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GS-9 is for entry level with a high GPA. GS-9 step 10 pays $56,000 (PA-NJ-NY). Not bad for just out of school and possibly the 25% signing bonus. Don't forget your promotion in 6 months plus a promotion every 12 months until you hit GS-12 and a cost of living adjustment.

Besides it's gov't work. You CAN'T get fired unless you steal or drink on the job. And if you drink you can tell them you have a problem and they'll pay to send you to rehab and keep you on. You get 13 sick days, 13 vacation days, 13 federal holidays, plus using the flex hours if you work the 9 hour days you get 26 flex days off (every other week). After 3 years you get 19.5 vacation days a year (you accrue 6 hours every 2 weeks).

Of course you have to work in an environment with people who can't get fired so you have a "survival of the worst" situation because the people that stay can't cut it any where else. -- why i left the gov't. Luckily, I worked in a great department where our 2nd level manager bent the rules alot to keep qualified people on board.

If you're really curious, the payscales are published here:

http://www.opm.gov/oca/05tables/

Also, while the actual work in securing the IT network of a company like Walmart may be more substantial in some ways, having a credential like DHS on your resume and the associated security clearance would greatly increase your marketability once you have left the organization for the private sector.

If you're marketing yourself towards the security field, any security consulting company would salivate to have a high-level ex-government information security officer on the payroll.

Hmmm...I don't think federal executive positions pay as much as you think they do. http://www.opm.gov/oca/05tables/html/ex.asp

"Well, you'll see basically everything," said Bill Scannell, a privacy advocate and technology consultant. "It shows nipples. It shows the clear outline of genitals."

It's time to get a job as an airport screener!

There are actually programs around the country to address this, flying under the banner of "Information Assurance". I happen to be in one of the six initial NSA-approved programs.

The problem here, as I see it, is not a lack of opportunity or even expertise; it is a problem of making advanced degrees and training cost effective. For instance, I have a classmate who is running at around $120K of debt from school, from undergraduate work to his MSc. While this is not representative, it is quite rare here to see individuals who are able to balance the work-train equation. In short, it really doesn't seem cost-effective to get an advanced degree, especially a MSc as most of these Information Assurance programs offer.

I do not claim to know the environment that has brought us to this, but what I do know is this: just as a recent article in the Journal of Higher Education has pointed out, it would be helpful if we could stop treating student loans as raw "debt", and perhaps more akin to an investment. While I enjoy the thinking behind the SFS Cybercorps, the lack of support through a PhD is a huge oversight in my mind. Until it becomes cost effective to retain brilliance and pay for it, we will continue to face problems endemic to the situation at hand. To wit: if I have no scruples, and know that computer crime / digital tresspass is typically not vigorously followed up upon, maybe I would embark on a kleptography spree. If, however, I was essentially told, "train with us for as long as you like, and then work with us" (e.g. extending Cybercorps to PhD levels of work), then I would come out with a better degree, a guaranteed job, and a good future. Granted, without any moral scruples, it may well be the case that a computer crime spree would just be a natural application of talent.

Even astronauts, whom I would assume are more skilled/specialized than one of NASA's standard engineers, don't get paid very well at all considering their requirements and the risks they are subjected to.

http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/EI49.asp

PAY AND BENEFITS

Salaries for selected civilian astronaut candidates are based on the Federal Government's General Schedule pay scales for grades GS-11 through GS-14 (approximately $43,000 to $93,000), and are set in accordance with each individual's academic achievements and experience. Other benefits include vacation and sick leave, a retirement plan, and participation in health and life insurance plans.

I'm not saying that salary is too low (it is very possible to live a comfortable life with that), but if you have the education and experience to get hired as an astronaut you can certainly earn much more than that in the private sector.

Holy cow, do you have any idea how many people are employed by the federal government?

Here's a slight hint, there are currently 16,325 job openings posted on USAJOBS. How many special elections do you think we'll need to fill all those jobs?

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Defense (DoD) already sponsor Scholarship For Service (SFS) programs like the Cyber Corps to train students in aspects of cyber security with the intention of placing them in government information assurance positions.

And many colleges are developing Centers for Information Security (CIS), and among those, that is where you see the government encouraging these programs.

The tag line, I believe, is "Defending America's Cyberspace."

More information on the SFS program can be found here:
http://www.sfs.opm.gov/ScholarshipMain.asp

If you're concerned about this issue, I'd suggest sending them an email and expressing your views.

If you're concerned about this issue, I'd suggest sending them an email and expressing your views.

This is true in many Western countries, too.

The United States government employs roughly 2.7 million people, though that includes about 800 thousand in the postal service and 700 thousand in the military...

Here's one place you can look, the FEDZ official job site, USAJOBS (OPM = US Office of Personnel Management). You can input a resume, search for jobs, &/or set up search agents. One program relating to this topic is SOFIA (Support Our Friends in Iraq and Afghanistan.)

Here's one place you can look, the FEDZ official job site, USAJOBS (OPM = US Office of Personnel Management). You can input a resume, search for jobs, &/or set up search agents. One program relating to this topic is SOFIA (Support Our Friends in Iraq and Afghanistan.)

The downside is that you have to leave Boston. Well one of many downsides......

Generally, starting salary is lower when working for Uncle Sam, but it goes up quickly.

Here's my experience, which I think is typical. As freshly-minted bachellaureate in Computer Engineering in 2002, I went to work for the Army - as a civilian - at level GS-07 with a salary of $38,866 per year. This is low, but a series of automatic promotions will have me at GS-12 making $62,421 by the end of this year - 2.5 years after graduation. Plus, we generally get a pay raise every year, voted on by Congress. This year we got 4.1 percent (same as active duty military).

It seems to me, though, that there is more opportunity for technical work with government contractors, rather than with the government itself. The government contracts out its technical work. (I'm not sure if this is a symptom or a cause of the perceived crumminess of government jobs.)

Generally, starting salary is lower when working for Uncle Sam, but it goes up quickly.

Here's my experience, which I think is typical. As freshly-minted bachellaureate in Computer Engineering in 2002, I went to work for the Army - as a civilian - at level GS-07 with a salary of $38,866 per year. This is low, but a series of automatic promotions will have me at GS-12 making $62,421 by the end of this year - 2.5 years after graduation. Plus, we generally get a pay raise every year, voted on by Congress. This year we got 4.1 percent (same as active duty military).

It seems to me, though, that there is more opportunity for technical work with government contractors, rather than with the government itself. The government contracts out its technical work. (I'm not sure if this is a symptom or a cause of the perceived crumminess of government jobs.)

Reviewing patent applications to assess if they comply with the basic format, rules and legal requirements, determining the scope of the protection claimed by the inventor, researching relevant technologies to compare similar prior inventions with the invention claimed in the patent applications, and communicating the examiner's findings to patent practitioners/inventors with reasons on the patent ability of applicant's inventions.
Patent Examiners are responsible for the quality, productivity, and timely processing of patent applications, which is the basis of their performance evaluation.

See the actual posting HERE

I'm not trying to be glib, and I know one person cannot change the world, but with all of the unemployed /.'ers out there, one of you could take a leap and actually apply for this position.

Let us know how it goes.

Looks like there is a vacancy in the Patent Office... Are you qualified?

Link HERE

The National Science Foundation runs a scholarship for service program for IT Security focused students. Basically, you get a scholarship to major in an IT Security discipline, then you owe a certain number of years work to a government agency such as the NSA or the DHS. You can find more info at this site.

Note: this is not an endorsement, I have no direct knowledge of, nor experience with, this government program. It might suck ass. It might be great. I don't know. I'm just suggesting that you look into it.

It blows my mind to see how over paid public servants are in the US it is crazy.

Have a look at the public servant pay scales. I think they're very fair. They are adjusted based on where the job is located. I picked this particular scale b/c I was offered a GS-N level job earlier this year and turned it down to go back to school. The salary I was to have drawn was $10k less than I had been making at my previous job, but was still $20k more than that of my Uncle, who has worked in the Social Security Administration for 33 years.

Maybe you saw a job working for a contractor? That's where the real money goes.

Their retirement plan is tolerable. Other retirement plans have more attractive terms (multipliers higher than 1.0% in the benefits formula), but a lot of workers in the private sector are losing defined-benefit pensions and having to rely more heavily upon defined-contribution plans like 401k's (201k's after the Y2K equity bust:).

Their compensation is beyond what appears on the GS charts, though.

Their retirement plan is tolerable. Other retirement plans have more attractive terms (multipliers higher than 1.0% in the benefits formula), but a lot of workers in the private sector are losing defined-benefit pensions and having to rely more heavily upon defined-contribution plans like 401k's (201k's after the Y2K equity bust:).

Their compensation is beyond what appears on the GS charts, though.

Meanwhile, if I remember correctly, you Brits got a day off last year because your Queen is old. ;)

1. Yeah. Uncle Sam . Good money, usually interesting work.
2. Leave the attitude home. No one owes you anything.
Good Luck.

1. A Federal pension
2. The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) which provides employees with a pre-tax savings plan similar to a 401(K); and
3. Coverage under the Social Security system.

1. A Federal pension
2. The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) which provides employees with a pre-tax savings plan similar to a 401(K); and
3. Coverage under the Social Security system.

It had never occured to me in the past that EFF might be on their big list but they are! So this year, my donation has gone to the EFF conveniently via payroll deduction and the CFC

For those of you wishing to do the same, the CFC code is 2229

You can use the Combined Federal Campaign to contribute. EFF is #2229.

In 1999, after 25 years of Public Service, at the height of the Internet economy, I "retired" and went to work in the Private Sector. I worked then for a few years at a very large system development company, the economy tanked, and I got laid off last fall. Now I am back working as an IT Project Manager for Uncle Sam.
Unsurprisingly, I found little or no difference between the two sectors in the levels of expertise and attitude exhibited by my fellow workers. I pretty much found equal amounts of incompetence, gold-bricking, can-do attitudes, and amazing expertise in both Sectors. People are people and they act the same everywhere. (See notes below..)
One of the best and exciting things about working for Uncle Sam, the states or a local county or city is that you can actually make a real positive difference in someone's life or lots of someones lives. IT engineers and techs often take lower pay than they would prefer to stay supporting local law, fire, and rescue personnel. (Not that they wouldn't mind the extra...) Many Scientists (including Nobel Prize winners), Engineers, and Technicians at laboratories in Agencies like NOAA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, NIST, the FDA, and others feel like that are doing some awesomely helpful things with your (and their) tax dollars. I am not a big fan of NASA's priorities, but you won't find many places with more highly qualified and motivated people from the top to the bottom.
You might also be interested to know that lots of people get fired from federal service every day. Fed Employment and Trends by Year & Month Check out the Seperation Data. (I am not really sure how to interpret the data.)
You might also be surprised to learn that experienced IT Project Managers can make $75K/year-$100K+/year. IT Program Managers can make even more. (Max. Salary for Non-Politically-appointed IT Execs. is currently ~$135K.) Fed. Pay Tables w/locality adjustments .

Every job, just like your life, is what you make it. It's what you want to DO, not BE, that counts. Good luck and have fun.

(Notes:
1. The Private Sector:
a. My Project Manager ran his own personal business from his company-owned workstation while he pretended to actually work for the company. I think he spent half to three-quarters of his day responding to e-auctions bids and submitting his own. We eventually lost the contract (or rather the follow-on task was not activated) because he and the company Program Manager never could be bothered to actually talk to the customer and ask him how things were going or what he wanted. Hence the lay-offs. I was one of the last to go.
b. It seemed to me that the newbies were not getting paid very well at all & they were the first to go in the layoffs. The VP's, however, made really big $$ & rarely had to deal with layoffs.
c. the senior managers really did not impress me at all. Mostly marketing fluff.
d. I was surprised at the level of bureaucracy in a large system development firm. Not a lot of difference from the federal sector, really.

2. The Public:
a. There is a Dept. HR Program Manager across the hall from me is overloaded in the paperwork that it takes to get people fired. It is, granted, a tedious process, but it happens and it happens a lot. )
b. There are lots of people-shaped speedbumps here, too. If you are motivated, you will learn how to find what you want to do and to get it done. Whenever I have decided that I needed a change of career in the Federal Service, I have (eventually) been able to find a way to make it happen. I have been a telecomm. tech, a network engineer, a web developer and am now a Progject Manager. I imagine opportunities are made by the individual, not vice-versa. Motivated people seem to "find" those "lucky" breaks. Good Luck!

In 1999, after 25 years of Public Service, at the height of the Internet economy, I "retired" and went to work in the Private Sector. I worked then for a few years at a very large system development company, the economy tanked, and I got laid off last fall. Now I am back working as an IT Project Manager for Uncle Sam.
Unsurprisingly, I found little or no difference between the two sectors in the levels of expertise and attitude exhibited by my fellow workers. I pretty much found equal amounts of incompetence, gold-bricking, can-do attitudes, and amazing expertise in both Sectors. People are people and they act the same everywhere. (See notes below..)
One of the best and exciting things about working for Uncle Sam, the states or a local county or city is that you can actually make a real positive difference in someone's life or lots of someones lives. IT engineers and techs often take lower pay than they would prefer to stay supporting local law, fire, and rescue personnel. (Not that they wouldn't mind the extra...) Many Scientists (including Nobel Prize winners), Engineers, and Technicians at laboratories in Agencies like NOAA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, NIST, the FDA, and others feel like that are doing some awesomely helpful things with your (and their) tax dollars. I am not a big fan of NASA's priorities, but you won't find many places with more highly qualified and motivated people from the top to the bottom.
You might also be interested to know that lots of people get fired from federal service every day. Fed Employment and Trends by Year & Month Check out the Seperation Data. (I am not really sure how to interpret the data.)
You might also be surprised to learn that experienced IT Project Managers can make $75K/year-$100K+/year. IT Program Managers can make even more. (Max. Salary for Non-Politically-appointed IT Execs. is currently ~$135K.) Fed. Pay Tables w/locality adjustments .

Every job, just like your life, is what you make it. It's what you want to DO, not BE, that counts. Good luck and have fun.

(Notes:
1. The Private Sector:
a. My Project Manager ran his own personal business from his company-owned workstation while he pretended to actually work for the company. I think he spent half to three-quarters of his day responding to e-auctions bids and submitting his own. We eventually lost the contract (or rather the follow-on task was not activated) because he and the company Program Manager never could be bothered to actually talk to the customer and ask him how things were going or what he wanted. Hence the lay-offs. I was one of the last to go.
b. It seemed to me that the newbies were not getting paid very well at all & they were the first to go in the layoffs. The VP's, however, made really big $$ & rarely had to deal with layoffs.
c. the senior managers really did not impress me at all. Mostly marketing fluff.
d. I was surprised at the level of bureaucracy in a large system development firm. Not a lot of difference from the federal sector, really.

2. The Public:
a. There is a Dept. HR Program Manager across the hall from me is overloaded in the paperwork that it takes to get people fired. It is, granted, a tedious process, but it happens and it happens a lot. )
b. There are lots of people-shaped speedbumps here, too. If you are motivated, you will learn how to find what you want to do and to get it done. Whenever I have decided that I needed a change of career in the Federal Service, I have (eventually) been able to find a way to make it happen. I have been a telecomm. tech, a network engineer, a web developer and am now a Progject Manager. I imagine opportunities are made by the individual, not vice-versa. Motivated people seem to "find" those "lucky" breaks. Good Luck!

One possibility to explore is that of working for the US Guvmint as a Civil Servant. There are numerous jobs available worldwide at any given time, usually requiring a pretty wide spread of IT skills. Given that you will live in the local community (in most cases), get "orientated" to the culture through welcome-aboard programs, and are with a group of (mostly) like-minded individuals, the culture shock is minimal. Although the wages aren't market-competitive, your living expenses will be covered, as will be your moving expenses. At the same time, you can (and probably will) start to explore your options for local employment when you're ready to take the plunge. A good starting place is USAJOBS The positions associated with the Navy are probably the most challenging... :-)

IANAL, but heres the links to what I believe to be the relevant laws comcast may have violated (mainly for being a cable company) Cable TV Privacy Act of 1994Which in short provides provisions that limit:

(A) the nature of personally identifiable information collected or to be collected with respect to the subscriber and the nature of the use of such information;
(B) the nature, frequency, and purpose of any disclosure which may be made of such information, including an identification of the types of persons to whom the disclosure may be made;
(C) the period during which such information will be maintained by the cable operator;
(D) the times and place at which the subscriber may have access to such information in accordance with subsection (d) of this section; and
(E) the limitations provided by this section with respect to the collection and disclosure of information by a cable operator and the right of the subscriber under subsections (f) and (h) of this section to enforce such limitations.

As well if I'm not incorrect here,the ECPA
More fun privacy law here, Privacy Act of 1974

And of course if they customer has a kid under 13 who they gathered data on there was another law I just couldn't quite manage to find in regards to making this pretty illegal. And you can't make your customers opt out of federal law last I checked.

Anyway, it hasn't been my experience that lawyers take cases they have no chance of winning where the payout is based on them winning.

Whenever the economy takes a downturn, it is wise to broaden your employment options by broadening your possible careers. While the glitz and glamour of working 40 hours a week on building Linux clusters is great, there are only a few of those positions available. Since the job market is in a downswing for programmers, possibly check out other arenas of employment. For example, the educational market is in desparate need for individuals with a technical background to teach math and science classes. While it may not be exactly what you want to do, it will provide you with experience, those greatly appreciated communication skills, and diversity in your resume. If education is not your bag, why not consider doing something with government or nonprofit organizations? Since the tech boom of a few years back, the need for individuals with computer skills in government jobs has skyrocketed. But most programmers have shied away from the lower-than-corporate salaries, but there are amazing oppotunities to work on some incredible projects for the government. If you have an international penchant, you could even sign up for the Peace Corps, or look into becoming an Information Management Specialist for the U.S. State Department or Foreign Service. I know that the Peace Corps is in search of individuals who can implement information technology programs aborad, and a two year committment to this program would wow them at your next job interview.

Whenever the economy takes a downturn, it is wise to broaden your employment options by broadening your possible careers. While the glitz and glamour of working 40 hours a week on building Linux clusters is great, there are only a few of those positions available. Since the job market is in a downswing for programmers, possibly check out other arenas of employment. For example, the educational market is in desparate need for individuals with a technical background to teach math and science classes. While it may not be exactly what you want to do, it will provide you with experience, those greatly appreciated communication skills, and diversity in your resume. If education is not your bag, why not consider doing something with government or nonprofit organizations? Since the tech boom of a few years back, the need for individuals with computer skills in government jobs has skyrocketed. But most programmers have shied away from the lower-than-corporate salaries, but there are amazing oppotunities to work on some incredible projects for the government. If you have an international penchant, you could even sign up for the Peace Corps, or look into becoming an Information Management Specialist for the U.S. State Department or Foreign Service. I know that the Peace Corps is in search of individuals who can implement information technology programs aborad, and a two year committment to this program would wow them at your next job interview.

I just got a job. Took me about 6 months. I am now, ahem, an application development team leader with Uncle Sam. Good money, too. Anyhoo, check out www.usajobs.gov. The CS and IT jobs are labled Computer Specialist (GS-334-xx), IT Specialist (GS-2210-xx), Computer Engineer (GS-854-xx), Computer Scientist (GS-1550-xx), Electronics Techs (GS-856-xx), Telecomm. Spec. (GS-391-xx), Electronics Engineers (GS-850-xx), . (The 'xx' is the grade 1-15. Grade 9 is college-degreed entry level.) The salary ranges from Entry level (GS-9 (34K-44K))through Branch or Division Manager, (GS-15 ($82K-107K)), with a little extra for high-rent areas (3%-10%). Please note that relevant experience in specific areas is the overriding criteria for getting an interview and getting hired. Most job announcements have requirements of either a degree or X years (usually 4-8 years) of relevant experience. The process, if a success, can take 2-5 months, assuming no security clearance is required. Many of the jobs have a "career ladder" that can take one from GS-9 (or higher) up to GS-13 & GS-14, my new grade. http://www.opm.gov/oca/02tables/indexGS.htm
The quality of federal employee is much higher than generally realized. (At least by me.) Surprisingly, most feds. are pretty serious about the idea of being a civil servant, probably because it's their taxes, too. I find it very interesting to be a part of something that can, on occasion, directly affect everyone in my (& your) neighborhood. (Ba-ha-ha!) Good luck!

Where? At step 10? What about the GS-13 level? Unless my position explicitly states that there's no promotion potential, and my agency agrees to promote me based on my performance and budget abilities, there's really nothing that says I can't get to that level.

Look here. Based on the argument I made in my earlier post, adding in the additional benefits, those salaries aren't too shabby, even if I only get to GS-12.

Oh, yeah, there's one other thing I forgot in the first post. I'm eligible for retirement in about eight years. That's age 55. So, I take my retirement and my TSP and I go work somewhere else. Sure, it might be hard breaking into some IT job at age 55. But, the beauty of htis business it that you can work for yourself as a consultant and do just fine. Since I also have a teaching degree, I can do that if I like. Or, I can stick with the DOD until I just get tired of working.

Another thing not mentioned in this discussion is the merit promotion system (which is how I got my last two assignments). The government hires from within all the time. The rules are different then for people coming from the outside, but there are a lot of job opportunities outsiders never see. And GS-13 isn't the top of the scale. (The GM series for management positions goes higher with a lot more compensation).

Add in the security of the positions (in most cases) and I think it's a sweet deal, at least for me.

The "government" has offices in every state -- not all of the positions are in Washington DC. For example, the USDA has positions in both D.C. and New Orleans. The Navy is hiring for Orlando, San Diego, Georia, and even Puerto Rico. The Department of the Interior is everywhere -- I have no idea what locations they are hiring for.

And if you don't like the choices offered for the job fair, try going to the USA Jobs home page and doing a Quick Search for 2210 (IT jobs), 1550 (Computer Scientist), 0854 (Computer Engineer), or a position title/keyword, or city. I searched for "web" and found three positions. There's an advanced search in IT as well as other types of positions and search options (such as Agency search, in case you're only interested in NOAA or the CIA).

The "government" has offices in every state -- not all of the positions are in Washington DC. For example, the USDA has positions in both D.C. and New Orleans. The Navy is hiring for Orlando, San Diego, Georia, and even Puerto Rico. The Department of the Interior is everywhere -- I have no idea what locations they are hiring for.

And if you don't like the choices offered for the job fair, try going to the USA Jobs home page and doing a Quick Search for 2210 (IT jobs), 1550 (Computer Scientist), 0854 (Computer Engineer), or a position title/keyword, or city. I searched for "web" and found three positions. There's an advanced search in IT as well as other types of positions and search options (such as Agency search, in case you're only interested in NOAA or the CIA).

The "government" has offices in every state -- not all of the positions are in Washington DC. For example, the USDA has positions in both D.C. and New Orleans. The Navy is hiring for Orlando, San Diego, Georia, and even Puerto Rico. The Department of the Interior is everywhere -- I have no idea what locations they are hiring for.

And if you don't like the choices offered for the job fair, try going to the USA Jobs home page and doing a Quick Search for 2210 (IT jobs), 1550 (Computer Scientist), 0854 (Computer Engineer), or a position title/keyword, or city. I searched for "web" and found three positions. There's an advanced search in IT as well as other types of positions and search options (such as Agency search, in case you're only interested in NOAA or the CIA).

Now, having to copy a number from the page into their own form is dumb enough. But worse, the number is rejected with "This vacancy is not currently open." Bozos.

The impression that I always had was that if you had a college degree when you signed up you would become an officer, and that all officers did was paperwork & management of enlisted men. Getting my BS and then spending 4 (6?8?) years -not- using the skills I got from my schooling before going off to work in the civilian world doesn't really seem like a good idea to me. That's pretty much the whole reason I crossed the military off my list when I enrolled in college.

Of course, if you're interested in employment through Uncle Sam, the Federal gov't employs large numbers of civilians, and the military has a considerable number of civilian employees as well.

You can check it out at http://www.opm.gov/oca/01tables/SSR/index.htm.

Affordability is relative. A GS-12 step 5 (midpoint) makes $62,013 in the Baltimore/Washington area (reference). Allowing for an additional 100% for overhead (support staff, benefits, etc), you get an annual cost in the neighborhood of $1 Billion. Yes, that's a lot of money. But it's less than the cost of 1 B-2 bomber, or a fraction of what's being spent on the missile defense boondoggle.

This cost could easily be paid by putting a surcharge on airline tickets. It could be paid for by the airlines. It could be paid for voluntarily - put a box on the 1099 that says "check here to donate $N to the Air Marshall fund". Hell, it could be paid for by a national lottery.

The first two summers I worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory, first in sys admin, second coding, I made less than my friends at Pizza Hut. For my sys admin job I got 10 or 15 cents over minimum wage, because that's just what the government pays people still in High School. I got a $1.50/hr raise the next year though.

The third year I went back I was making about $9/hr. I could have gone back for a fourth year and goten $11, but I took an internship elsewhere and got $15. That's getting a more interesting job for more pay.

The pay scale continues straigt up through gradutate school students into regular employees. A PhD Physicist can do pretty well. Especially with regulare annual raises and promotions to semi-management or management.

Unfortunately, the IT workforce doesn't get PhDs (and shouldn't) so didn't qualify for the nicer parts of the pay scale.

OTOH, the actual pay looks low to me who is presently engrossed in pre-graduation job search.