US Forest Service Employee Reviews about "opportunity"

Cons

The General Schedule pay system can be difficult to navigate for new employees and does not work like private sector jobs. It is difficult to enter federal employment at a high level do to this, but it is easy to advance once in.

Cons

Disconnect between upper management and support staff Unprofessional behavior tolerated Inability to adopt newer, more efficient ways of doing things

Cons

They don't invest and funds or priorities to volunteer participation.

Cons

The compensation and classification program was somewhat outdated and did not match the level of work expected. This caused some employees to be overpaid while others were underpaid.

Cons

Working as a seasonal employee has its downfalls as in 6 months out of the year you have to find other compensation.

Cons

Few opportunities to become a federal employee as most new positions were not open to the public.

Cons

Seasonal Temp means I leave with projects unfinished.

Cons

The bureaucracy of it all can be a total mess, and unfortunately some crews can be a little unfair. They may have a 'golden boy' who seems to get every assignment and every training opportunity. Even without a 'golden boy,' the setup seems unfair. Whether it actually is or isn't doesn't matter much (life is inherently unfair anyway) but this can cause negativity and a drop in crew morale. Also, toxic masculinity is alive and well within some crews, and it is only made worse by the number of super young guys that come in thinking they have something to prove rather than something to learn. This is a crew environment which means it can be really frustrating when members of the crew don't seem to have the same mentality about the job or the other crew members, and sometimes you just need to shut up, put your head down, and dig. Some may find this a pro others a con, but either way consider this before applying. One last thing to consider: the workload fluctuates. Some days are incredibly slow and boring, others are crazy and fast. Be flexible.

Cons

Work is very boring, I don't have anything to do. People think the government is wasting the taxpayer dollar, well I am living proof. Poor mentorship for young professionals and they hire people without knowing what to do with them. Do not recommend. Just wish I had some work to do and opportunities to learn new things related to my job.

Cons

Stuck working there for many years as a temp/contract employee, so less job and financial security and less benefits and union rights, and less mobility than permanent employees. I knew people that worked there for many years and were practically running the show but could not get hired in a permanent position. Pay wasn't great but it's expected in the public sector but somehow you still end up working very hard despite knowing you don't get much for it. Benefits I hear are really good and kinda make up for the low pay, but only if you're permanent. Leadership seems generally supportive of staff, but after years of people complaining about job insecurity and feeling like cheap labor, it's just kinda been continually brushed off. Perpetually scraping for funding for projects and programs really killed morale too. Can be very political working for a federal agency so that bogged down some progress too. Because the skills I gained were most applicable to Forest Service jobs (who else would pay someone to take care of the land beside government or non-profits?), it was hard finding a good job outside Forest Service. A lot of people struggled passing the USAjobs application process even if they were great candidates. Opportunities to take on more advance responsibilities or variety of roles but mostly because there's staffing gaps so you may not really get adequate training in your new responsibilities and have to navigate a steep learning curve.