The Truth About Being a Government Contractor (Booz Allen)

[@armandcuret1]

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[@seanblake4688]

12 years as a contractor (ironically enough the last 3 were with HHS and our partners were with Booze. I wonder if I know your friend, the contracting world is very small haha). I usually would switch contracts or get “re-badged” every 3-5 years. It was great as a single guy, good salary but the benefits were terrible. When I got married and we welcomed our daughter my family insurance plan was $1200 a month. The reason I switched to fed was I needed cheaper healthcare options and wanted a pension. I’m still in my probationary period but it was tough to get in bc I was paid well. It’s difficult coming into the gov as a 14 or 15 but after 6 months of trying I’m 3 months in. Its way different, a lot more supervisory paperwork but I’m hoping once this first year is up I can enjoy that job security more. Thanks for sharing Armand!

[@seanblake4688]

Btw Armand- you see Congress proposed a 4.7% pay increase with a 4% locality pay increase equaling 8.7% federal pay raise for 2024?! Wow that would be awesome haha

[@armandcuret1]

Funny. I talked to him again today and he does know of you.

[@armandcuret1]

That would be great!

[@seanblake4688]

@@armandcuret1 ha how about that. I told you the contracting community is a really small world. We just recycle from one contract to the next 😂

[@Nwakaego_]

Congrats on landing a government job. I’m hoping for the same in 2024, but definitely in 2025.

[@chrisdeming9287]

If you’re a government contractor, you’re basically a private sector employee. No job security whatsoever. They can fire you for anything.

[@wewhoareabouttodiesaluteyo9303]

They can in the government as well. Federal and State probationary periods. Be very wary of them. I do not know if they can still fire you after that period for bad work performance. Ultimately, I do not think there is ever a such thing as a secure job.

[@chrisdeming9287]

@@wewhoareabouttodiesaluteyo9303 The probationary period is pretty much a given in any government job. It’s usually about a year. After that though, you have much more job security than any job in the private sector. Labor laws surrounding federal employers are quite different than for the private sector. No job is 100% secure, but I would argue federal jobs are about as close as it gets.

[@wewhoareabouttodiesaluteyo9303]

@@chrisdeming9287 Yeah, I am going through it at the state level, but it may depend on if it is a red state or blue state at that point. The senate and the house are pushing to make many things At Will here.

[@IffyEdem]

@@wewhoareabouttodiesaluteyo9303 What?? Bruh. Being a gov worker is VERY secure. If you lose your job in the gov, it is more often that you did some kind of major security violation, lost your clearance, or were incompetent.

[@IffyEdem]

@@chrisdeming9287yes. Especially if you’re military(which I am). You can lose your job, but you’d have to do A LOT to have that happen.

[@ExtremeGearLabs]

Yeah I got into Booz Allen *AND* Hamilton 3 months after college. I can tell you that it was a different environment than what it is now. DoD was primary client base and work was ALWAYS there

[@DevoutSkeptic]

I worked as a contractor for 5 years and finally got a government job through the NADP internship as a GS-9. Being a contractor is nice because you have a lot of leeway with negotiating your salary and if you ever want to find another contractor job, there will be dozens of firms flooding your inbox begging your for an interview if you have a clearance. The drawback is the benefits aren't nearly as good as those offered by the federal government and of course you're always an at-will employee meaning you can be fired for any reason at any time.

[@AYVYN]

I thought the job would be prestigious. Being disposable is the exact opposite of social prestige.

[@redherringbone]

@@AYVYN That clearance here in D.C. is worth its weight in gold. A lot of jobs here want you to have clearance but they don't want to sponsor it and the government won't give you one without a sponsor. It's a catch 22.

[@DrTLEvans]

I contracted for 6 years before I became an FTE. They are high paid pimps. I didn’t like knowing they got to choose how much of my contract money, I was paid. I was able to negotiate a better salary with my last company because the contractors were told to keep me on. I hated having to change companies because my job never ended. I lucked up and got my first contract job in a couple days. Then a friend brought me over to her division the following year. My companies were not good benefits providers. I never was out of work. I just had to change companies after the contract was up. I was able to work my contract job until I got my FTE in a different area.

[@armandcuret1]

Thank you for sharing your experience.

[@dynamo3059]

i was waiting for this vid lol. contracting seems insanely unstable to me. it's fine in areas like DC cuz there's always another job to go to but in most of the US that is the only job. so once your job goes away it's time to move, typically to another state.

[@SnipesRuntheNavy]

“Booz and Allen” 😂

[@amitabhstatton3236]

At Booz Allen, the pay increases are measly plus it is really hard to get a promotion. You probably get better pay increases in the federal government. In addition, Booz offers no stock equity. I would much rather go to big tech because you get base + bonus + stock equity. Some of these equity packages can increase two or 3x if you stay there for 4 to 5 years. Honestly, if you are a software developer and you take a job at Booz Allen, you are losing like 50k to 100k a year in equity grants and which could equate to 500k to 1 million in lost income over a decade.

[@wewhoareabouttodiesaluteyo9303]

Were you an employee of Booz? Put it up on Indeed. You need to get the word out there.

[@armandcuret1]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[@Jake-fe4uf]

In the last couple of months, Google laid off 10K+, Amazon 18K+,Microsoft 10k, Salesforce 8k+, Meta 11k+, Cisco 4k+ employees. Number at Big tech is over 68,000. Big Tech or "FAANG" companies gold mine dried up otherwise, I would agree with you. Federal full-time job in my opinion and if you are a software Engineer with years of proven experience GS12-13 paygrade isn't unrealistic starting pay.

[@AYVYN]

Accurate analysis and very eloquently stated. Thank you.

[@AndrewLovejoy]

Boozin’ allen

[@Natalia-ju1qd]

I heard the Federal Government pay is not as flexible as FAANG or Federal Contract companies. Is there away to jump up in pay for a Federal Government roles?

[@armandcuret1]

The highest salary a GS-15 will earn this year is $191,900 a year. That is not including performance bonus. If you are new to the federal government you can always try to negotiate your step level. Which can be between $20,000 or $30,000 more within a GS grade.

[@thejman12305]

Some of this is subjective based on company. As an ex dependent of a contractor healthcare was great.

[@Rjcuatrocinco]

BOOZIN' ALLEN🍻🥴

[@ricklundeen2722]

Thank you for the information - I;m an existing federal employee but often thought about applying for a contracting job once I leave/retire from the Federal Service, to which, a job lasting just a couple of years would be just fine

[@armandcuret1]

Thanks for watching.

[@seanblake4688]

Hey Rick- this is a great idea. My Dad did this after retiring after 33 years of federal service. He’s currently double dipping salary (pension and then contracting salary) until he’s 65 and he’s retiring for good down in Florida enjoying mai-tais and drowning worms (fishing) enjoying his golden years. Best of luck!

[@gabrielfono844]

I am a software engineer and subcontractors to Booz Allen and we are supporting VA. I am trying to figure out how to get Into Booz Allen Hamilton. Do you have any tips for me please. Could I apply to Booz Allen directly while being a subcontractor?

[@Spahr1970]

...Booz Allen Hamilton. Booze & Allen is my cousin.

[@Anandroid]

Boosen Alan

[@kaiwenhe5518]

Could you talk about the monitor's own business/veteran business for fed contractors?

[@kaiwenhe5518]

Yep.