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doccopham178 OP t1_j495uhw wrote

Reply to comment by witqueen in PA State/Gov’t Workers: What is it like? Any tips for me? by doccopham178

In what ways is it different specifically (if you don’t mind writing paragraphs lol)?

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PinsAndBeetles t1_j497tur wrote

I’m a Commonwealth employee and here are some pros/cons in my opinion:

Pros: Union representation (some are better than others), benefits are decent, after a few years you start to accumulate a lot of time off, tuition perks/scholarship opportunities (also for dependents) at state schools, holidays off (if not holiday pay), cheap add on insurance (life, short and long term disability plans), most positions you can retire earlier than the in private sector and there is a pension/401K hybrid plan for new employees (I’m grandfathers into the older straight pension) 6 weeks paid parental (either parent or both if they are both COPA employees) leave for birth/adoption, ability to transfer to other state positions and locations, and an assistance program for employees that covers some financial planning/legal consult and counseling services

Cons: Hiring process, pay is decent for some areas of PA but higher COL areas it isn’t competitive, normal bureaucracy stuff

Edit: Also most positions qualify for PSLF if you have loans.

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doccopham178 OP t1_j49j8zi wrote

Oh shit I forgot about the PSLF since I’m waiting on the “cancel student loan” relief lol.

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OccasionallyImmortal t1_j49cx90 wrote

It is nearly impossible to be fired for incompetence. People in a position to improve tools and processes can stonewall those improvements until they retire because they like what they know. A friend of mine works for the state and certain communications must be delivered by fax. Even basic services can be unavailable for months and no one will be replaced. One department had no network connection for 2 months which forced other departments to hand-deliver memos.

On the plus side, job security is almost guaranteed. On the down-side, this is true for every idiot you work with.

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bitterbeerfaces t1_j49k2rn wrote

I have seen a lot of people fired for doing a shit job. Depends on the agency. If you have a good boss/ supervision stuff they will absolutely stay on top of bad employees. It takes a while but once you have a paper trail set up it's not that difficult to fire people.

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witqueen t1_j49b7jn wrote

I'm not going to go into detail, but let's just say Politics is a 4 letter word times 2. Also you have to take a lot of flack from the public "because taxpayer." They know it, and you deal with it with a smile on your face. Throw in Unions on top of it, and FFS don't cross that line, or ask anyone to do anything beyond their job description. On the other hand I went to vacuum up a mess in our supply room and was told I wasn't allowed to because I'm not a union worker. No, but it would have taken me less than a minute to do it, but then it became a whole thing.

I make the best of it, but I still look for a private sector job, because that's where I feel I belong.

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