Government Three Years On

Last week was my third anniversary working for the government! Three years is a milestone when working for the government. In most cases, at three years an employee becomes “tenured”. Not really any bells and whistles, simply means more job security which in these uncertain times is certainly reassuring. Perhaps more importantly, and at a more personal level, three years also means earning six hours paid time off per pay period. I failed to negotiate PTO earning when entering the government, something no one tells you when applying.  

Looking back, I’ve got no regrets about my decision to leave a great job in the private sector three years ago and go “govie”. It’s the little things that made the switch worthwhile, mostly centered around quality of life. Reaching career tenure at three years is one example, definitely reassuring and one less thing to worry about.

I learned quickly in the private sector; business doesn’t invest as much in the daily administrivia of running the business, focusing resources more on production and results. The government is quite the opposite. The result is a good quality of life in many simple routine areas such as workspace, facilities and the overall administrative support structure of the organization.

There is of course often a disparity in compensation between public and private sector jobs. With the COLA adjustments over the past couple of years, government pay is certainly more competitive nowadays. There is also the perk that the government has one of the last few pension plans in existence. Money isn’t everything and I am at the stage in my life where the aforementioned quality of life is of more value.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, over the last three years I’ve regained a sense of belonging to an institution, perhaps the biggest institution in the world. Not implying, by any means, that the government is a perfect institution. Also, I don’t mean to imply that institutions aren’t present in the private sector. It’s just different in the gov’t; kind of hard to explain. Perhaps my 24 years of military service “institutionalized” me and I just can’t escape.

I don’t know if being a “govie” would be a good fit for everyone, but it is working for me so far. I am not sure how long I will work, but this is a good fit for the ride. If my investments work out as planned, maybe sooner rather than later! I feel very fortunate and blessed to have found a post military j-o-b that meets my family’s needs and more importantly provides the quality of life I’m looking for. Check out USAJOBS to check out the latest opportunities! 

Looking for a good how-to on wealth building? Check out my book, Millionaire on a Worker’s Budget: Five Financial Truth’s to Build Wealth on sale now at Amazon!

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