Q&A With United States Department of Defense Employees

Upper mobility is at times biased based on who you work for.

We must distinguish between "competitive" and "non-competitive" promotions. Non-competitive promotion opportunities may be built into a job. The term for this is a "ladder". You may be hired as a GS-11 grade with a ladder to GS-13. To earn your promotions, you must meet whatever objectives your supervisor lays out for you. In some offices these objectives are very ckeR and applied universally. In others they may be more arbitrary. This is worth discussing in your interview ("What grade is my position laddered, to, and what do I have to accomplish in order to earn my promotions?"). If a position has no ladder, or if you've already maxed it out, your only option is a competitive promotion, which literally involves applying for a new job within your office (or outside your office). Your application will be scored and compared to other applicants, you will interview, and then the hiring manager will making a selection decision.

For the most part it appears as though people work for a paycheck, as oppose to having a general desire to serve the interest of the tax payer. Self-serving culture.

401K-like plan, vacation, flexible spending plan, insurance, etc..

Pension, health insurance, life insurance, limited disability insurance, matching 401k (called Thrift Savings Plan), annual vacation, sick days

Government type, entry level internship programs, Peace Corps, or Educational institutions that partner with the Federal Government for entry.

Not very secure, there is constant "restructuring" and much ambuguity in explanation of how this will ultimately effect employees' career progression, or job stability in the long run.