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How does it differ than a regular desk job? Do you get more or less sense of purpose? Is it true there are bribes from businesses?
Well, Oregon lost a somewhat decent governor for a real total ahole and this was due to the wife taking advantage of his position to further her future
He was a decent guy who fell on his sword a an apology. I'm sure the citizens now wish he'd not done so and just apologized.
So it's not just the person at the top, but family also grabs some of the pie
I have quite literally been a part of the transaction. They are not a myth.
Sure, you can find some. In any large group, there will always be some. But the vast majority of permanent employees (as different from the politicians and their political appointees) aren't going to go to jail for a donut.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SunGrins
I always felt like I was making a positive contribution. My focus included information systems, planning, research, grant writing, and legislation. Pay is low in state and local government but benefits and retirement might make up for it. If you are in government service for the “perks” from vendors or off the record benefits of some sort you will probably be disappointed. Federal service might offer higher pay and lower levels might be more insulated from politics.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SunGrins
I always felt like I was making a positive contribution. My focus included information systems, planning, research, grant writing, and legislation. Pay is low in state and local government but benefits and retirement might make up for it. If you are in government service for the “perks” from vendors or off the record benefits of some sort you will probably be disappointed. Federal service might offer higher pay and lower levels might be more insulated from politics.
In recent years it has become more common for city governments and some state services to outsource staffing positions with temporary workers paid less and without benefits. Quality of employees is lower but there are no civil service protections. These workers will probably work two years and then be terminated and rehired after a couple months as a way of getting around unions or work rules. You might not be able to tell if you are dealing with a real government employee or a temp/contract worker getting paid less by a private company skimming off some of the pay.
There is so much of that. The public doesn't know that a lot of the time they are actually dealing with a contractor and not an actual employee. A couple of big secrets about those contracts. They run for years/decades. The employees don't change, just every time they compete the contract, perhaps the name of the company on the contract changes. Nothing more. Pay and benefits are built into the contract price, so the myth that government doesn't have to pay benefits for contractors is just that, a myth. I know contracts that have run for 70 years under various names, where three or more generations have worked entire careers on that job.
Thank God there's no such outsourcing in most countries in Europe I know. America sounds like a really unpleasant place to live if you're not a millionaire.
^So what college majors lead to such a career? Would a PhD in PoliSci help? Or maybe a new MSc (already got a Msc in Communications)? The thing is my fallback plan is teaching in a university and for that you gotta have a PhD (I'm in the EU).
My undergrad degree was a history major and political science minor. I earned a Master in Public Administration MPA once I was already in the field.
I had no interest in being "Le Grand Fromage" in government service. I was an interim director for a brief period so I got a taste of it and didn't like it. My experience is that at the highest levels, the important thing is who you know, not what you know. The "what" comes from the lower levels who are a little insulated from politics and more competent in their field. That is not a universal rule, however, miracles do happen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EP45
I have quite literally been a part of the transaction. They are not a myth.
Some people can be bought. That is no different than in the private sector.
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