The Federal Worker Next Door; Stephen Barr
From: The Washington Post
Date: April 24, 2008
Want to get to know your federal employee neighbors better?
In the nation's capital, here are a few things to keep in mind about government employees:
1. Uncle Sam is the largest employer here, and about 10 percent of the federal civilian workforce is in the Washington area.
In the District, Maryland and Virginia, there are 336,000 civil service employees, more than 167,400 active-duty service members, 38,316 postal workers and thousands more in the intelligence community, the National Guard and reserves, the federal court system and working on Capitol Hill.
Many government workers stay in the area in retirement. There are more than 272,000 civil service retirees and countless military retirees. About 76,000 people in the region receive civil service retirement benefits as a surviving spouse or family member.
2. As a workforce, they are more old than young. The average age is nearly 47.
Federal employees also are a diverse group: nearly 18 percent are African American, 7.8 percent are Hispanic, 5.3 percent are Asian or Pacific Islander and 2 percent are Native American. Women make up about 44 percent of the federal workforce.
3. Contrary to popular perception, most government workers are not paper-pushing bureaucrats in boring jobs.
More than 50 percent of federal employees work in professional, management, business and financial occupations, compared with 29 percent in the private sector, according to the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service. The government likes to hire lawyers, doctors, engineers, scientists, air-traffic controllers, computer specialists and criminal investigators.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Government Accountability Office, the Securities and Exchange Commission, NASA and the National Science Foundation are among the "best places to work," according to an index compiled by the Partnership for Public Service and American University.
4. Don't be surprised to discover that your federal neighbor is home every other Friday or telecommutes at least one day a week. A number of federal agencies offer alternative work schedules and telework days under the general umbrella of providing family- friendly policies.
5. Uncle Sam pays better than he once did. In the Washington area, the estimated median federal salary is $90,698.
The rest of the compensation package isn't bad, either. Employees can save for retirement in a low-cost, 401(k)-type program, the Thrift Savings Plan. They also are guaranteed a pension. They have good health insurance and can carry their health benefits into retirement, a perk that is increasingly rare in the private sector.
6. The pay and benefits help fuel the Washington region's economy. The estimated federal employee payroll in the region is $30.1 billion a year. That does not include salaries for the military, intelligence community and U.S. Postal Service.
Because the government is the area's largest employer, many local companies and nonprofit organizations take into account what the government is paying and how it manages employees.
7. A number of these companies work as contractors, providing services and supplies to Uncle Sam. Some, such as Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics, are large defense contractors; others are small and obtain federal contracts because of preferences for veterans, women and minorities. There is no tally of how many employees in the region earn a living through government contracts and grants, but there is little doubt that federal procurement spending helps soften downturns in the rest of the local economy.
8. Mobility is common. People in the military, intelligence community, Foreign Service, Internal Revenue Service and other agencies move regularly, sometimes as often as every three years. Relocation is frequently a requirement for getting ahead in government.
There also are more people interested in government work, experts say. People who want to work in government can find thousands of job openings at operated by the Office of Personnel Management. Companies that do business with the government, particularly the departments of Defense and Homeland Security, scout for people in government who have a top-secret or other security clearance and see a future in the private sector.
9. Yes, it's hard to trust the government, but don't automatically conclude that the blame for waste, fraud and mismanagement should be aimed at the federal workforce. Career employees take their marching orders from political appointees, who often stay two to three years, on average. Then there is the board of directors: Congress. It places multiple and sometimes conflicting requirements on agencies. So have a little sympathy. No one would run a business like this.
10. Your turn. After a few years living here, you'll develop your own perspective to complete this profile.
Stephen Barr's e-mail address is .