Headed to the Civil Service?

[Pags]

Since FOS season is almost here again and there are other threads out there discussing the process and benefits of the airlines I thought it might be appropriate to open a thread about working as a civilian for the Federal Government.

I recently switched over to by a Govie from a Contractor. As a 2xFOS guy one of the things that attracted me was how many extra benefits being a Veteran can get you as a GS. I was given credit for my years on Active Duty towards leave so I instantly started accruing leave at a higher level and non-retired Vets are given the option of buying back/buying in their years served on Active Duty to the Federal Retirement system. It may not quite be a military retirement, but the option of putting the 11yrs I served to use towards a pension was very attractive to me. Also, if you're still a reservist you can still get a Reserve retirement along with a Federal pension which is a pretty nice set up.

Also, being a Vet gets you hiring preferences and the ability to be eligible for jobs that are closed to non-federal employees off the streets.

I think there are a few others who are GSs onboard the site who could shed some light on the different agencies and others who have looked at working with some Federal Agencies with some decent existing threads about flying as a GS.

 

[squorch2]

If you're working at an agency with lots of GSs and want to stick around, ask your supervisor/HCO/etc. about "manager's internal hire" and the process behind that.

 

[squorch2]

Other benefits of GS work: telework, compressed work schedules, comp time/overtime

 

[Brett327]

Don't for get the possibility of getting furloughed, then being back-paid for work you would have done, but never actually did.

 

[Pags]

Other benefits of GS work: telework, compressed work schedules, comp time/overtime

Yeah, I've been a GS for just over two weeks and am currently enjoying a Friday off due to a compressed work schedule. The best part is I've got another Friday off coming in two weeks. And again in two more weeks...

On top of annual leave you also accrue sick leave that you can use for your own health or family health which is huge if you have little kids that need to stay home with the sniffles.

As squorch mentioned, as with most jobs, networking is key. If you're already working there active duty or as a contractor they can use a different hiring process.

 

[Pags]

Oh, and the Federal Government does TSP matching. I think it may vary across agencies, but my agency will match up to 5%!

 

[Flash]

Since FOS season is almost here again and there are other threads out there discussing the process and benefits of the airlines I thought it might be appropriate to open a thread about working as a civilian for the Federal Government....I think there are a few others who are GSs onboard the site who could shed some light on the different agencies and others who have looked at working with some Federal Agencies with some decent existing threads about flying as a GS.

Please ask away, I started out with a bunch of other new GS's and collectively we researched a lot of the civil service rules when it came to veterans.

I was given credit for my years on Active Duty towards leave so I instantly started accruing leave at a higher level and non-retired Vets are given the option of buying back/buying in their years served on Active Duty to the Federal Retirement system. It may not quite be a military retirement, but the option of putting the 11yrs I served to use towards a pension was very attractive to me. Also, if you're still a reservist you can still get a Reserve retirement along with a Federal pension which is a pretty nice set up.

The two retirements are very nice, and at least my employer was pretty good about my two one-year reserve 'vacations'. The fact my two current billets complement each other in several ways helps.

For everyone's info, the buy-in as a veteran is 3% of the total amount of the base pay you earned which is roughly close to $15k for an O-3 with 10 years.

Incidentally, you can buy into the government civil service retirement system if you are military retiree but you have to give up your military retirement though which is why very few do it (there are a few scenarios where it would be smart to do so, but very few).

Oh, and the Federal Government does TSP matching. I think it may vary across agencies, but my agency will match up to 5%!

The 5% matching is a government-wide rule, it is part of the FERS retirement system that is in effect now for all civil service employees hired after 1983.

 

[Gatordev]

So I discovered a nice little turd on the OPM military FAQ site that mentioned if you retire from Active Duty (vice as a SELRES) as an O-4 or above, the only way to get Veteran's Preference is to have a 30% disability. And for some jobs, VP is the only way to get a job if you're 38 or over. Factor in the time it takes to get your disability rating (if any) and when you might want to start applying to some jobs, it's almost impossible to hit all the wickets and have a job on the outside relatively soon-ish after getting out...or at all if currency is an issue.

Anyone have any additional insight on this? I know it's a topic that's not really for the FOS group, but figured I'd ask here since it's a GS question.

 

[Flash]

So I discovered a nice little turd on the OPM military FAQ site that mentioned if you retire from Active Duty (vice as a SELRES) as an O-4 or above, the only way to get Veteran's Preference is to have a 30% disability. And for some jobs, VP is the only way to get a job if you're 38 or over. Factor in the time it takes to get your disability rating (if any) and when you might want to start applying to some jobs, it's almost impossible to hit all the wickets and have a job on the outside relatively soon-ish after getting out...or at all if currency is an issue.

Anyone have any additional insight on this? I know it's a topic that's not really for the FOS group, but figured I'd ask here since it's a GS question.

That is the first I have heard of it and I just went through a 'veterans preference advisor' on the Department of Labor website to check that and it said the same thing (you click through questions and I did it for the scenario you described). So yeah, it looks like if you retired as an O-4 or above you are SOL on the veterans preference unless you have a VA disability.

There are quite a few jobs out there though that require the experience a retired officer has and I have seen numerous retired O-4/5/6 get those jobs no problem. Like many other places a lot of it is being in the right place at the right time, which is why I asked for my last duty station in DC, but there are countless retired O-4/5/6 types I work with.

A big caveat with GS jobs nowadays, sequestration is affecting DoD civilians as well. Where I work is going through significant cuts and a significant reorganization right now and so are most others I know. It is a lot harder to get hired than it was just a few years ago and at lower grades too. There are still jobs but getting your foot in the door is a bit harder.

 

[Uncle Fester]

I'm in the hiring process for CBP right now as a GS (technically GL, since it's Federal LE, but whatever).

There's a buy-in calculator on the DFAS website that lets you calculate your payments to buy into the fed civ retirement system, though I haven't been able to get it to work. Insert your own Civil Service joke there. You buy in over three years. Gouge I heard from the ex-mil CBP guys was that for most cats it works out to about equivalent to a car payment.

As mentioned, if you're getting a mil active-duty pension, you would have to give that up to buy in to the Fed Civil system. There are circumstances where you might want to do that, but they're rare. I read on one site a financial advisor who said he'd never once in over 10 years seen a scenario where that was to the client's advantage.

A reserve retirement is a different animal; you can use your AD years toward both a Reserve retirement, and buy-in credit towards Fed Civil Service. So in my case, I have 12 years AD, and Academy time counts too. So I can buy in 16 years with the feds, and that 12 years will still count toward my Reserve retirement. I'm in my late 30s now, so if I did a full 20 with CBP, both my pensions should kick in at about the same time. Not a bad way to go.

I did have one question/curiosity. Right now I have a fair chunk of change in a pre-tax retirement savings plan with my civilian company; should be more than sufficient to cover my Fed buy-in. I wonder if I can use that money for Fed buy-in without a tax or penalty? Since it's really just transferring from one retirement savings plan to another.

 

[Gatordev]

There are quite a few jobs out there though that require the experience a retired officer has and I have seen numerous retired O-4/5/6 get those jobs no problem.

I have a sneaky suspicion the majority of those jobs aren't what I'm looking for.

I'm in the hiring process for CBP right now as a GS (technically GL, since it's Federal LE, but whatever).

This was what led me to the OPM discovery. Maybe I'll just limp a lot and hold my back when I do my separation physical.

 

[zippy]

There are other Fed flying jobs besides CBP... Search 2181 on USAjobs and there's the list of some of active openings. There's always something different. If government service is the way you want to go, consider taking any Job that gets you into the system, because some of these hiring processes can be really long (2 to 7 years). There are other agencies that don't post on USA jobs- it's worth hunting down their job websites and seeing what they have available.

Or go fly somewhere else on the outside and decide what you want to do if you get hired.

 

[Uncle Fester]

There are other Fed flying jobs besides CBP...

Not for an NFO...

But seriously though...there are NFOs who get picked up as GFRs and such at flight test and DCMAs, but in my experience they are usually contractors already in the office, who get brought over. There is usually enough AD-contractor-GS square dancing at most aviation activities that those jobs rarely have to get listed for the public. Again, though - just my experience.

There are also Air Reserve Technician jobs, where you are full-time GS at an AFR or ANG unit and also hold a commission with them or a closely affiliated unit. I have no personal experience with that; I just know it's a thing. There are a lot of USAJobs listings for IPs and such in a lot of different areas.

 

[zippy]

Not for an NFO...

But seriously though...there are NFOs who get picked up as GFRs and such at flight test and DCMAs, but in my experience they are usually contractors already in the office, who get brought over. There is usually enough AD-contractor-GS square dancing at most aviation activities that those jobs rarely have to get listed for the public. Again, though - just my experience.

There are also Air Reserve Technician jobs, where you are full-time GS at an AFR or ANG unit and also hold a commission with them or a closely affiliated unit. I have no personal experience with that; I just know it's a thing. There are a lot of USAJobs listings for IPs and such in a lot of different areas.

There a couple of Federal Law Enforcement agencies besides CBP who need people to operate the gear in the back of their airplane, but you are right, there are rare because they're highly sought after internally.

 

[webmaster]

This was what led me to the OPM discovery. Maybe I'll just limp a lot and hold my back when I do my separation physical.

If you still want to fly and have a FAA Class 1 without lots of hoops to jump through, avoid any and all "sleep studies" while pursuing your disability.