Working in the government comes with a lot of assumptions from the general population. People often think government positions are limited to political affairs or the IRS. This couldn’t be further from the truth. There are a lot of government jobs people don’t think of as often, like teaching, firefighting, or police work.
The salaries may not always be amazing for some government jobs, but they come with a lot of other benefits. Auto insurance discounts for federal employees can be excellent. Government positions almost always come with decent health insurance, retirement benefits, and perhaps even life insurance.
We’ll talk about several of the reasons you should think about applying for a government job if you’re looking for something stable to participate in throughout your life. We’ll also discuss some of the social benefits of working in the government, like getting to work in the community to help people you care about.
#1 – Health Insurance Benefits
It can be difficult to find a private sector job that gives you health insurance benefits these days. Many private companies only hire workers for part-time shifts so they don’t have to give health insurance benefits. Other companies simply don’t have the money to give their employees health insurance.
Whether you work for the police department, the fire station, the military, or as a tax specialist, you’ll usually have pretty fair health insurance from the federal government. Make sure you sign up for benefits when you get hired, as they aren’t automatically given to you. You have to choose what package you want, what insurance company you’re going to go through, and more.
Having health insurance is a huge reason to take a job. It means if you have anything from back pain to a major disease like cancer, you’ll be guaranteed health coverage when you’re working at a government job.
#2 – You Don’t Have to Possess Specialized Skills
Even though the government has a lot of jobs that require specialized skills, there are also a lot of careers with short training periods and they don’t need a college degree. Working as a police officer usually requires several weeks of training, but no further degrees or education. Working as a school custodian would require basically no training.
If you’re someone who is struggling to figure out what career you’re interested in pursuing, think about going online to a site like Indeed or Glassdoor and searching for government jobs. You can narrow the search by saying you only have a high school diploma. You might just find there are a lot of job openings you’re qualified for.
If you’re someone who is struggling to find work because you have a criminal record, working for the government is a great choice. Many federal agencies are fine with hiring people with criminal backgrounds as long as you’re honest about your past. Private companies often aren’t as forgiving.
#3 – You May Get Life Insurance
This is pretty similar to the benefit of getting health insurance. Many private companies can’t afford to provide life insurance benefits to their employees, but most government jobs can. For example, active duty military can get Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI), which can then be converted into Veterans Group Life Insurance (VGLI).
Life insurance is one of the most important purchases you can make for your family, so let’s cover some of the basics of its importance.
If you have people you’re responsible for, getting life insurance will help them in case anything tragic occurs in the family. Living a healthy lifestyle will contribute to getting life insurance for an affordable price.
You should be warned that some jobs such as police work or government construction work are more dangerous and could lead to increased life insurance prices to make up for the risk of you passing away from an accident on the job.
#4 – Government Jobs Have Purpose
Some people really want to make a difference in the world with their career choices. Working a government job almost always impacts many other groups of people around the city, state, and maybe even the country.
Let’s say you’re a teacher. Becoming an educator requires you to have a knowledge of your subject matter, but also a deep understanding of how children tick. Impressing the importance of responsibility, perseverance, and patience upon students can be a very rewarding part of the teaching profession.
Having students return to you and tell you how much of a difference you made in their lives is really valuable and makes you feel great about your job.
Another example of purposeful government work is being a firefighter. Working in the fire department requires you to have the courage to save people’s lives, but it also gives you the rewarding feeling of impacting your community in an incredible way.
#5 – There is Great Variety
Working in the government can be filled with a lot of variety. In fact, there are many federal agencies who hire workers from a ton of different career paths. If you’re good with math and numbers, you should look into becoming a tax specialist or an accountant for a government agency.
If you like working with your hands, becoming a painter, a construction worker, or an architect is a great opportunity for you. If you like driving, think about becoming a school bus driver. If you’re into medicine, there’s a chance the military is looking for medical workers to add to their branch.
For many of these jobs, people only think about joining a private company when they get their certification or degree. Look for government opportunities so you can take advantage of your skills and get the other benefits we’ve talked about here.
#6 – You Get a Good Retirement
Older people are struggling more than ever to have money in reserve when it’s time to retire, leading them to find ways to spend less. Many private companies are skimping on providing retirement benefits such as pensions or VIPs. Government jobs almost always have these retirement benefits, much like we talked about with life insurance and health insurance.
Working for the government sounds scary at first. If you educate yourself on all of the different job opportunities federal places provide, that fear turns into excitement. Working for the government gives you personal pride and a sense of worth because you’re affecting many other people in your community. It’s a great experience everyone should think about having.
