According to this Washington Post article, the unemployment rate in the DC area is the lowest in the nation. In the well-educated Maryland and Virginia suburbs unemployment is between 1.6 and 2.2 percent, ridiculously low compared to the national average of 6.6 percent. Best of all the standards for working hours and difficulty are set by the federal government. A doctor I talked to said that she went to work for the Food and Drug Administration: “It felt like a 2-year vacation compared to working in a private practice. The funniest part was that the people who worked there complained about how hard their jobs were.”
Want a job? Go East Young Man!
While many of the Departments of _____ may be a very cushy job in washington, a good number of thos employed there (roughly 10,000) work for elected officials– congressman, senators, *gasp* the president; sure your job is fairly secure, but the hours are no picnic. Congressional staffers tend to work long hours for low pay; while many of these people tend to be young (and can thus afford the measily wages the government pays), its not like the public service areas where unions protect the lazy; often leaving at six pm can cost you your job.
Philip, your post hits the nail on the head. I live in Fairfax County, which is said to have the highest per capita concentration of PhD. (or equivalent) degree holders in the United States and, perhaps, the world. Given the level of challenge of many (even senior) public sector jobs and equivalent jobs in the contracting milieu, I wonder why so many well educated (and intelligent) people are here.
My wife talks about one particular federal agency where “they use young PhDs. as doormats”. Some of these highly educated folks do nothing more than run around town checking numbers that come in from other government agencies. On a busy day, they put in two hours of real work. From my own observation, many (but certainly not all) jobs in Washington are like this. Furthermore, a fair bit of brain power goes into avoiding being killed by the political sniping that goes on continuously in every federal agency.
It would be interesting to understand why so many well educated people (including yours truly) get sucked into this quagmire. Some hypotheses:
(a) the bureaucratic nature of government hiring and procurement leads to excessive credentialism,
(b) a lot of smart people are lazy,
(c) many of the incentives involved in government work lean towards risk avoidance, lack of accountability, and thus shirking of hard work
..and the list goes on. Can anybody add to the list?
A desire to wield power over others. Even a low-level government employee has the power to harass and inconvenience ordinary people.
Though not mentioned specifically, there are numerous industries located in and around DC that pay quite well. Certainly high-tech, defense, and bio-tech have strong footholds in the area. They may not pay Silicon Valley salaries, but when you factor in cost of living the numbers look quite favorable in the East.
The other side of the coin is that once your unemployment benefits run out the government no longer tracks you as unemployed. So – it could just be that everyone ‘aged-out’ of the category.
As a well-educated unemployed individual in a Virginian suburb of DC, I suppose I should feel encouraged by the unemployment numbers. Hard to look at it objectively, though. Reminds me of the old saw:
“What is the difference between an economic slowdown, a recession, and a depression?”
“An economic slowdown is when you hear people talking about unemployment. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose your own.” 😉
Seriously though, the numbers aside, companies here are still feeling pretty cautious, and there’s definitely competition for any publicly-announced job opening.
I suppose coming out here could still be a winning strategy if things are sufficiently grim in the place where one is currently, but keep in that the most effective way to job-hunt is through networking. (Er–the “network” of personal contacts you have, not wwweb-surfing.) If your personal-contacts will be paltry in DC compared to wherever you are now, I’d think twice before pulling up stakes.
DC also has the highest concentration of political hacks and corporate flacks.
Don’t know much personally, but my Aunt and cousins were federal employees. They seemed to really enjoy their jobs, the fact that they were in public service and that their retirement plans were pretty solid.
Personally, I worked in local government for most of a decade before jumping (back) into the private sector. Just a couple of comments.
I have personally seen agencies, with a modicum of good decision making, produce excellent IT infrastructures. They have the advantages of long-range planning, consistent funding and a work-force that can be depended on to remain in their positions throughout the project.
Downsides are that the glacial pace of change can be very discouraging for ambitious individuals and it is also possible for unmotivated people to remain in key positions, slow down projects and create all sorts of aggravation for coworkers.
Since I went into the private sector I have seen many six-month projects that are pursued extremely aggressively. When I have worked projects for more than a year, they have turned into underfunded death-marches.
The private sector does reward success and pays very well. It also demands a lot of work to fail and you may find yourself out of work.
If you are willing to take less money for the same position, and you can be happy working at a glacial pace, then you may find government work very rewarding.
Why aren’t you down here “living the dream” with the rest of us Phil ?
Stella: I do go to DC every month or two (landing N505WT at the Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg or at Dulles if the weather is bad), mostly to hang out with my parents, siblings, and cousins. I also like the climate, the numerous art museums, the comfortable housing stock.
What’s not to like? I’ve gotten spoiled living right next to Harvard and down the street from MIT in terms of the opportunities to meet interesting people and learn new things. The growth of government from decade to decade has made DC a rat’s nest of traffic jams despite massive freeway and public transit construction. DC is the worst area of the U.S. for private pilots in terms of airspace restrictions and hassles. In New England you can just turn the ignition key of your airplane and fly away. No need to file flight plans or talk to anyone on the radio. Massachusetts is a politically insignificant state and therefore it is very rare that the President or VP shows up and inconveniences the peasantry.
But most simply… my original posting was targeted at young people looking for jobs. I’m retired so the possibility of getting a job of any kind is not appealing.
Phil Atio asks why PHDs would go into govt work.
My belief is that many of the degreed folks got degrees BECAUSE you get paid more and can be promoted quicker if you have a master’s or PHD. And the govt has generous continuing education programs. So given the combination of easy work, short working hours, and low cost tuition, why not get a Master’s or PHD?
good post: my thought is these are jobs not in danger of getting “outsourced.” Any thoughts as to the possibility white collar jobs are getting outsourced in places like Si Valley because we neglected to provide affordable housing? Lack of affordable housing or continually escalating prices => the need for higher salaries. Something has to give.
I look at the increasing salary trend as the growing demand for more specialized tech workers. As technology matures it spawns other fields; i.e. cheap i.c.s -> cheap computers-> cheap internet applications & more biotech applications from cheap h/w etc. Seems like we could have a shortage of Phds, they just cant be placed where there is cheap housing!
Well, the housing stock in this area may seem more reasonably priced compared to Cambridge or Sausalito, but it is anything but cheap. Inside the Beltway, anywhere the public schools can be considered high-quality, a 50 year-old rambler, 1200sf, no garage or driveway, and a small lot, can cost over $500K. Some at that price are considered teardowns. Before coming out here, people should realize that many well-employed families budget over a third of their two-earner incomes for housing. Just this week, the Washington Post noted that small townhomes in Sterling, VA were selling briskly at over list, attracting multiple bidders. And Sterling isn’t exactly close-in. I have lived here on and off for over 25 years; the traffic situation, especially in the last five years, has become markedly worse and is now noticably affecting the quality of life here. That is new. Yesterday in the Post, a writer noted that many people living here have stopped trying to take weekend getaway vacations to areas within 100 miles of D.C.; what was once possible to reach in two hours has become a three or four-hour trip; too long for a weekend trip to be very enjoyable, with the return trip also being as long.
Re: “It felt like a 2-year vacation compared to working in a private practice” – the doctor is comparing working for a big organization to working as a sole proprietor. The distinction is not government vs private, as people sometimes like to think.
Anyone who’s worked in large private organizations knows “Dilbert” is more or less a factual representation.
You might want to read “Puzzling through the Jobless Recovery — Or Is It a Fundamental Shift?” article at http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/index.cfm?fa=viewArticle&id=955
CHenry hits a good point in terms of the housing issue here. I came here when the real estate market was in a slight dip, so I managed to land a 3-br, 2 bath condo for $25K under what my closer neighbors paid a year or two earlier. This is 2 miles from the Dulles access road, so location is prime for anyone that works in the DC area or has to travel a lot. That was 1997.
Now 1-br units here are selling for at least $50K over what I paid for my 3-BR unit. All my close neighbors have sold out in the last few weeks, most of them receiving offers at least $100K above what they paid for them. On top of that we have realtors pestering all of us into selling at a handsome markup, and most sales are happening within a day or two of listing.
If you can find a new development in the Fairfax County area, you are looking at no less than $700K, and you will end up having a huge house with almost no back yard. $700K for a house that your children won’t be able to play ball unless they play it across at least two lots.
“huge house” for $700K, eh? And that’s in a place with one of the best public school systems in the country. Six percent interest on the total cost of the house would be $42,000/year of payments, fully deductible from taxes. Not too onerous for a two-income couple.
Compare to Cambridge, Massachusetts. That same $700,000 would get you a 2-bedroom apartment in a city whose school system produces some of the lowest test scores in the entire state. So our yuppie couple with kids would be living on top of each other and having to pay for private school as well.
Philip,
Would one have a different perspective on working life (the majority struggling for affordable retirement) compared to the retired position you are in?
JC: Not sure what your question is. Is it “Would I find government jobs (medium-high pay, near-zero workload) less deliciously attractive if I were trying to save for retirement?” I don’t think so. Some people who take risks manage to retire early (cf. day traders) but the average fate of a risk-taker is worse than the average fate of a plodder who avoids risk (cf. dentists). And you can’t put a price on the mental space afforded by having a job where time horizons are limitless. For example in the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) there is a line about how the government will endeavor to respond to a letter regarding a proposed aerial sightseeing operation “within 24 months”. Isn’t that beautiful? They aren’t holding themselves to that two-year deadline but just saying that they’ll do their best to get back to folks within two years. My friend Rob told met that the Bureau of Land Management spent a year trying to decide whether or not the environmental impact of the 15 robot cars driving across the Mojave desert in that recent DoD competition would be excessive or not.
By the way, I just got told two more of my neighbors sold their condos in the last week. This is getting too depressing.
As for JC, I don’t think you have followed Phil long enough to back when he was a working stiff like all of us. I for once wondered for years why he bothered working when he could just teach whenever he pleased and then goof around the rest of the time. I remember back when one of your pages used to say “I have founded X companies and buried Y of them already …”
And yeah Phil, I still see these houses as huge, but you are of course right. I have a friend in NYC that tells me of similar issues with property prices. It just shocks me that back in Puerto Rico $700,000 would probably buy my godfather’s coffee plantation, including the huge house, stables and staff!
This just goes to show how rediculous the unemployment numbers are. Have you ever been to DC? Do you *really* think the unemployment rate is so low? Multiply it by 4 and you’ll be a bit closer. I’d say in other regions, multilpying by 2 would be a safer bet.
-r
Philip:
Having afforded the ‘mental space’ I can assume, only you can imagine the purported good working life (in DC), but I think for the majority young people, they have not arrived at that stage to make of what it (DC) offers and least still to appreciate its ‘beauty’.
Pedro: yup, but have been following up with Philip’s musings then and now but as always, his muse is our muse, say not?
i founded X companies and buried Y of them already toogether for long time 🙂