Doug Hill ⋅ Kearneysville, WV PC Construction ⋅ 20 years experience

Ben,
One other thing about "government contract jobs. I thought my dream job would be a government contract. I finally got one as a safety consultant for the FAA. It was a 5 year contract I was told. BUT that isn't the case and this is applicable to a lot of government contract positions. The contract covers a five year period BUT each year is a "PHASE" Phase one, phase two, etc. What this means it the contract is bid on EACH YEAR and your company will have to fight for the contract every year. Not much stability in that world. ALSO, there are a flood of servicemembers flooding the Wash DC area and I see jobs that keep popping up (I was a safety manager for 35 years) for the same position on about a 6 month cycle. This is because an "officer" comes out of the military service and gets a job at the Navy Yard. The pressure is off to get a job and the officer is happy. Then he or she finds out it is NOT like the military and also finds out that there is better money to be made. My advice is to accept any job with a plan to use it as a stepping stone to a better job. Use it to put bullet points on your resume. Good Luck!