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Comment by throwaway9865 | Hacker News Reader

Hi Looking at the salary and that I'm in Baltimore making $135k as Sr. UI/UXer (designing/coding sites apps for Govt agencies) I'm not sure the salary range of up to $163k would be worth it. That's probably not for UI/UXers or is it?

My rent here in Baltimore with utilities is 2k ... if I moved to D.C. A lot of the additional salary would be absorbed by the doubling or tripling my cost of rent.

Thus I wonder why remote positions and or a mix of remote and on site one day a week is not being offered?

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Housing in DC is a little over 3x what it is in Baltimore (overall so I'm sure you could find exceptions). In addition to that, you don't work for the federal government to make a lot of money. Because you can't.

So yes the salaries are not comparable. You would make less even if you got Step 10 of GS-15 (which you definitely would not). You might be able to make on your W2 at USDS what you make in Baltimore. Maybe a little less. If you work for the government in DC you are doing so out of a sense of service.

It's part of why it's so hard to get good tech people to work for the government. You have to be a Matt Cutts and have made your money already, or come from money, or have that inner drive for public service. It's hard to make $115k in one of the most expensive cities in the country when you could live almost anywhere else and make more each month and pay less to live there.

I understand your feeling, and even if you could get to the 163k pay rate (which you might not) you would be looking at a different lifestyle. Its important to go into the process knowing that a Job at the USDS isn't going to make the most financial sense, many people have turned down packages many multiples of 163k for the opportunity to make a difference on a scale that people would only dream about. If your not excited about the impact I think you would wash out after only a few weeks.

Does that fact tend to "filter out" those who are not young and unencumbered by financial obligations like mortgages and families or those who are well off?

I have a wife, three young children, and a mortgage, and it didn't filter me out. The money isn't the biggest challenge, it is tough work and it takes a long time to reach the pay off. The daily grind up against the machine that is government will wear you down faster then anything else.

Well, it definitely filtered me out. And BTW, $163K is for a step 10. New government employees almost always start as a step 1.

I believe the HHS/CMS team spends quite a bit of time in Baltimore, because that's where CMS is. So it might still be worth talking to a USDS recruiter to see if it could be a good match.

$163k is very good money and awesome money for someone living in and around Baltimore.

I'd definitely consider if there were opportunities to work remotely each week a few days and commute in other days.

I think I'd be a good candidate with my interesting startup journey stories(a sad meet up story with Google re: a buy out, reality TV and other stories)and my experience working for govt. agencies here in Baltimore. But that would be up to those at the USDS to decide if I'm a good candidate or not.

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