Trying to get a Government Job

The hard part is getting a goverment job the easy part is keeping it. Good luck.

The hard part is getting a goverment job the easy part is keeping it. Good luck.


Very true!!! I work for a contractor and we basically carry the government office that we support.

Do what Bohnzie said above. Send your resume out to a bunch of contractors and see if anything sticks. A job with a good contractor is just as good as a job with the government.

I started out with Booz Allen Hamilton 8 years ago and turned that into a federal job with the client that I supported. I got lucky, though. Booz pursued me, as did the government after 6 years with Booz. I took the government job because of a guaranteed promotion after the first year (equaling a $30k raise in pay). If that hadn't been offered, I probably wouldn't have taken the job. I do the exact same thing I did as a contractor. There have only been two negatives with being a federal employee; 1) health insurance isn't as good as what I had with Booz, and 2) I don't have as much room to grow financially (GS scale, I'm near the top these days) as I would have with Booz.

The hard part is getting a goverment job the easy part is keeping it. Good luck.

You are fire-able within the first year, but after that, all you need is a pulse.

Do what Bohnzie said above. Send your resume out to a bunch of contractors and see if anything sticks. A job with a good contractor is just as good as a job with the government.

I started out with Booz Allen Hamilton 8 years ago and turned that into a federal job with the client that I supported. I got lucky, though. Booz pursued me, as did the government after 6 years with Booz. I took the government job because of a guaranteed promotion after the first year (equaling a $30k raise in pay). If that hadn't been offered, I probably wouldn't have taken the job. I do the exact same thing I did as a contractor. There have only been two negatives with being a federal employee; 1) health insurance isn't as good as what I had with Booz, and 2) I don't have as much room to grow financially (GS scale, I'm near the top these days) as I would have with Booz.


There are a lot of openings for Booz jobs in Annapolis Junction/ Ft Meade right now, just say'n.

i worked a md state gov't job on a 1 year contract. it was great. my experience and everyone in all the depts i became friends with have it freaking easy. they work at their own slow pace. have great benefits. decent pay. you can make more in the private sector if you have a specialized degree but if your looking for any entry level 35k a year job that will turn into 60-90k after 10 years or so, gov't is the way to go.

like you said, govt jobs allow for a great balance of work and life. when you get off at 4:30 you are done for the day. no work to take home, no weekends spent in the office for a big deadline. you show up, with a pulse, maybe do some work, goof off with your co-workers then at 4:30 you draw straws to see what employee (out of 50 ina division) is going to stay for the last 30 minutes the gov't is open to answer phone calls.

i wanted to get back into a govt job but now im working for 2 firms and am way to invested in it to back out.

good luck.

like matty said, theres lots of requirements. sometimes degrees or certs, sometimes you need to be a level I employee to apply for a level II job, etc so i say get your foot in the door on an entry level job, make friends and a good impression, then 6 mos or a year down the line a level II type job opens up and you are a lead candidate.

good luck my man.

You are fire-able within the first year, but after that, all you need is a pulse.

The hard part is getting a goverment job the easy part is keeping it. Good luck.

Is this what they refer to on the listings as the one year probationary period?

Is this what they refer to on the listings as the one year probationary period?

Probably, yes.

It seems to me Business Analyst or Project Management jobs would be something that might appeal to you. You get to work with computers and there's quite a bit of demand for these types of people in both the government and the private sector in NOVA area. As a business analyst you'll get to use a suite of software to do some number crunching and you can always get a project management job where you get to interact with people with a software/hardware government contractor.
Bingo. Each agency has a budgets (sometimes multiple) department, so you could search budget analyst, marketing analyst, finance analyst along with business analyst and see what is out there. And be sure to search the contractor websites for these jobs as well, because the Fed outsources a lot of analyst positions.

Very true!!! I work for a contractor and we basically carry the government office that we support.

dude story of my life.

as for the OP, you are surely qualified for plenty of entry level financial analyst jobs. i am a finance contractor for a federal agency, and you would be qualified get a job with companies like mine. many of the men and women i work with get the skills as a contractor and then work their way into a govt job. 2-3 years as contract support and you can be more than qualified to make the switch.

if you are looking in nova exclusively, i would keep an eye on jobs on base at quantico. there are jobs to be had in acquisitions. if you are willing to work in dc, there are opportunities to be had there too. all federal agencies spend money, and as a result, there are jobs to monitor said funds.