Number of Federal Workers Projected to Decrease
WASHINGTON – Washington interns say that in spite of the terrorist attacks that shattered the country’s security on Sept. 11, their plans for their future careers have not changed.
After Sept. 11, Jonathan Vega, 21, a senior at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst interning at Massachusetts 5th District Congressman Martin T. Meehan, D-Lowell, said, “I have a greater appreciation for everyone that puts forth any energy into the government.” He said he also better understands the situations government workers have to deal with, such as the recent anthrax attacks.
It seems that most people interested in working in the government or doing public service were interested before the events of Sept. 11. And that is going to be a problem.
According to a recent poll, many American’s interest and confidence in the government has increased dramatically since Sept. 11. But, in spite of this increased interest, the future projections for applications to federal jobs is falling and is expected to keep declining.
“We have a generation interested in giving back and interested in volunteering,” said Max Stier, president of the Partnership for Public Service, a non-profit organization founded last month to help revamp the federal workforce.
The organization was in the works before Sept. 11; its original launch date was Sept. 12. Stier said 50 percent of the workforce will be eligible to retire in the next few years and a shortage of federal workers is predicted to follow. However, according to Stier, the events of Sept. 11 showed the country how critical federal workers and civil servants are.
“The need for public servants to be involved is greater now than in a long time,” said Stier.
Vega, a journalism and political science major from Groton, was interested in politics before he came to Washington. He went to the nation’s capital to see exactly what he can do with a political science degree. After he graduates, wants to write for a newspaper for a few years and then maybe run for office, he said.
Emily Byrne, 21, said she was interested in politics long before Sept. 11. As a child, Byrne, a senior at the UMass Lowell, who is originally from Lowell, helped in various campaigns by doing activities such as mailing drops and holding signs supporting candidates. This semester, she is in Washington interning at Rep. Meehan’s Washington office.
“Kids our age are more cynical and critical of the government,” said Byrne. She said young people have just received the right to vote and are not too involved in the government.
“Now, it’s a way of life everyday,” she said, adding that after Sept. 11, people have to be involved and pay attention.
Byrne, who is a criminal justice and political science major, said she can see herself working in politics in the future, partly because her cousin’s husband was on one of the hijacked planes. She said she wants to work in government in the future, so she can have the chance to help people, something she enjoyed doing long before September’s terrorist attacks.
“The government has not been directly relevant in our lives for a long time,” said Stier. He explained that in World War II and the 1960s, leaders pointed to the government to help solve problems, but up until Sept. 11, there had been less focus on the federal government.
“Clearly there’s an increased interest in current events and what’s going on,” said Dean Bergeron, professor of history and political science at UMass Lowell. Four students from UMass Lowell, including Byrne, are interning in Washington this semester through the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars.
Bergeron said there is now a “significant interest” among other students to intern in Washington and anticipates that all five available slots will be filled for next semester’s internships. He also said that curiosity in a group he advises, Model League Experience, which includes Model United Nations and Model League of Arab States, has also increased.
“This [Sept. 11] has been an intense experience that has greatly affected students doing internships in Washington,” said Bergeron. He believes that Sept.11, if anything, increased the “intensity” of the UMass interns’ commitment to public service.
According to the Partnership’s Stier, Sept. 11 made the public appreciate federal workers more, but still did not make them want to be federal workers.
Enrollment in the Massachusetts and New Hampshire branches of the Peace Corps and the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at UMass Lowell has not shown risen after Sept. 11.
John Friberg, 22, a senior at Harvard University, is currently applying to travel to North Africa with the Peace Corps. While Friberg wants to work in business after the Peace Corps, and has no intention of working in the government of civil service, he enjoys giving back to the community.
“I want to give back to society,” he said, explaining that he enjoys tutoring and was interesting in joining the military when he was younger. He said he has been thinking about applying to the Peace Corps for a year and a half.
Friberg also thinks part of his interest in the Peace Corps is because he was born in Holland and lived in Brussels until he was twelve.
“It’s kind of a feeling that the U.S. is home, but not fully home for me,” he said. Friberg said he is afraid of war, but the best way to prevent war is through education, trying to raise the living standards of other countries and understanding other cultures, all of which is possible through the Peace Corps.
“I think people would be more public service conscious after Sept. 11,” said Rep. Meehan. While Meehan said he thinks more people would be attracted to military service, he said the government needs to do a better job increasing military pay and housing benefits.
“I think we were a little surprised that the trust in government is not translating over to the federal government,” said Patricia McGinnis, a member of the Partnership’s Board of Governors and President and CEO of the Council for Excellence in Government. The Council is working with the Partnership to help attract people to government jobs. Now Stier said there is a chance to turn this attitude around with education.
“There is an appetite for this right now and if we do our job right we will find a very bright future for public service,” said Stier.
Stier explained that the Partnership for Public Service plans to help educate people about the variety of federal jobs available, the satisfaction that comes from working in the government, as well as working to make the application process quicker and less cumbersome and working to increase salaries.
Stier is also working with U.S. Senator George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, a member on the Partnership’s Board of Governors, and Congresswoman Connie A. Morella, R-Md., to draft legislation to offer salaries competitive to those in the private sector, to have a Chief Human Capitol Officer in every government agency, and use student loan forgiveness as a tool for recruiting potential government employees.
Rep. Meehan said he would support legislation that would increase pay and benefits of federal employees. However, he said it would depend who those federal employees are, but “definitely” for law enforcement and homeland security.
“That should be priority,” said Rep. Meehan, “safety at home.”
McGinnis said the Council for Excellence in Government is involved with companies like America Online to work on “online aspects” of this campaign, as well as the entertainment community in order to portray government employees in a “more creative and positive light.”
She said the government work being done after Sept. 11 is “critical” and now, more than ever, the U.S. needs its “best and brightest” working to combat terrorism.
McGinnis said the Partenrship’s and Council’s attempt to educate the public about federal jobs and help recruit federal workers will not be easy.
“I think we’re talking about a long-term campaign, but it has some urgency,” she said. She hopes that with in a year the public’s interest in government jobs will show a “substantial increase.”
