[redserk]

Defense contracting is not a government job.

You work for a private organization that provides services to the government.

Big difference.

[alexjplant]

...where did I say that it was? They're both in the same space (figuratively and sometimes literally) and both of them have the same problem insofar as they aren't as bulletproof as they're made out to be. You can, in fact, be fired from a government job and things like the government shutdown circus and BRAC are real.

[redserk]

My apologies if I misinterpreted. I assumed it was tied together with this:

> When I worked in defense contracting people loved trotting out stuff like "the work is stable", "you can't get fired from a government job"

It's truly a shame that the employees who keep the government glued together -- be it via direct government employment or contracting -- are subject to unnecessarily turmulous conditions because of one political party's antics.

[alexjplant]

_My_ apologies for not making the distinction more explicit - reading it in hindsight it is a bit ambiguous.

In an ideal world the government would operate a little more sanely but I'm not holding my breath.