My entire career I’ve listened to BI’s and TL’s complain about how bad this industry is (and I agree with them, though years ago in many ways it was more bearable than it is now)…I like to remind everyone that they’re only as trapped as they want to believe they are.
I still talk to friends working as TL’s and BI’s, and I don’t understand why the ones who are unhappy choose to remain. The performance bonuses are basically gone, workloads for many are dwindling, TL’s no longer have the autonomy they used to…I don’t understand why people deal with that.
Life’s too short to be unhappy in a career.
Caveat: I’m from a high cost of living, major metro area, so if someone lives in a very rural area with very limited job options, that’s an entirely different circumstance.
Only 64 char limit. Gs14 level here but I want to say those who say QUIT - that’s an asinine response - most people probably already looked for other positions & even as a contractor, benefits are hard to leave.
Quitting is not an asinine response. It is legitimate and appropriate, given the level of frustration that is repeatedly posted here. It is clear that management stopped listening to the field, both contractor and fed side years ago. Even under DCSA, we are still seeing policies being churned out that do nothing but continually make doing this job more difficult for those of us in the field.
Common sense has left the station and we are left to ride the stupid train.
The only real question that matters is, how long will you choose to ride.
Honestly if I could quit right now without having to worry paying my bills then I would. My first year and a half on this job was actually pretty great, had a great FM who didn’t micromanage and my bonuses were 2-3k per quarter and it was great.
Then all of a sudden they make some changes and now I’m lucky to get a $50 bonus doing the same amount of work that would have landed me an extra $2000 in the past, I’ve got a different FM who sends about 40 emails per day and I’m working alternate contracts that are simply 100x more of a headache to work. I would take the worst DCSA case over a simple IC contract case anyday.
On top of that I haven’t had a raise or level increase in 2.5 years despite making myself available to go TDY several times and also being a field trainer.
If you look at my past posts you can see that I genuinely enjoyed this job but now it has become something completely different so I’ve been on job boards every single day trying to get out of this. I’ve been studying my butt off for a couple of IT certifications but I can’t even test for those right now because testing centers are closed due to COVID19, so I am at least thankful I’m still employed
I hear that they’re moving Security+ testing to proctored online exams from home for what it’s worth.
I agree with you and fed-investigator 100%. They cut bonuses and took away a lot of authority from the team leads, so essentially, that was a pay cut and a functional demotion for many managers.
And that’s not to mention the $10,000+ per quarter that used to be paid out to my FI’s in bonuses (my best FI’s easily would pull in $1500-2500 quarterly). Throw that on top of the lack of raises as you mention, and the expectation to do more for less coming from the vendors, and it’s absolutely a recipe to force people out the door.
I was saying for those who say “quit your job” when they complain is not that easy. Some don’t have the skillset for other careers. Others depend on the health benefits or whatever the case.
Regardless, I wasn’t trying to be offend, if I did, I apologise.
I understood exactly what you were saying. Some people either can’t read, see what they want to see to fit their agenda, aren’t smart enough to understand what’s being said, or are would enjoy arguing with a wall (there are a couple on here like that). Yea it’s asinine to tell people to get another job when there are no comparable jobs and it’s also arrogant and condescending because of course this person has done everything right and how stupid everyone else must be to not do what they did. What you said was perfectly clear.
If you want to just continually complain about your situation and the structure of your industry and the uselessness of your boss while telling yourself it’s impossible to leave (despite numerous investigators having left for a wide variety of new fields, some pursuing certifications and trainings to do so, some not) by all means, have at, don’t let me get in your way.
Forbes magazine reported in 2018 that 53% of American workers are unhappy with their jobs. Of course that may have gone down now that more people are just thankful they have a job with so many unemployed.
As the person who started this thread, I am going to jump back in here.
Politically incorrect opinion: My job as a contract BI on the NBIB contract is not a bad job! I see a lot of kvetching and complaining. Believe me: I am not a company man. I am not going to be the one carrying water for my contracting company or for DCSA. Both, like many organizations, are populated by drones and dolts. (“Subject’s wife is from Puerto Rico. Please review all passports.”) Reviewers are dumb. I am disposable to my company. We will probably all be replaced one day by AI.
But right now, today, I am making $1,000 a week gross to work from home, talk to people on the phone, and type things into a computer. I don’t have an onsite boss to get in my s***. I can deal with my kids. Honestly I am probably working 30 or 35 hours if I tracked it, which I don’t. I am not cutting corners or otherwise taking shortcuts. I ask every question and write down every answer. The contract investigators who complain their wage is minimal when calculating their per-hour costs… I don’t get it.
There have been some light weeks because work has been light. Or nonexistent. That sucks and it motivating me to look for other work. But if you didn’t see the eventual RIF and shift to CE coming, then you’ve got blinders on. We’ve all had years to polish our resumes and work on our networks.
Again, I am not going to bat here for the contracting companies or for the management on the fed side. And everyone’s experience is different. But today, getting paid handsomely to interview people and type what they say, this is a cushy gig.
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