Letter to the editor

I strongly agree with Milt Zall's column, "The kiss of death."

As far as information technology goes, the current position classification system is a disaster. The various job duties and descriptions posted on USAJobs highlight many of the discrepancies.

Some agencies top a position out at a GS-11 level and others top out at a GS-13 level for the same duties and responsibilities. Most agencies don't even bother to look at the complexities of the job before assigning pay scales to them. In my agency, Oracle Corp. jobs pretty much top out at a GS-13 level, but at the same time, they are trying to hire some IBM Corp. Lotus Notes people (nationwide) at a GS-14 level.

Ask anybody who has in-depth knowledge of both systems, and Oracle is far more advanced and complicated at the administrative and programming level. But because the agency has decided to "standardize" on Notes for messaging, there's an impetus to try to get the best working after three years regardless of the cost.

Name withheld by request