Government Employment: Occupations, Working Conditions and Job Outlook.

• Government Occupations
• Pay and Benefits
• Government Job Outlook
• How to Get Started
• Locating Government Jobs
• Education Requirements

INTRODUCTION

Consider the numbers. Uncle Sam employs over 2,704,000 workers and hires an average of 300,000 new employees each year to replace workers that transfer to other federal or private jobs, retire, or stop working for other reasons. Average annual salary of all full-time employees was $79,179 in 2008. The U.S Government is the largest employer in the United States, hiring 2 percent of the nation’s civilian work force.

Job hunters will find it considerably less difficult today to locate job vacancies and to apply for federal jobs. Significant changes were implemented over the past 5 years to streamline the hiring process, including:

You need to know how to take advantage of the federal hiring system and recent changes to successfully land the job you want in government. The Book of U.S. Government Jobs provides this information and includes easy to use check lists to help you through the process.

Tremendous job opportunities are available for those who know how to tap this lucrative job market. All government hiring is based on performance and qualifications regardless of your sex, race, color, creed, religion, disability, or national origin. Where else can you apply for a high paying entry-level job that offers employment at thousands of locations internationally, excellent career advancement opportunities, plus careers in hundreds of occupations?

Currently, over 34% of the all federal employees, approximately 919,683, are eligible for retirement and within the next year 50%, 1,352,475 workers, will be eligible for regular or early retirement. When employees bid on retirement vacancies, entry level jobs are created.

Locate related or similar private sector jobs in your area through our FREE job search service.

NATURE OF FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT

The Federal Government of the United States affects the lives of Americans everywhere. It defends Americans from foreign aggressors, represents American interests abroad, provides important public services, creates and enforces laws, and administers social programs. Americans are aware of the Federal Government when they pay their income taxes each year, but they are often unaware of government's influence when they watch a daily weather forecast, purchase fresh and uncontaminated groceries, travel on highways or by aircraft, or make a deposit in a bank. Workers employed by the Federal Government play a vital role in these and many other facets of American life.

The Constitution of the United States divides the Federal Government into the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. The executive is by far the largest of the branches, but each is equally vital in running the country. Appendix C of The Book of U.S. Government Jobs provides detailed information for all branches of government including internet web site addresses, personnel office phone numbers, agency description, and the largest occupations for that office. The 8th edition of this just released updated edition completely describes career opportunities in civilian jobs of the Federal Government including career opportunities in the U.S. Postal Service (an independent agency of the Federal Government).

WORKING CONDITIONS

Almost every working condition found in the private sector can also be found in the federal government. Most white-collar employees work in office buildings, hospitals, or laboratories, while blue-collar employees generally work in factories, warehouses, shipyards, air bases, or construction sites. Others spend much of their time outdoors, such as those employed in national parks and forests. Work environments can range from very controlled and relatively relaxed environments, while other environments are quite hazardous and stressful - such as those of law enforcement officers, astronauts, or air traffic controllers.

Many federal workers' duties require travel away from their duty station to attend meetings, complete training, or perform inspections while others - such as auditors, instructors, field engineering crews, and safety investigators - may require extensive travel for weeks or months at a time. Some employees are on continuous travel and receive lump sum payments to cover travel costs. Alternative work schedules are available to many workers through negotiated union contracts that permit flextime or compressed work schedules. Some agencies are experimenting with flexiplace or telecommuting which allow workers to perform some job duties at home and many larger federal workplaces now offer child care facilities for working parents.

Over sixty percent of all agencies recently surveyed have some form of Quality of Work Life (QWL) or Employee Involvement (EI) program implemented throughout their workforce. These programs encourage employee participation at all levels to improve overall efficiency, productivity, and working conditions.

SCAM ALERT (Complete Article)

Numerous companies are taking advantage of those who are out-of-work and looking for federal jobs. The federal government is one of the few sectors still actively hiring and in large numbers. Many private companies are charging anywhere from $100 to over $1,000 dollars for test prep materials and online self assessments and evaluations. The federal government does not charge anyone for this information and 80% of all federal government (non-postal service) jobs don't require a written entrance exam. The examination mentioned in the job announcement, for the most part, is simply an evaluation of your work history, education, and background that you list on your federal style resume, not a written test.

Essentially you must meet the basic qualifications listed on a job announcement to qualify. The Book of U.S. Government Jobs - 10th edition and this book's companion web site at http://federaljobs.net along with the hundreds of links that we have on this site is all you need to explore this lucrative sector. If you are short on cash and can't afford a copy of The Book of U.S. Government Jobs visit your local library. This book was reviewed and recommended by Library Journal three times and it is one of the most checked out books at libraries nationwide. The skills index in Appendix E cross references skills, occupations, and degrees to hiring agencies. Use the Job Hunter's Checklist in Appendix A to steer you through the process and Chapter Six provides comprehensive guidance on how to prepare your federal style resume. Be skeptical of any offer that requires payment for jobs and information. No federal agency charges applicants for this information or assistance. There are many legitimate federal resume services that you can use that do charge for resume preparation if you don't have the time or inclination to do one on your own.

Also, be skeptical of government job ads on major non-government job boards that list a toll free number and that doesn't offer an immediate online application option. All federal jobs are applied for through official federal web sites with .gov extensions. This web site links to over 100 federal agency human resource departments.

When you call the toll free number in these bogus job ads they try to sell you a service to assist you with finding a government or Post Office job. They often offer a package that includes a copy of a book that you can buy at your local book store for a fraction of what they charge for these services. Be careful and don't get taken advantage of.