid accordingly. They are also substantially older, and that contributes to higher pay -- 46 percent of federal employees are 50 or older, compared with 31 percent of private-sector workers.
Although the section doesn't say so, comparing overall federal and private-sector pay is misleading in another way, because Uncle Sam doesn't employ many people at the bottom of the wage scale the way industry does.
Job-for-job comparisons tell a completely different story. In fact, government figures indicate that federal employees are underpaid by 26 percent compared with their counterparts in similar position in the business world.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Years of schooling in social science and child psychology does not an education make!
Quite the opposite in far TOO MANY cases.
Nope, you are wrong, it’s the workers. I’m there at least 2 times a week. You can tell the difference in the way they move, how they respond etc.
I work for a very successful restaurant company. We have many customers who are the problem. Because we are trying to WIN business instead of taking it for granted, we NEVER say anything close to this to anyone. We take care of the guest and the problem. It's our job to find the solution not theirs. THAT is the difference between private and public sector. You don't even know what you don't know.
You are correct - most of the examples I have are of county & state employees, and of these I do know several who've retired on 90% of their highest salary.
However, I know a federal judge who's close to retirement, and according to her the figures I gave aren't far off.
Worked for a “non-profit” for ten years. Lots of dead weight in the adminstrative sections. Lots of people just putting in time to retire. Some worked very hard lots didn’t. It all depended in what part of the process you worked in. So far private industry for profit work the hardest in my experiance over-all.
Everyone seems to be combining “federal” employees with “state” employees.
There is a pretty big difference between the two. An engineer at the DOT is not the same as a file clerk at the DMV.
I wonder how that “Good enough for government work” saying got started.
Originated in World War II. When something was “good enough for Government work” it meant it could pass the most rigorous of standards. Over the years it took on an ironic meaning that is now the primary sense, referring to poorly executed work.
I thought it always meant anything that could barely squeak by.
The Post Officer is a bad model for understanding the rest of FedGov. The Post Office actually delivers a measurable service day in and day out. Most of the Post Office personnel are outside the Beltway.
If the Military were as efficient as the Post Office ... well, we wouldn’t have an Air Force, and every remaining service would be up to US Marine standards.
Another federal employee or spouse heard from.
Unfortunately, most of us who have dealt with bureaucrats at all levels know how hilarious that argument is.
Most of the most highly credentialled people I have worked and dealt with have been intelligent, educated, but hopelessly incompetent in actually applying their learning to real work.
That's the difference between "learning" and understanding.
I would be only slightly interesting in learning what percentage of government employees could actually survive in private industry. As in trying to move there and failing.
I will never complain again. Doh! /s LOL
They never are. LOL
Two rules. One is to BUY LOW and the other is to SELL HIGH.
Federales who are losing money kept their money in stocks too long. It's so easy to go cash ~ just go on the net, go to your account, make your changes!
Ever check out the window clerks at the Beverly Hills downtown station?
You missed the critical part ~ I’m retired ~ so I don’t have to lie about the customers anymore.
If he were covered by FERS alone, he would max out at a lower value but he would have had use of matching funds based on his current salary for use in his Thrift Savings Plan ~ CSRS folks did not receive matching funds.
It's highly complex for folks covered by CSRS, FERS and Social Security ~ and maybe even VA pension plans.
A private Air Force would be rented.
That would be an improvement. I like the Air Force sometimes, but I still think it should not be separate branch — some of it should be Army, some Navy. Why don’t we have a Boeing Pelican transport?
Still, I wouldn't mind having one of those federal gigs - many sound far better than anything I had in the private sector.
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