With the turmoil surrounding the massive federal reorganization underway, consider your options and weigh the benefits of a move to the private sector. There are viable options to consider, including early and deferred retirements. Many federal organizations are offering VERA and VSIPs to avoid RIFs.
how do you know it it’s time - is it better to jump to private sector or just weather the storm?
I was a contractor and a fed (at different times that is 
) and during my time as a contractor I learned to always keep my resume up to date and never completely shut down my job search. Many feds I met would never dream of leaving federal service but people need to realize there are other options out there.
If you have at least five years service (not including any “temp” time) you are vested in the pension. You can request a payout of your contributions or leave it in there. And you can return to federal service later… or at least you can try.
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If you’re going to move from Fed to Contractor, better not wait too long. You’re not the only one doing it so there will be an influx all competing for the same contracts (it’s already started).
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Yes, this is true. The flip side is that more contractor jobs will be created for the areas the government is expanding to such as nuclear, increased defense spending to modernize the military, government IT infrastructure and so on.
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My guess is that won’t happen anytime soon. All these RIF orders will end up in the courts and the agencies won’t be able to process new hires until some cases are resolved. But that’s just a guess. Hope I’m wrong.