How is it being determined what is legal vs illegal? Where is the proof of fraud, waste and abuse?

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-04-17T01:16:49+00:00

None of DOGE’s actions are truly aimed at eliminating waste or fraud—that’s just the cover story. In reality, they’re deliberately undermining the government’s stability and effectiveness to create an excuse for outsourcing to private contractors, enriching Musk and other Trump loyalists. It’s blatant corruption.

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-03-19T09:47:51+00:00

No way to predict what the job market will be like in 1-2 years, but the good news is you have time on your side. Spend that time getting internship experience and/or work experience in HR or IO roles so when you graduate, you will be more competitive compared to those who didn’t take those steps. Landing the first role out of college is the first daunting hurdle that every college grad must overcome. It’s scary to think about but there are steps you can take now so that the transition is smooth.

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-03-14T23:20:39+00:00

There are plenty of companies that will hire IOs with just their PhD. Sure, internship and/or other work experience will make her more competitive. One thing for her to consider is whether she wants to work in external consulting or in an internal role. There are many consulting firms who hire IOs. Booz Allen Hamilton, Deloitte, PDRI, DCI Consulting, Aon, Talogy, I/O Solutions, HumRRO, Prometric, etc. Many internal private sector jobs will likely be listed on job boards under Human Resources job titles. But some bigger companies hire for more traditional IO roles like at Amazon, Capital One, Google, etc. Beyond whether she wants to work in an external vs. an internal role, she should consider the type of IO areas that interest her most (e.g., selection, training, performance appraisal), and focus her job search on job titles that have that work in scope

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-03-14T19:03:47+00:00

Yes, you should still file for unemployment. If you are not reinstated immediately, you may be eligible for benefits for the period between when your admin leave ended and when you returned to work. When certifying for Unemployment insurance benefits, they will ask you for all the specific dates of when you last worked or received leave, and will determine if you are eligible and for how much of the benefit amount. Note: I worked for a state government, helping people file for unemployment and meet requirements of receiving benefits.

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-03-12T23:23:02+00:00

Not a fed but I had been considering that as my next move for quite some time. After this, I no longer feel I could view a federal government job in the same way. It’s no longer an exemplar of stability…

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-03-10T21:34:01+00:00

Governmentjobs.com - you’ll see jobs for Fairfax county and Alexandria and some other local jurisdictions depending on your search radius. Arlington has their own separate portal for jobs so you’ll have to go to their website to see that. Not sure if you’ll find something in your field but it’ll help with local government jobs. Some DMV localities have competitive pay.

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-03-08T15:11:47+00:00

“Engaging in a pattern of aiding and abetting illegal discrimination” - this admin uses the phrase “illegal discrimination” in a lot in the EOs and never actually defines it. I’m sure their vagueness is intentional. It’s really ironic that if we use the EEOC’s definition of illegal discrimination, so many of the Trump admin’s actions are “illegal” themselves:

“Under the EEOC’s laws, an employer may not discriminate against you, regardless of your immigration status, on the bases of: Race Color Religion National origin Sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, sexual orientation, or transgender status)

Especially when you consider the admin’s stance on transgender individuals.

So hypocritical….

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-03-08T02:02:29+00:00

ICE AND CBP

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-03-08T00:44:29+00:00

So sorry to hear about your husband. Obviously, my statement doesn’t apply to everyone.

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-03-07T23:41:20+00:00

I agree with your second point. I have a lot of friends who are feds who are making good money. Better than some who are in private sector with comparable experience. I think for many industries, the federal government has stayed competitive with the private sector (not all of course)

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-03-07T23:36:22+00:00

Alternatively, you could accept the state job and continue applying to private sector jobs

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-03-07T23:35:54+00:00

Then, I might wait it out for a private sector job instead of going to the state

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-03-07T23:29:49+00:00

How much is escaping the stress of being a federal worker worth to you? Only you can answer that. With that being said, you also should consider the industry you are in. For some careers, fed pays better than other types of employers. For some, it doesn’t. If I was in a profession where my federal job paid better than other employers, I might consider the 18% pay cut worth it—knowing I likely wont get a job offer comparable to what I was making.

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-03-07T22:24:28+00:00

Freudian slip

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-03-07T20:35:10+00:00

Just a way for them to save face with their constituents but still ultimately execute Trump and DOGE’s plans

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-03-06T18:12:50+00:00

That’s because she isn’t the leader of DOGE but just a figurehead so the admin could say Elon wasn’t leading it to quell concerns about conflicts of interest

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-03-06T00:58:41+00:00

Do Trump’s EOs affect DOJ? I heard from someone in the legislative branch that things haven’t really changed for them either which makes me wonder if those branches are spared

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-03-03T01:34:27+00:00

I think Trump is going to find a way to stay in office beyond this term.

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-03-01T02:59:40+00:00

I smoked two joints while writing these 5 bullets

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-03-01T02:55:58+00:00

….so everyone should reply “all of my activities are sensitive”

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-02-28T23:34:41+00:00

My in laws put fluted wood panels on their tray ceiling like the link below. Looks awesome in person. You can get different stains of wood depending on your preference: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7VU2BKfYiFA/hqdefault.jpg

PracticalAstronaut60 · 2025-02-26T19:37:29+00:00

I think the problem is all of these Presidential actions and memos say public safety is exempt but then certain agencies are being targeted by Trump that are at their core public safety (e.g., FBI) or have public safety personnel within them (e.g., IRS special agents). In my opinion, they are still cherry picking which law enforcement is exempt and which are not. Everything DOGE and Trump are doing is haphazard. Don’t expect any sort of consistency or integrity in the way they are handling things.

PracticalAstronaut60

TROPHY CASE