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The Perks of Government Work

By the Partnership for Public Service

In 2001, the average amount of time federal employees had worked for the government was 17.1 years, according to a report by the Office of Personnel Management. In 2002, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the median length of time an employee spent in a private-sector job was about three years.

Why do people stay in government jobs so much longer? Ask Dr. James Bagian. Over the course of his 25-year career with the federal government, Bagian has worked as an astronaut, an Air Force colonel, an engineer, a flight surgeon, a pilot and a freefall parachutist.

In the private sector, Bagian may have had to work for 10 different employers to rack up this kind of experience. But in the public sector, he was able to follow his interests while working for the same employer the entire time -- Uncle Sam. A job with the federal government means employees can experience a vast range of career options without sacrificing the opportunity to stay with an employer for a long time.

"Here I've functioned in the federal service as an engineer, as an astronaut, as a physician, as a manager and leader," Bagian says. "I've had all those jobs. I've been in five different agencies. And it was seamless. There's not many places you could do that."

Portable Benefits

It may not come with a company car, but the typical government job affords benefits and perks that the average job with a private company doesn't: a great healthcare package, work schedules flexible enough to turn every other weekend into a long weekend, generous vacation packages (an incoming employee gets 13 days off a year, which goes up to almost 20 days after three years), and a pension and retirement plan -– not to mention generous pay scales for certain jobs.

With each of his many job changes, Bagian was able to keep the generous health and pension benefits that draw many to government service. What some professionals overlook is that with 1.8 million employees (and that's not including postal workers), the federal government is the nation's largest employer. And the country's biggest employer is always open for business: Just because the federal government isn't going anywhere doesn't mean you're not going anywhere if you take a job there.

A World of Opportunity

Opportunities with the federal government span the country -- and the world. With offices in small towns and big cities across America, and embassies all over the globe, there are opportunities wherever your heart takes you. A career may send you abroad, keep you close to home or move you about the country. The choices are limitless.

A Career Building Block

Of course, tenure with the government does not have to last for 17 years. For many, working in the public sector has been a career, but that trend is shifting. Over the past few decades, the average length of time a person stays in a job in every sector of private business has decreased, and the same is true for the federal government. More and more, government service is turning out to be a great career building block -- one that allows for people to explore opportunities within government or build skills to move on to something else.

This article originally appeared on Monster Career Advice: http://content.monster.com.

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