career switch from public to private sector

November 29, 2013 1:20 PM

I currently work in the federal government in transportation. Its the third career I've had (had worked in the private sector in IT and the nonprofit sector as well). I've been there for about six years and have a good track ahead of me - it's a safe and stable one, if a little monotonous and mono-industry. I make an excellent salary and have thought of returning to the private sector at some point.

Have you transitioned from public sector back to private? I'm older now (early 30s) and prize the stability (have a mortgage) and solid benefits, but am wondering if I am selling myself short as my career has pretty much leveled off in the federal govt. (and am getting a little antsy spending too much time there)

I'd love to hear from people that have made that jump (and regretted - or not regretted it)

Thanks!

posted by waylaid to Work & Money (6 answers total)

If you're going to do it, do it now. There comes a point where your length of government service becomes a liability.
posted by Jairus at 1:54 PM on November 29, 2013

My first professional job was in the public sector and my second was in the private sector at a massive company. Then over to non-profit. Then over to quasi-governmental, where I am now.

I moved to the private sector because I was worried that if I didn't make the leap while I was young, I might never be able to get out of government. Turns out I didn't like the private sector as much, but I stayed for a few years and it was great experience. I never regretted it. It was fun, but a lot more demanding (in terms of sheer work hours - not brainpower) than government.

I am older than you and my antsy days are mostly behind me. Plus, I very much like where I am now -- it's stable, I have excellent benefits, a pension and it pays well. For me, these things are solid reasons to stay where I am. But they are not the only reasons. I also really enjoy my job and that's key. Even with all that other good stuff, if I did not like what I was doing and the people I work with, I'd starting looking.

If you think you want to starting looking at other options, you should. Put the feelers out. You can always go back later.
posted by Lescha at 2:07 PM on November 29, 2013

I started working for the federal government before I even finished college. Later, I took a break in service to go to law school. When I was 40, I had a bit of a mid-career crisis, and went through what you are going through now. I wondered what it was like in the private sector. I wondered what it would be like to do something I actually liked, rather than something I endured. I took a job at a dotcom. It was late Spring 2000.

Granted, my decision was a little different, as I went into a completely different field, in an industry that was about to collapse. In hindsight, it was obviously a disastrous decision.

I was in the career wilderness for about a year, doing temp legal jobs. Also, I had been working at Borders as a part-time, just-for-fun, pretend-I'm-not-a-bureacrat bookseller for three years before the disaster, so between the temp work and Borders, I cobbled together a living. Then I got a job with a small contractor, doing exactly the kind of work I had been doing for the government, for significantly less pay, and absolutely no benefits. The only upside was that it kept my contacts in my field fresh, and prevented me from having too much of an awkward gap on my resume. Five years after resigning from the federal government, I was rehired at a different agency, and honestly, I felt like I wanted to kiss the ground the first day I walked in the door.

I've been with the new agency for almost eight and a half years, and while I still feel unfulfilled by what I do, I have a newfound appreciation for the steady paycheck, great hours, and good benefits. I'm 53 now, and that undoubtedly changes my outlook somewhat. I've seen the other side, and it sucked, and I'm old enough not to want to go on any more career adventures. Also, I kick myself, because had I not had the five year break in service, I would now have 28 years of service, and be very close to full retirement at 55. Instead, I've got to suck it up for seven more years.

Obviously the experience is going to be different depending on your career field. My particular specialty is a field for which there is really very little demand in the private sector. I could go to work for one of the large contractors like Booz Allen, but that's about it. (I did interview with them once, and one of the women who interviewed me, who had been a 15 at DOI, said leaving federal service was the worst decision she had ever made.) The thing about working for government contractors is that your usefulness to them lasts only as long as your contacts and fresh agency knowledge. Unless you can make some rain, you have a shelf-life.

My advice, based on my experience, would be to find something else that fulfills you and allows you to extend yourself, outside of your job, but keep that day job.
posted by ereshkigal45 at 3:20 PM on November 29, 2013

Thanks for the thoughts ereshkigal - transportation is a field where funding basically flows from the public sector for highway, transit, etc projects so the private sector tends to be a reflection of the public sector instead of a parallel one (like - say, health care, for instance). I've been nurturing a set of broad activities and experieinces and networks outside my day job (balanced by a steady day job). But I did wonder if i was doing the right thing by doing that rather than stepping outside. Do you mind if i ask where you started (and restarted?). Feel free to private message me.
posted by waylaid at 3:38 PM on November 29, 2013

Watch the ethics rules closely about accepting transportation and lodging for interviews if you are someone who advises on decisionmaking or engages in decisionmaking regarding entities and persons regulated by the government.

Many of your best offers are going to be in the sector you work in, so watch both falling into the trap of getting stuck in your industry again and the ethics rules.
posted by Ironmouth at 7:33 AM on November 30, 2013

(Memail sent.)
posted by ereshkigal45 at 11:45 AM on November 30, 2013