Seriously - thank you to you and Mercury In Taurus for your vulnerability. It's f***ed up that you have to do all of this work for a problem created and imposed by others. I will carry with me what you've both shared here and will also discuss with our training committee as interview season is around the corner.
Congrats!!
Nah.
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Any chance you're looking at the regular GS scale and not the one with locality factored in? I'm in a super low CoL area and I still get 13k added on top of the base GS scale. If not, then your area could be unique and folks wanting those VA jobs might be choosing the hours/benefits/etc.
Yeah, it's factored in, unfortunately. After moving from GS-12 to GS-13, it's much more comparable. There is just that year of lower income.
Not uncommon unfortunately. I came out better financially working in the private arena for a few years and coming back after the GS-13 rate was a bit higher. That said, if it is a job you want, take it now. It might not be there in the future.
Are you unlicensed?
Yeah, I'm a postdoc at a VA right now.
My may also ask the Occupational Health/Employee Health Department of your local VA to find out the first hand information about the facility procedures and enforcement of the policy.
VA is a great place for early career. It offers a sense of job security while obtaining license. So that we don't feel so pressured about passing the EPPP, which is a very stressful process. No need for any additional stress. You get tons of free CEUs through the TMS training. National network of other provider through listservs...
Totally agree! I also think the bureaucracy of the VA can be helpful for a 1st job in that your position likely won't experience any significant changes given how long it takes the VA to adapt lol
I pulled up an old GS-12 paystub of mine and yes, while the GS-12 salary could likely be low for some regions, federal benefits are likely significantly better. In addition to my contributions, every 2 weeks, the govt was kicking in $417 towards my FERS retirement account, $117 for TSP matching, $29 for TSP basic, and $228 for health care (along with $41 for medicare and $118 for SDI contributions). None of it is direct cash that can be spent today but it definitely builds up over 26 paychecks (withholding 5% each paycheck for TSP across 26 paychecks is over $3,000 and the FERS contributions clock over $10,000).
That’s garbage.
You don't love that, The FERS pension cost of living went up by just 4.9%. By the time I retire, that pension is just going to be my cocktail budget.
I received a job offer and was also given 24 hours from the VA. I asked for an extension and havent heard back yet, but I thought the 24 hour expectation was odd.
I've experienced both types of VA offers and unfortunately, it just encourages the practice of accepting and then withdrawing part way through the onboarding process, which I've done. I wish I didn't have to but ya gotta look out for yourself.
Never had 24 hours and am usually given 72 hours to accept the tentative offer. Well, the arrival of a firm offer is a different story...smh
I had this happen to me as HR slacked off and the department was left with minimal time to find a candidate before the deadline for the opening ran out. It was this time of year for me as well and I think they need to get the info in before the new year.
Hadn’t considered that aspect but it makes sense. I’m participating in the TRE, which is why it was even more odd to me because there’s a general timeline, in theory—most locations were significantly delayed and hardly any notified of tentative job offers by the December 21 deadline. Not surprising, and my sense from what I’ve gathered from interviewers is that they made their decisions on time and HR is the hold up. And interviewers can’t tell whether they chose us or not. Something as big as the TRE definitely shouldn’t be held so close to the holidays when many staff are out.
Sending you a pm
If there's one thing I've learned about myself (and most of my colleagues who went into the 'helping' profession of clinical psychology), it's that we don't 'look out for ourselves (and our own interests)' nearly enough. This can be tied to under-valuing ourselves as well. If we're not careful, we can get into work 'relationships' that are exploitative and that also undervalue us.
In my case this type of thing was an automatic thing that HR did rather than the timeline from the hiring manager themselves. If they want you (which they clearly do) they will give you the extension.
My understanding is that until somebody formally vacates a position, that department can’t initiate anything with HR for backfilling it so notice would primarily be to help your current facility with coverage for once you’ve departed and to start the admin processes to receive approval to backfill your spot.
Thank you, summerbabe, for your thoughtful response! My current caseload is consisted of both short-term and long-term outpatient populations. The short-term patients are typically discharged or referred out in between 1-5 sessions. Termination with long-term patients can be challenging regarding timing and transition of care.
EDRP needs to be indicated on your firm offer; otherwise, it might be a hard battle down the road. Your EDRP application has a 4-month deadline from the date your eligibility is determined (not necessarily your hiring date or start date). There is a form called EDRP Pending Licensure Commitment Form the HR has the authority to sign off on to support your EDRP application after you arrive to the station and are determined EDRP eligible. If you are able to reach the local EDRP Coordinator, you may reach out to clarify. If you don't know who that person is, then you can email the national support at [email protected]. They are very responsive and will either answer your questions or forward and direct your questions to the right contact person. Here is the SharePoint with all EDRP information that might be helpful: https://dvagov.sharepoint.com/sites/vhaWMCHCM/ELRS/Pages/Instructions.aspx
It seems like the purse strings on EDRP have been loosened significantly during this past year to the point of it being offered as a retainment incentive for folks who have worked years at their facility already but never had the opportunity to apply in the first place so hopefully you won't run into any issues. But if your firm offer doesn't have it, I'd communicate ASAP with your hiring manager and not sign anything.
I went in as a GS12 after postdoc but I don't see how not having a license would necessarily impact this. If you want a non-standard tour or anything else specific, I'd communicate with whoever is your hiring manager as I don't think things like tours are outlined in your firm offer and rather negotiated with your specific department. Some may be very open and some may not.
