Re:Cloud.gov
by brianwawok on Saturday June 04, 2016 @06:10PM
(#11838364)
Nothing says "we employ the best" like "fixed salary based on tenure and job function"
[ Parent
| on HN ]
18F positions are limited to 2 years, renewable by another 2 years.
Many people (self included) leave the private sector for this duration to support the mission of 18F. After the term is over many people will return to the private sector.
I'm OK with a pay cut to work on meaningful projects that benefit the American public. I'm not worried about returning to the private sector if/when I choose to do so.
Re:Cloud.gov
by aidanfeldman on Saturday June 04, 2016 @06:41PM
(#11838526)
That's a bit out of our control. We are able to hire quickly because we use a "specialist" hiring authority, but that comes with downsides like what you describe. I'm a developer and am making more than I did at any previous job, if that helps.
18F and other groups in government offer a great potential for impact, but we don't have the same flexibility in compensation policy because of universal federal rules.
Speaking personally, I think there's a lot of room for policy folks to dig into how gov't can better hire and retain skilled talent, but that's not 18F's function.
Re:Cloud.gov
by brianwawok on Saturday June 04, 2016 @09:13PM
(#11839141)
For sure, I don't blame 18f, it is just super annoying to see things like this.
Do they claim anything like "we employ the best"?
(It's probably better that they don't: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2005/01/27.html)
No. I love all of my colleagues, but we don't claim to have superpowers.
They are working within constraints. The federal government has all kinds of rules about salary and benefits.
When I applied, they had a table of salaries, adjusted for location, so at least they were transparent about it.