I’ve spent the last year working for local government and recently resigned, and everyone I know IRL asks why I would leave a ‘cushy government job’.
What was frustrating for me was how there was zero incentive to do well or stay employed long term. They had 2 policies specifically that made me quit: 1st, you could get a raise only once a year, which could be a maximum of 3% INCLUDING cost of living raise. I got the 3% and was treated like I was ungrateful for the fact that I’d be making less this year than last year due to cost of living increasing by like 8%.
2nd issue is that you could get a maximum of 6 raises over the course of your employment. This means that I would just not get any raises after working there 6 years, including cost of living.
The only way to even get promoted would be if my direct supervisor retired/quit, because she was the only one ‘above’ me, and she had no intention of leaving.
Before this I worked in state government and before that federal. My new job is private sector for the first time in my professional career. I make 30% more, have a pension, have vision insurance for the first time in my adult life, would get tuition reimbursement if I went back to school, and have the opportunity for a 7% performance incentive bonus.
I’d say that’s pretty cushy.