Career Advice: Government Jobs (temporary)

[smithtofuhr86]

I might be offered a temporary position with the Government of Alberta (finance) and could leave my current position of 7 years with a private company. I just have a few questions has anyone taken a temporary position with the Government and has it ever got extended? Is it a good idea to work for the Government now because of the economic times? I make an okay salary now and the pay isn't going to go up by much but the biggest thing for me is the pension, I currently don't have one with my current employer and a government pension is appealing. But my current job is so flexible and I call the shots, I would be stepping down a little as far a position although the pay will be a bit higher (not much maybe $3000 more a year). Just wondering if anyone could help me answer some of these questions, the other thing is I have a young family and my current job provides stability,is taking a temp. job with the government hoping it would get extended and because of a pension stupid? Thanks for the help, I can always count on CP for some friendly advice.

[peter12]

Stick with the private firm.

[peter12]

With the huge deficits being run up, you KNOW there will be big department cutbacks coming up. The bureaucrats who have been there forever will keep their jobs, as a temporary contract, you'll be thrown out on your ass.

[gildo]

Do government employees get an annual raise every year?

[Fozzie_DeBear]

I'll play Devil's advocate...

Pros
-The Government pension is pretty good once vested...every $ you contribute is matched 1:1 or 2:1 depending on the plan (look at pspp.ca or mepp.ca for the details of the most common pension flavours). Also once you are vested (after 2 (pspp) or 5 (mepp) years) the money in the pension is technically yours...but if you do anything except keep it in the Pension (or another locked-in account) until you are 65 it gets whittled down. If you leave before the pension vests I believe you only get your contribution back plus interest.
-The GOA is thin on young talent and there are a lot of people reaching retirement age
-If you do land a permanent position there is decent job security.
-There are good health plans as well.
-There are generally almost always annual raises around 5%

CONS
-Government can be a frustrating place to work #bureaucracy
-There is a hiring freeze on...so landing a permanent position is a risky bet
-It may not enhance your resume when/if you go back to the private sector...some people look at Government employees as slightly less competent than average...and I can honestly see why...if the Gov was a high performance private firm about 30% of the people would be let go IMO

[Shazam]

Do they still offer DB plans to new employees?

[smithtofuhr86]

AWESOME info as always, thanks so much.

[username]

I worked in a government job in Calgary after working in the private sector and it drove me nuts. A large majority of the people there don't deserve the job they have and they only reason they still have it is because of the unions. Which is something you should factor in when adding that 3K to your salary is that you're going to be anti-ing up for union dues should you become a full-time employee.

As a side note: There maybe a hiring freeze on now, however it looks like the economy in Alberta is improving so I think private firms will be hiring in large numbers soon. If that's the case, I'm sure they will consider retaining you and even if they don't there will probably be a lot of other jobs out there by that point.

[JustAnotherGuy]

As a temporary position they probably have a limit for how long they can extend you. Even if you are greatest worker ever and you have reached that limit then no extension for you.