Getting Out

My advice to all of the young agents is to leave while you can!!

That is probably good advice from what I, a retiree, am hearing.

However, for the benefit of some people who have previously posted questions on the board expressing an interest in applying for employment in the Service, could you articulate some of the specific problems and difficulties that the agents are encountering that are making the job so unattractive?

After all, the pay and retirement plan is good. Some people look forward to travel, particularly to foreign countries. There is a lot of prestiege associated with the job.

What's the down side?

Prestige will not matter when it comes to your family. My children have become somewhat resentful because of my traveling.

The transfer policy that is currently in place makes absolutely no sense. They are making agents transfer from cities where they want to stay and bringing in other agents who do not want to be there. What kind of morale does this idiotic policy foster?

These are just two issues that should concern everybody.

Prestige will not matter when it comes to your family. My children have become somewhat resentful because of my traveling.

The transfer policy that is currently in place makes absolutely no sense. They are making agents transfer from cities where they want to stay and bringing in other agents who do not want to be there. What kind of morale does this idiotic policy foster?

These are just two issues that should concern everybody.

This is not something new.

I began my Service career in the mid-sixties.

My children were VERY resentful of my frequent absences on travel assignments.

Management seemed to enjoy forcing Southerners to transfer to New York City, where they didn't want to go, and transferring NYC agents out of NYC although they didn't want to leave. Many NYC agents just quit rather than leave and some Southern agents did the same.

What made it even worse back then was that they were sending new agents to NYC at pay grades that were so low that they qualified for food stamps. Of course the agents were told they would be fired if they actually applied for the stamps.

Apparently the Headquarters people are still all heart.

Get out while you can! Go local, go to other Federal Agencies. I don't care. Save your Families and leave!!!

That is probably good advice from what I, a retiree, am hearing.

However, for the benefit of some people who have previously posted questions on the board expressing an interest in applying for employment in the Service, could you articulate some of the specific problems and difficulties that the agents are encountering that are making the job so unattractive?

After all, the pay and retirement plan is good. Some people look forward to travel, particularly to foreign countries. There is a lot of prestiege associated with the job.

What's the down side?

Yeh, the retirement plan is good because you agents transfer over to the DC retirement just before you leave, which the UD has. The UD is scum until you want to retire. What a joke!!!!!

What part of the interview process did you not understand? I'm retired and it was not easy, but during every applicant interview I conducted all the negatives were pointed out and each time the applicant would state they understood and were willing to sacrifice. Try getting drafted just because you were born on a certain day. Thank you Mr. Nixon. At the time I retired from the Service six years ago, it was amazing how many of the new agents did not know how to work or have the desire to do such. The first thing you heard from them each morning was where are we having lunch and then don't dare be near the front door at 5 o'clock or you would get knocked down. It was becoming very unsafe as you could not count on this new genreation to protect your back. Good luck with your next job, and please leave as soon as you can because if you don't want to be there it's too dangerous for those who do. And I can assure you, management won't be any better at your next stop.

DSR well said

I did applicant interviews, 2 a week for the last 15 years everything was well stated and everybody wanted the job no water what. The work ethic is gone in most of the new generation of agents. If we got paid like they do now for what we worked in the early 70's I'd be rich.

[worfusa2008]

SA's in FERS cannot retired out of the DC Plan. That is an option only afforded to SA's who are under the old Civil Service. I don't think there are many left, if at all.