I personally know over 10 people directly employed by either the local, state or federal government and another dozen or so that work for contractors whose sole revenue stream is government contracts. Their positions, skills and personalities are widely varied and each seems to be at least “pretty happy” in their positions. They all make very nice salaries and, from what I understand, there is relatively little stress that comes with the positions. Again, the positions vary, but more than a few are mid- to high-level positions within or supporting government agencies whose primary focus is national security. I would think that some of those positions would bring a little more work-related angst, but I haven’t seen it. Not to say that it isn’t there, but my friends seem to handle it well.

Work hours are flexible and vacation and sick time is typically more than ample. Continuing education is either paid for in full or partially reimbursed. Often, studying for continuing education can take place during work hours, at the work place, because of the slow-paced nature of the working environment. In fact, the only person I know who was unhappy working either for the government or a government contractor left her job left because she was uncomfortable working in such a laid back work environment. She had come from the private sector and a high-energy office environment, and found herself unable to adjust to an office where she felt people were simply “taking it easy.”

I think there is a flaw in her thinking, but that’s just me. If I’m going to work for anybody besides myself in this life, it’s most likely going to be Uncle Sam. This guy has the deepest pockets out there and he is more than willing to pay top dollar and then some for just about anything.

I saw a great article in the most recent Rolling Stone about the missile defense program and the billions of dollars that go into it every year. Turns out, billions more are headed into the program and they’ve all but decided that there is no way that the system will ever be an effective defense against anything! But rather than cut the funding, the powers that be will simply re-define the goals of the program and the money will keep rolling in. So several government agencies and countless government contractors and their employees will continue to get fat on a program that has no real purpose. If I needed a job, this is where I would be looking.

In case you still have doubts, check out this article in the Washington Post about the Air Force paying a top civilian employee over $13,000 per month to fulfill a contract that required no work. This is just too good to pass up.

Worried about obtaining your security clearance to crack the really high-paying government jobs? Don’t. If you are an American citizen without a glaring criminal history and have no ties to any undesirables, it’s likely that you will get in.

In short, if you are looking for a well-paying job, you should first find out who has the money. Now you know.

Tags: defense department jobs, federal government jobs, government contractor jobs, government jobs, local government jobs, state department jobs

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