Life as a civil servant

I have been a dutiful servant of the federal government going on almost six years now. I started this job at the tender age of 34.....ok ok....not so tender. I learned allot. I am grateful for having a wonderful coach. Love the hours and being able to help fellow vets.

This article and others I include discuss benefits of being a civil servant:

Civil Service Defined

What does it mean when someone says he or she is a civil service employee or a civil servant? It means that person works for a government agency. Civil service encompasses employment in Federal, state, and local government agencies. Each is responsible for its own employment system. This means that each state takes care of its own personnel needs, as does each city within those states. Local municipalities such as villages, townships and towns, school districts, and special districts often have their own employment systems as well. Each of these governmental units -- Federal, state, and local -- is independent and engages in different hiring practices.

• Flexible Working Hours (FWH) scheme
  We know that not everybody can, or wants to, work the standard five day week in the office.
  So provided it doesn't affect the service we provide, we offer employees a range of flexible working options to help them manage their commitments outside work.
  People's needs differ widely, so we offer various working patterns within our FWH scheme. These can include:
  
• a job-share - where two or more employees will work part-time to cover a full-time post
  compressed hours - in which you would work your full complement of hours over a shorter period
• staggered hours - when you would vary the times you started and finished work, maybe to fit in with school hours
  Term-time working - giving you the option to take unpaid leave during the school holidays.
• If you would like to take advantage of the FWH scheme, talk to your manager. Together you should work out a solution that suits your needs, and those of the business.
  Employees with children or caring responsibilities have a legal right to ask for flexible working and each department has a formal process through which this request can take place.

Assessing work/life balance
Many departments regularly survey their employees about their work/life balance, to assess how well it's been achieved in the department as a whole. If you are asked about your own circumstances, give as much information as possible, as this will help us improve our processes.

Annual Leave Vacation/Personal Leave; (maximum ceiling or limitation of accrual is 30 days per leave year. )

4 hours per pay period or 13 days per leave year for less than 3 years of
federal service
6 hours per pay period or 20 days per leave year after 3
years of federal service but less than 15 years
8 hours per pay period or 26 days per leave year after 15 years of federal service

Ten Paid Holidays Per Year
New Year's Day
Martin Luther King's Birthday
President's Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Columbus Day
Veteran's Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day (In addition to the above holidays, the U.S. Government also observes some local holidays celebrated at overseas posts of assignment).

How can you go wrong?

Website:

http://careerplanning.about.com/od/occupations/a/civil_service.htm

http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/iwant/life/index.asp