For some people a government job is the answer to their prayers. After being unemployed a year, one woman who just landed a position with a government agency told me, “I don’t have to ever worry about finding a job again.”

She believes she can never be fired. But it happens. Ronald Reagan fired air-traffic controllers for going on strike illegally. And a distressed man who e-mailed me recently and wouldn’t say where he lived, said he was fired from his job as a mail carrier. One government worker in Columbus, Ohio told me those who lost their jobs in her agency had committed a felony of some type.

Statistics do seem to support the perception that it takes a lot to get fired from a government job. According to Joseph Farah, in an article in World Net Daily, the Office of Personnel Management says only one in 5,000 non-defense workers get fired annually for poor performance.

Even with the general consensus that you’re set for life if you keep your head down and don’t make trouble, a government job may be the kiss of death for others—especially if you’ve had a taste of it.

Several of my clients with government jobs paint a picture of boredom, dissatisfaction and personal conflict. One man said he has ethical concerns working in a role “that supports a flawed war on terror.” Another worker said he can no longer deal with the bureaucracy and technology that lags behind and that the secretive nature of his job is driving him crazy. “No one talks to anyone and there’s no team spirit.”

If you are thinking of jumping from private industry to government or (or for that matter, vice versa) do your due diligence. Discover what the industry and specific jobs are really like from people who actually do them.

If you don’t know anyone with the type of job you want, look at a Web site such as JobProfiles.org. Here, for example you can look up the position of federal government speech writer. You’ll learn straight from the horse’s mouth that one of the most stressful parts of the job is having to write a speech for someone whose opinions and beliefs you may not agree with. It’s rewarding, though, when you work with someone you believe in and you’re part of a “core team that’s getting something important done.”

What’s it like to be a county government employment coordinator? For a $28,000 annual salary, one person says they put up with defeatism, government paperwork and lack of responsibility. On the other hand, it’s rewarding to see changes in people who think thy have nothing or little to offer.

A forester who works for a county for $47,000 a year says it’s stressful trying to protect forests without hurting local economies and to deal with an emotional public who understands little of modern forest management. But it’s rewarding to know you’re “in a field which is guaranteeing the existence of forestlands for future generations.”

The government is the largest employer in the United State, employing 2,704,950 workers—-more than double the workforce of Wal-mart, says Dennis V. Damp, author of The Book of U.S. Government Jobs. And it hires an average 431,565 new employees each year. Vacancies are listed at www.usajobs.gov.

Two tips when looking for government jobs: Apply early. It’s the government—-remember? So processing can take months. And apply frequently. The more often you do so, the greater your chances.

My tip: Apply your thinking cap. Think more about the environment and job you’d enjoy going to every day and look for that instead of a job where you’re less likely to get fired. Otherwise, you might be secure, but miserable.

© by Andrea Kay