Government contractors vs. federal employees: How to tell the difference
Like lions and hyenas, Yankees fans and Red Sox fans, the French and everybody, there seems to be a natural conflict here.
I am new to the grudge match between federal employees and federal contractors. Like lions and hyenas, Yankees fans and Red Sox fans, the French and everybody, there seems to be a natural conflict here. While reading the comments section of a recent FCW Insider piece on this issue, I wondered if there was some sort of list or primer to help us identify the combatants -- er, co-workers.
| CIVIL SERVANTS... | CONTRACTORS... |
| will let you know within 5 years that they are a federal employee | will let you know within 5 minutes that they are contractors |
| can lose job by filling out necessary paperwork and waiting for response |
can lose job by not meeting contracted goals |
| think G-14 is something to aspire to | think G-14 is a bingo space |
| can tell you where the bathrooms are | can tell you how much better bathrooms are in private sector |
| have change of shirt | have change for a twenty |
| have maps for public transportation | have own parking spaces |
| make better cookies | buy better cookies |
| spend free time reading disparaging entries about fed employees on Web site comments sections | spend free time writing disparaging entries about fed employees on Web site comments sections |
| enjoy the four seasons | have eaten at the Four Seasons |
| share a desk with a fellow fed employee | share elevators with fed employees, but won't readily admit it |
| counting the days until they "have more time to travel" | counting the days until they "go back to the real world" |
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