Lessons Learned from Transitioning from Public Service to Industry?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified)
in
Career Management

Hi all,

Like many U.S. Government employees, I will soon be transitioning from a career of public service (23 years in my case) to one in industry.  My background is in client engagement and customer success in the software solutions realm.  Where I've done my best work is when I can bring in my public safety mission expertise, business consulting, and software solutions to solve customer problems. 

Most of the people I know who have made the jump did so after retirement and were hired into nominal VP or "public sector engagement lead" type positions due to their contacts and government experience.  Others left their government jobs to become contractors to the government and do similar jobs.  I'm looking to go a different direction if possible and wondering if there are others here who have made a similar jump and what lessons you learned?

 

Submitted by Andrew Sloan on Sunday March 16th, 2025 7:12 pm

Boy, I hate unanswered questions in forums, don't you?
I was surprised not to get any answers here but I did find some while doing research and talking to my network.
So, for the benefit of anyone who comes to find an answer to this question, here you go:

  1. As public servants, we tend to have too much humility around the work we do.  It's hard to wrap my brain around the value I've been bringing to the table all these years, especially when I'm being told my work is inherently unproductive.  But recognize your value.  Going through the CT exercises on accomplishments has really brought this into focus for me.
  2. If you're going into a field that does business with the government, you'll probably find that they're hungry for your knowledge of how government works.  Much as industry can be a mystery to us, government can be a mystery to those who haven't worked in it.
  3. Your starting pay in industry is going to be the point you work forward from so don't shortsell yourself.  Understand your total compensation as a government employee (especially factor in those health benefits!) before thinking about what kind of salary you can ask for.
  4. Negotiate your leave!  As a fed who has been around for 15+ years, I get 200 hours of vacation time and 100 hours of sick leave.  Assuming the company you go to has some sort of paid leave option, ask for what you're already getting when you get to the compensation discussion.  Companies are usually happy to throw it in if you ask but if you don't ask, you might have your number of vacation days cut in half.
  5. When working on your resume, generative AI can help translate some of the government-specific terms into industry-specific speak.  Once I figured out what companies I was interested in working for, I fed some job descriptions I was interested in into ChatGPT then started having it help reword my duties and accomplishments.  As always, fact check what statements it makes to make sure it isn't lying about your experience because after all, AI can only help.

That's what I've learned so far.

Submitted by Sam Miller on Thursday March 27th, 2025 2:50 pm

If you want to move away from the typical gov-to-contractor path, consider roles in enterprise SaaS companies, especially in regulated industries like healthcare or finance where your expertise could translate well. Networking is key.