[Fishing-guy]

"How do I get a federal job?"

Get elected. I heard their retirement and health care packages are even better than social security and Medicare.

[SLB]

You need to differentiate between the elected officials and the regular Joe civil servant. I happen to fall into the latter category. Currently there is about a 15% pay lag between federal pay and the local economy where I live for like work. Why don't I leave? I have 1 year to retirement eligibility, how many civilian firms will hire me at the same level I am at now or will hire me at an entrance level and let me work my way up?

There is mention of contractors. Talk about sucking off the big old sugar teat, called Uncle Sugar. I was a COR (contracting officers representative) for a few years. The contractors hated dealing with me. I cut them no slack and expected a quality product in return. They were used to working the good old boy network and kept trying to circumvent me and go to my boss, who was NOT a COR and could not legally have contact with them.

As far as the benefits of civil service go. My health insurance premium, I know many of you don't have it, has increased 63% this year alone.

[SLB]

One more thing. Overtime pay does not exist for me. We just suck it up. What is really fun is traveling four or five hours at night to get to a meeting in the morning after already being at work for 8 to 10 hours. Then that meeting is over we get to do it in reverse to get back to work the next morning after maybe four or five hours of "sleep."