Question:
I'd be interested in hearing your opinions on federal government jobs.
As per my understanding, it is very difficult to obtain an
indeterminable position with the government (permament employee). Most
folks start off as term positions (temporary) through various agencies
in town. That being the case, or at least my understanding of it, how is
the government able to attract good workers that will go through the
difficult process... first the competition (agency or direct) then put
up with being temporary for weeks. If one wanted contract work, which is
also temporary in nature, then they could hang out their shingle rather
than put up with the government hiring BS.
...and I haven't even touched on the imperative bilingual nature of many
government jobs. Even if you never have to speak a word of French, I
understand you are retested every 5 years. If you fail, you are out of a
job.
I know the benefits and money are great, but it seems the stress is also
great. I don't think I want to work for the government.
Answer:
>I'd be interested in hearing your opinions on federal government jobs.
Well, I think everyone here knows that I've got one... (Just to be
clear: Any opinions in this post are mine, not my employer's.)
>As per my understanding, it is very difficult to obtain an
>indeterminable position with the government (permament employee). Most
>folks start off as term positions (temporary) through various agencies
>in town. That being the case, or at least my understanding of it, how is
>the government able to attract good workers that will go through the
>difficult process... first the competition (agency or direct) then put
>up with being temporary for weeks. If one wanted contract work, which is
>also temporary in nature, then they could hang out their shingle rather
>than put up with the government hiring BS.
From what I've seen, this is pretty much the state of affairs right now,
yes. I've been lead to believe that new indeterminate positions are
about as rare as hens' teeth, so there isn't much chance of getting one.
>...and I haven't even touched on the imperative bilingual nature of many
>government jobs. Even if you never have to speak a word of French, I
>understand you are retested every 5 years. If you fail, you are out of a
>job.
That I can't comment on first-hand - I'm in a unilingual position.
There's been a series running on CBC Radio 1 about this, though.
>I know the benefits and money are great, but it seems the stress is also
>great. I don't think I want to work for the government. Too much BS.
Actually, many government professional positions pay less than the
equivalent in the private sector. OTOH, there's greater job security
for some of these positions than the equivalent in the private sector.
