Federal Contractors

I am a GS-12 all source analyst in the IC with an active TS/SCI but no poly. I have a MS in engineering, but haven't done any real engineering in 6 years. This is open ended, but should I be looking at contractor jobs? How much do contractor jobs pay? Is the salary increase worth the loss of job security and FERS? What types of jobs would I be qualified for with my background?

Edited by user Wednesday, May 23, 2018 7:34:44 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Hi,
Im on my last week as a DoD/DoN contractor and a hiring manager in the IT/Engineering and Program/Project Management field . I just got my final offer for GS 12 last week yay! Took a huge pay cut.

The money is great, lots of flexibility, you'll work with brilliant people and the benefits are decent. The biggest downside is like others have said is the lack of stability.

Basically you could be hired tomorrow as a contractor at $70-150k easy(depending on location and your field) BUT you could literally be laid off the next day for any reason(funding, RIF's, change in billets or losing a recompete). Unfortunately Ive seen it too many times and thats why I decided to go fed. The other downside most contractors watch out for is the "customer" factor. Basically some commands or agencies can be very very difficult to work for so you could end up in a high stress environment with a very high turn over rate, which definitely disrupts the work quality since you will lose intellectual capital constantly. I worked for a very very difficult Navy command(known in the industry for being difficult), great money but high stress. Make sure you ask about the "customer" during your interview.

Other risks to consider: Type of contractors, Contract length, how long has the contractor held the contract and most importantly is the position already funded.

To sum it up: It really depends on your situation. If you prefer money over stability "high risk high reward" go contractor. Keep in mind you also need to have relevant experience and industry certifications to be successful in that environment. Let me know if you have specific questions I'll be happy to answer them.

Good luck!

Edited by user Friday, June 1, 2018 6:39:29 PM(UTC)  | Reason: My grammar is horrible today sorry!

Adjusted your comment so it does not take up space. What do you mean by "Ask about the 'customer' during the interview"

But is that still true? So many IC agencies have an out-of-balance workforce with more 14s and 15s than under-13s (or very nearly so) which drives them to bring people on at very low grades. That would not be so bad if it were not for the fact that most of these jobs are in the Washington DC area (or "DMV" for DC-MD-VA) where the cost of living is very high.

Now, if somebody is a 12, it may take some time to get promoted to 13. I like to say that 13 is the new 14, where it used to be possible (though by no means guaranteed) to get promoted to 14 without becoming a supervisor. In recent years, folks have plateaued at 13. I think from now on the plateau will be at 12.

One clear downside to being a contractor is the lack of training.

I was a contractor before becoming a fed last year. One of my coworkers at one of the big firms a few years ago made the opposite switch, GS-15 to contractor. We were coworkers for about 6 months before I started a new project, but my understanding is that he loved it. Way, way, way higher earning potential, tons of mobility options, and the benefits were mostly comparable with the exception of the pension (slightly higher 401k match but no pension at that company). At his level, he was managing a book of business that spanned several clients, so he didn't have the same concerns about loss of work that smaller contractors with only one client have. Checking him up on LinkedIn, looks like he's gotten a promotion since we were coworkers, so he's now probably earning a very nice chunk of change.