Moving to Dallas!

[Life Long Learning]

It is 100% smart to take the Dallas job to get in first and pass the probationary period ASAP. After you are a permanent employee then start looking to move back to Austin within the whole Federal (OPM) system if that is what you want.

[sanantone]

Thank you, everyone!

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Congrats!

Why probably fired by one year? They're trying to avoid paying more?

Davewill is correct. Almost everyone gets automatic promotions, so if you don't qualify, then your performance must be horrible. The first year is the probationary year. They can either let you go or try to get you transferred to a different position. 

Hey Congrats, Sanantone. You earn it, it is better for you working for federal you have better benefit package. Also, i explore in Texas school. They have cheap tuition for in state student, you can take advantage. Maybe you can get your PHD in texas too.

As Merlin noted, I already live in Texas and have been living here pretty much my entire life. I currently work for the state government, so I already have pretty good benefits. I pay no premium for my insurance now, but I will be paying quite a bit more with the federal government. But, the increase in pay will more than make up for that. It would take me over a decade to get the equivalent of GS-11 pay with the state, and I'm in a similar position. 

I've already finished all of the coursework for a PhD. I just need to finish the dissertation whenever I give myself time and feel like tackling something so boring and long. 

Congrats Sanantone... from what I've heard Dallas isn't as nice as Austin, so that might make it less pleasant, but the increase in base pay is nice compensation. Particularly if the bigger pay bump comes in a year as you expect. Perhaps once you've been there a while you can transfer back to Austin once the role you want opens up.

My family and I have had a few opportunities to move to Texas but we've always turned then down. I don't think I can handle the heat (I would never move to Las Vegas for the same reason). I have relatives scattered across Texas, plus I have been to a few conferences there, but every time I've visited I've been miserable. Of course, I always seem to go during the summer or fall so I'm sure that is part of it.

That said, if I ever did move to Texas, I'd probably want to be in Austin or nearby since that seems a better fit for us culturally.

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Hey Congrats, Sanantone. You earn it, it is better for you working for federal you have better benefit package. Also, i explore in Texas school. They have cheap tuition for in state student, you can take advantage. Maybe you can get your PHD in texas too.

I'm pretty sure that Sanantone is already living in Texas (Austin), so this is just a move across the state for her.

The weather is the worst part of living in Texas. There are only a couple of months out of the year when it's pleasant. It's extremely hot for 6 months, and we do get cold in the winter. It's not like Hawaii or parts of California where there are many days in the 70s and 80s, but I'm acclimated to the heat. 

I received a firm offer from the IRS. Because of my master's degree, I qualified for GS-9. There's automatic promotion to GS-11 in one year as long as your performance isn't terrible, but you'd probably be fired by that point. I didn't want to move, but Austin doesn't seem to be hiring until August, and I'm not going to turn down a job offer for the slim chance I'll be selected for Austin. The good part is that locality pay is a few thousand higher in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Surprisingly, Houston has the highest locality pay in Texas, but you have to deal with hurricanes and oil refinery air.

Congrats!! I’ve lived in the DFW area for 30 years. We like it here! I like Austin too though, so I do understand your preference. It has a very progressive, eclectic feel to it. I think you’ll like it here once you get settled though.


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I like the people in Austin, but I don't like the inadequate highway system. Traffic is horrible, and the solution has been to trap us with more toll roads since there's no room to expand IH-35. We don't even have a loop, and our main highways only have three lanes throughout most of the city. No one wants to spend money for a real rail system, so we're just stuck. 

I'm originally from San Antonio, but I didn't apply there. I never want to move back to San Antonio, and I never want to move to El Paso. The rest of the big cities in Texas are fine. There's really not a huge cultural difference between the big cities with the exception of El Paso. San Antonio just lacks opportunities outside of the military and healthcare, and the men there are mostly broke, uneducated, and have multiple baby mamas. The violent crime rate has shot up, and there are multiple Bexar County Sheriff's deputies being arrested almost every week. It's really going downhill.

[sanantone]

It is 100% smart to take the Dallas job to get in first and pass the probationary period ASAP.  After you are a permanent employee then start looking to move back to Austin within the whole Federal (OPM) system if that is what you want.

I tried to convince a young, former coworker to apply to the IRS while they're on this hiring surge because she wants to eventually become a special agent with a federal law enforcement agency. She said, "I don't think I'd like working for the IRS." Her current job as a counselor is probably not going to help her get into the FBI. It's all about getting the competitive advantage from being a federal employee. Plus, she would be desirable for positions that focus on white collar crime. I read from a current IRS employee that the revenue officer position is being reclassified as a civil law enforcement position, which would help anyone trying to get into an 1811 position later on.  

I also tried to talk a current coworker into applying because she's already working with taxes. She said, "Federal employees get furloughed." Well, you'd get paid a lot more with the IRS, so save up and be prepared for a vacation. You can lead a horse to water...

[dfrecore]

Congrats and good luck on the move. It's kind of strange that they consider DFW a more expensive market than Austin (hence more pay) - Austin seems on the expensive side to me (their median housing price is quite a bit more than Dallas).

I agree that the IRS is a great move towards the FBI. People are silly - they don't look at their dream job as a series of stepping stones, which is a mistake. Any time you have the opportunity to advanced towards your ultimate goal, you should take it!

[sanantone]

Congrats and good luck on the move.  It's kind of strange that they consider DFW a more expensive market than Austin (hence more pay) - Austin seems on the expensive side to me (their median housing price is quite a bit more than Dallas).

I agree that the IRS is a great move towards the FBI.  People are silly - they don't look at their dream job as a series of stepping stones, which is a mistake.  Any time you have the opportunity to advanced towards your ultimate goal, you should take it!

Thanks. 

I read an article that said that Millennials don't want to work for the IRS. I'm an older Millennial, and she's a younger one. Really, I think she's Gen Z, but she insists that she's a Millennial. But, anyway, it's kind of crazy how someone wouldn't want a higher-paying, stable, professional job with the federal government that comes with preference for other federal government jobs.

[ShotoJuku]

Congratulations!!!

[sanantone]

Congratulations!!!

Thank you.

[cookderosa]

Congratulations!!

[sanantone]

Congratulations!!

Thank you.

[topdog98]

Congratulations! I hope everything works out great for you.