A bunch of us in our office came from the private sector. We know what to do to get the job done. The problem are all the rules, requirements, and others crap forced on us. Ive had arguments with management about making changes to match the private sector and produce a better product.
HQ and others make us less competitive.
in case anyone was having a good day, HQ put out a video saying that USACE staff slow-roll projects to extend our own salaries and our big, brave president is revealing how much of our project funds go to paying employees
I'll have to find a job in another area if this keeps up. I guess we are too slow. They want to have designers only do rfp's and reviews. If that's the case they will get rid of more people.
The problem is the customers. They can never make up their minds. If they acted faster and didn't change their minds all the time we could move faster.
The other problem for us are all the regulations and requirements that slow us down. But no one above us will ever listen to us when we offer suggestions to improve the processes.
There's a job posted in which I'm interested and have some questions. Anyone out there willing to chat privately? If not, who might be a good contact down there? For reference, the position is in the Environmental Laboratory, Wetlands and Coastal Ecology Branch.
I'm extremely interested in doing research and currently a USACE employee who more than meets the requirements for this particular position.
Is the RHA program still active in USACE? I have tried to find contact information to express interest and availability with no luck. I reached out to my former district office and they cannot even find the information. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Word is GEN Graham got a report from DoW that tracked HQUSACE staff's IP addresses and only 25% were working where they're supposed to. My office has hoteling employees from HQ, other districts, and centers and there is ZERO accountability on them reporting with most rarely, if at all coming in. Hopefully these leads to a crackdown and people being treated equally. My office also has people who are supposed to report 20% of their time to get our higher cost of living and SSR vs what's offered where they live. These people are NOT meeting the 20% so are robbing taxpayers of $12,000 to $15,000 a year. Add there's a lot of BS RAs that need to be terminated. I just hope in typical government fashion, that they don't make it worse for the people following the rules.
Being somewhat new to USACE, I have trouble understanding why policies (ER's) are not followed. Some of the argument IS attributed to the lack of training on the regulation, but isn't it a duty? Thoughts?
Hearing that’s it’s a done deal come 1 October. Also hearing of an additional financial incentive.
What doesn’t make sense to me is why are we hiring?
Our supervisor said that all current design projects after reaching 35% milestone will be contracted out to an AE. Essentially we are moving from design bid buid to a design build. USACE will just handle the 35% design, develop the RFP, and then oversee AE for the design-construction. Are other districts hearing this also?
Are you seeing more 3s being given out for this rating period than in previous years? It seems everyone is getting 3s in my section. I know there were discussions about limiting the number of 5s that are given out; although I’m not a supervisor, so I’ve seen no evidence of this, it seems team members are very unhappy with ratings this year, myself included. I’m curious if this is just local to my district/branch or if others are seeing this as well. I’ve received the lowest rating in my 16 year career, and it seems I’m not the only one.
Hello all, I recently applied to a Power Plant Trainee I position in Elberton, GA. Can anyone share your experience with similar or more advanced roles in the same vein? Also, what was your background before taking the job? Thank you!
With the dissolving of the CBA, has any other District taken away Maxiflex time and changed/eliminated Core hrs?
Any major changes happening with the CBA gone?
I’m considering accepting a TJO from SPA and would like to get some insight on the office culture, especially as it relates to situational telework. Do most people have telework agreements in place? Is use of TS scrutinized? Etc.
Any insight would be appreciated!
I’m an early to mid-career civil engineer thinking about going private.
I’m 33 now and have 10 years of credible service in the government. Can I leave to join the private industry and then claim my annuity when I turn 57 with no penalty?