Earlier this week I helped my intelligent colleague who is more proficient than all of our other coworkers separate data converted from a Word document to an Excel spreadsheet into unique columns. The individual who brought this Word document of data to her was prepared to type or copy-paste this data cell-by-cell in a project that would probably prompt me to throw my computer out the window. My colleague knew I would have a better solution—it took seconds rather than hours, and I was happy to save everyone that time.
I have a lot of job security. I save my team hours of work on a weekly basis and also function as the key problem solver for any data inquiry and most IT questions. Everyone wants me to stay employed with my current team, but there is also a chance that I lost my job yesterday. (I am writing this in July since this article comes out in the middle of rugby season, so I truly have no idea about the future of my job at this point.)
My employer, a private company that contracts with the federal government, loves me because my innovative solutions make them look good to our government client. The team of government workers I work with also loves me because I solve problems quickly and develop processes that make work easier for everyone. But the five-year contract that I have been working on ended on September 30, 2024. While my government team knows they still need help from the private sector, my employer needed to compete with other companies to win the renewal of this contract. My technical skills will bolster my company’s contract, but the decision-makers for this contract renewal are not the government employees that I work with directly, so those decision makers could decide that they would rather cut costs than get the most technical skills.
Those decision makers that have never worked with me do not understand that it would be nearly impossible to find another person with my strange collection of areas of expertise. Even though everyone on both sides of this equation wants me to continue doing my current job, today may be the start of a funemployment period for me.
There is More Uncertainty than You Think
You may read that and shrug at the inherent riskiness of government contracting specifically, and you would be right. But if you think that riskiness does not exist in some manner in all other fields, you are incorrect.
I just showed that it does not matter how important your niche skills are to your team. You can still lose your job. Sometimes your skills actually put you at risk for a job loss: The second your niche skills become obsolete, you may find yourself without a job. Alternatively, your employer may find someone with less experience and 75% of your qualifications that they can pay 50% of your salary, and they will bet on the savings.
On the other hand, if you are an average worker who keeps their head down, you are still at risk of job loss, just for completely different reasons. Budget cuts may take away your job. A company reorganization may allow three other employees to assume all the responsibilities involved in your job, making you obsolete. Another company may buy your company, negating all the positive relationships you developed with your company’s leadership and leaving you susceptible to the whims of a new employer who does not know your talents.
Maybe you are not at a private company and have one of those “safe” public sector jobs. State and federal budgets can be cut or realigned as well. Even if I joined the public sector to work on my same team (an option that I have been encouraged to pursue numerous times), the U.S. government could decide to eliminate the budget authority about which I have developed an expertise. Even more generally, different areas of importance receive different allocations of money according to leadership changes and necessary priority changes. These can sway your importance.
Some public sector jobs will always exist. My parents were both teachers, arguably one of the safest professions that will never suddenly disappear. Junior teachers and teachers working in areas viewed as “expendable” remain at risk during budget cuts. (Patrick was laid off due to budget cuts while teaching high school math after his second year in a certain district!) While senior teachers will generally keep their jobs, they can also be effectively pushed out of their jobs. If the school district stops raising your salary, gives you a shorter prep period, provides fewer materials, and starts assigning you lunch duty every other day, your enthusiasm for the job may decline.
No job is safe. Most could send you packing tomorrow without a second thought. A few are safe enough that you will retain the job for a while, although at the cost of your physical and mental health. But a secure-but-toxic job is not worth trading years of healthy life. Every job can either disappear or cost you more than anyone should be willing to give.
Creating Security for Yourself
With that knowledge, you can recognize that you are not looking to find a secure job. Instead, look to create your own security so job loss or job change is not detrimental to your lifestyle.
In the months leading up to my contract renewal, my government colleagues made it clear that I would be welcomed if I decided to (a) apply to a public sector position working on the same team or (b) jump to whatever private sector company won the new contract in the event that my current company does not. My private sector employer also reassured me that my skills were useful elsewhere, and they could find another contract for me. If those three options did not provide enough security, I was also recruited by another contractor working for a government agency that works closely with my team because they like my work ethic.
My job is not secure, but I am secure. I have many employment options that I have 99% certainty I could obtain.
But I also do not really like any of them.
Working for the government would mean taking a pay cut even if they match my current salary. Most other contractors offer poorer benefits than I have, and my unlimited PTO and 401(k) match have become an expectation at this point. Staying with my current employer would provide these benefits, but I do not love the idea of starting over with a completely different part of the government now since most places have reverted to requiring new employees to work in-person initially. (I started working with my current team in April 2020 and know the processes involved in my team’s work better than anyone. It turns out that if you have to figure things out on your own because of a global pandemic, you may actually learn the ropes better than you would shadowing long-term employees. Based on my experience, I am against this inflexible construct.) Finally, working for the other contractor would lead to lesser benefits and a new team, so that is a big no.
I made the somewhat large decision that if my current employer does not win the contract, I will leave all the job options I have and also adopt the entrepreneur life. Being the type of person who saves half of her salary allows me the privilege of choosing none of the above.
Job security may not be real, but there are still two types of security that give you options:
Professional reputation security
Financial security
Professional reputation security is why I have four potential job options on the table. Financial security is why I can be as ridiculous as Goldilocks and decide none are quite right for me.
Both types of security work on a sliding scale. You build both gradually over time. To build professional reputation security, make yourself an indispensable employee. Even if you are dispensed of, you will find other opportunities. This is not about building a LinkedIn, networking, or schmoozing. Show that your work speaks for itself because it is now what you know and who you show. Let your work speak to your value.
Financial security grows as your investments grow. A couple years ago, I would not make this same dramatic move. I would weigh the four options and decide which one best fit my priorities. Being more than halfway to my FI Number, both individually and as a household, gives me the freedom to say no thanks to a suboptimal option. Leaving before I have enough money to support myself in perpetuity is not scary. Your FI Number is 25x your annual spending. Do the math. More than halfway there means I could theoretically survive for more than 12.5 years. I can probably figure out a way to make some money in the next decade or so.
Unstable Jobs Are Not Always a Bad Thing
While I am ready to start my funemployment journey if my current employer does not win the contract, I hope I still have my job today. I enjoy my job, coworkers, schedule, benefits, and salary enough to keep my job for a few more years. My ideal situation is to keep my job, for now.
Just because jobs are unstable does not mean you should leave the workforce immediately and choose to become an entrepreneur where you control everything happening in your own business. That may be the right choice for you, but jobs offer opportunities and benefits. In the United States, they literally offer benefits: It is a lot easier to have health insurance since health insurance is weirdly tied to employment in this country. A steady income is also a pretty great reality. The limit of what you can make as an entrepreneur is higher, but the minimum is also lower.
Everyone’s situation is unique, but maintaining this job while simultaneously not worrying about if it will go away makes me feel free. I have embraced its instability and decided that my employment future is up to the government contracting office. I hope I am working today, but if the government lost another valuable employee yesterday, I will be fine. My job is unstable, but I have security.
September 30 Update: This Job Ended, but I Have a Job!
This article proved to be a premonition of sorts, as my employer did not get the new contract. In fact, it was not even provided the opportunity to bid on the contract! Instead, the contract was awarded to another company without allowing any others to compete. My company did not learn this happened until September 12, and I learned the news on September 13.
In less than two weeks, I received a call and generous offer from the company taking over the contract, received a counteroffer from my current employer matching compensation, turned over my entire portfolio to make sure the government employees I worked with can do their jobs without disruption, turned in my old computer and badges, and picked up my new computer for a new contract. You read that right: I decided to continue working!
The employer I have worked for over the past couple years offered another more than $20K raise to convince me to stay. I will be working on a different contract that allows me to be 100% remote, without any finagling or negotiating, while keeping all my favorite benefits. The contract and new job were not opportunities I ever considered, but they seem like a chance to continue fostering self-improvement and new skills while doing creative work.
Hopefully, I love the job. If I do not, I can always seek an opportunity to go back to my previous job with a different employer. Alternatively, I can use the financial freedom I have created to pick the Goldilocks option. Thanks to financial security, I can seek enjoyment at work without concern. Jobs, or at least the current environment we enjoy at work, are always unstable. Creating your own stability is the only way to maintain your happiness through the volatility.
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