Marist students and alumni give insight into different work environments The federal government is one of the largest employers in the country in terms of the variety of departments it contains and wide range of work experiences of the people it hires. As a United States government employee you can build skills while working on new platforms. Your duties in the public sector will often require you to learn on the job, as was the case for Jay Silver ’20. Jay interned in the Human Resources department of the Small Business Administration in Washington, D.C., last summer as a part of the Washington Semester Program sponsored by Marist College and American University. He spent a large portion of his internship reformatting documents to be in compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. “It took me a while because I had to retype it and reformat it so it could be played with audio,” Jay said. “And I had to work with different software and go outside of my department.” Jay’s contribution was essential to the Small Business Administration considering federal agencies are now required to make all electronic information and technology accessible to people with disabilities. Due to the longevity of most employees in his division, Jay said he was able to learn the ins and outs of working in the federal government by networking with his coworkers during his summer internship. “I got to know everybody and talk to the people in my office…there were people who had been there for a few years and people there for over 20 years,” Jay said. “There was a wide variety of individual talent, but everyone I talked to really enjoyed their job.” While Jay had a positive experience overall during his time in Washington, D.C., if you are looking to work within the federal government there are a couple of potential drawbacks. Salary growth can be much slower than the national average and opportunities for advancement may not be as prevalent as they are in the private sector. If you are working for a specific elected official you might need to keep an eye on job openings in case the official loses their re-election campaign. Conclusion: Things to Consider Regarding the Size of Your Employer If you are debating the type of company that you want to work for, consider what is most important to gain at this stage of your career and what resources and skills you need to obtain in order to make progress. If you believe that you work better in an unstructured environment where you get to take initiative and learn from trial and error, you should consider looking for positions in startups. However, if you want access to strong mentors with years of experience to help teach and guide you, then working for a corporation is probably the best choice. Working for a nonprofit will satisfy your passion for service, but think about federal government jobs if you also value stability and structure. No option is better than the other. Each size company just offers different paths. Most people in the workforce today will switch jobs an average of twelve times during their lifetime. If this trend continues you will have opportunities to work for multiple different types of organizations. You don’t have to find the perfect work environment for your first role, but you can still learn a lot from your job no matter where you are working. You just have to be aware of what each environment provides.
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