Pay and working environment

Jobs are usually a 3 year contract but can be extended up to 5 years; For some reason after 5 years you must go Stateside for 1 year then you can look for another European postion. Regarding travel: Year one - 1 ticket from the States to your job. Year 2 - on your date of hire you receive 10 days of home leave which you can use when you travel Stateside in addition to any other leave time you have.This home leave is yearly. If you extend to 5 years- in year 4 you will also receive a RT fully paid airfare home and back.

Currently the Department of Defense is undergoing a change in how they pay their civilian employees; They are going from the old GS (General Services) system to a new system called NSPS (National Security Personnel System) . As I understand it with this new system you and your supervisor discuss a plan of objectives you will fulfill with in a time frame to meet the "mission" of your facility. At the end of the time frame you receive a rating based on these objectives which goes to a panel. The panel then "rewards" you with a pay raise (up to 5% of your salary) and also there is a possibility of a bonus as well. Another positive aspect is that if you apply for a job now you have more bargaining power about your wages than under the old GS system. The drawback (from my understanding of the system) is that if you fail to meet the objectives you could be penalized by a 10% loss in wages. Further information on this subject can be found at this website.

If you are curious about pay scales under old GS system here is the site.

I am guessing the average pay for a nurse with 15+ years experience could be between $46K and $56K annually. This would not include differentials.

I work in a clinic so we have 8/10/12 hour shifts and are open on Saturdays for 4 hours. I believe military hospitals probably offer 8 and 12 hour shifts, they might be rotating shifts. They do offer shift differential for evenings and nights as well as 25% Sunday differential. Patients are usually military, military families and sometimes civilians. Supervisors are mostly military but there are some civilian supervisors as well.

They also offer a 401K which you can invest the way you want in their Thrift Savings Fund. The Government matches dollar for dollar up to the first 3% and then fifty cents on the dollar on the 5%.

If you are coming from a government job your benefits will come with you . One positive aspect is if you join the government service early your can retire in 20 years. Beginning leave time is usually 2 weeks a year plus Federal holidays. I think the most you can accumulate is about 30 leave days a year excluding holidays and home leave.

As for health care/ dental ~ the government offers a variety of plans and you have a couple months to make your decision. Then every year during "open season" you can change your health care plan to another if you decide to do so. The army allows you to visit their health clinic (no dental for civilians). You have the option of receiving your health care on post or on the economy. Basically, I have found is you pay your bill and then fill out the health care providers info sheet and mail it to them and then you are reimbursed per your policy.
 

Applying for government contracts

Applying for an overseas job is a snap! The websites below contain a resume program ~ which also keeps a list of your "applications" and their "current" status. You may update your resume prn. I always say to people write everything you possibly can about your skills,equipment, supervision of employees, credentials etc. ~ sell yourself. I work for the Army but there are Navy opportunities as well and they use the same system. These job websites are updated weekly and even if you are not hired right away ~ keep trying.  :)

Army employment   Navy employment   Federal Government employment

Ok, say you have applied for a job, have been interviewed and offered the job and you accept~ what next? Expect to spend a fair amount of time filling out government paperwork. It took me almost 30 days to complete everything. Usually the people (we will call CPAC) whom gave you the job offer will hook you up to a local CPAC person to assist you in this process. Please note that you need to bring in your passport (if you don't have one please see the link below) your licenses, immunization record, and credentials (i.e. BLS, ACLS etc.). They will give you travel papers or travel orders which you will need throughout your process of transferring overseas.

You will also make an appointment at the military clinic for a two part physical exam. This is done free of charge.

Next you will visit the "transportation" office and the officer there will explain how many pounds of household goods (aka furniture etc) they will ship and store until you find housing. They will also assist you in having one vehicle transported to your destination at the government's expense.

Finally,you visit the government travel agency and they will give you a ticket to your destination.

Pros and cons

OK, what are the pros and cons of my decision to travel overseas? Well, I did take a significant cut in pay versus travel nursing in the states. However, it was made up in the fact that I have a stipend for housing and utilities (ased on my rent and cost of utilities/year as well as a post allowance (actual location) which is given to help offset differences in local buying power and exchange rates.

Also working for the army I have 4 days off in a row every month called training holidays so i have a mini-vacation. Travel in Europe - CHEAP - if you know how to shop for a ticket and where to stay. Last year, Ms. America (my preceptor when I arrived) and I went to Rome on the "4 day weekend". Flights from Germany were 24 Euros  RT each (or about $31 US at current exchange rates early 2007). And another $33 Euro a day for the both of us at a convent where we stayed ~ a 10 minute walk from the Vatican! More about Rome here.

Air Berlin and Ryan Air both have specials. So one can find good air deals in the Europe area. Here in Bavaria (southern Germany) we have a train deal every weekend - for $20 Euros up to 5 people can ride the rails throughout Bavaria and Salzburg (Austria).

Well, that's it for now in a nutshell! I am happy with my decision and I love to travel!

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