Disability And Getting A Federal Job

[Rob m]

Back ground

I’m still on active duty, almost 19 years total and next summer I’ll be looking for a job. I want to get into the federal system (GS) system and I’m concern about how a disability rating will affect my future job prospects.

Accident

Appox 15 years ago I lost a 2”x3” piece of skull due to an accident and the doctor told me I also suffered a small amount of brain damage from an accident that occurred on base. I had 2 surgeries, the first to remove bone chips around my brain and the second, 6 months later to close in the hole, appox 2”x3”.

Claim

I feel that once I retire in appox 1 year I want to file a claim for the plate in my head and what I feel is a disfiguring scar appox 6”-7” long on my forehead and head. From doing some basic research I believe I will qualify for at least 50% (size of plate in head) and 10% (for the scar)

Concerns

I’m worried that if I receive 60% or more I may not qualify for a Federal job on base. I believe that since I’ve still been able to work and stay on active duty for 15+ years the claims officer may not give me the percentage I deserve.

I’m also worried that because I’ve lived with the problems (see below) for such a long time I will not get what I deserve.

Go going symptoms

Some difficulties in my reading and writing abilities, I have a little bit of dyslexia that I did not have before the accident and terrible hand writing as a result of the accident (thank goodness for computers)

Headaches 4-5 times per month

A little bit of dizziness at times

Decreased sensitivity in the area of the accident

Scar

Sensitivity to bright light

Any thoughts on the subject (about how a possible high rating will affect Federal job opportunities) will be appreciated

Thanks

Rob

[Pete53]

Bump

[jbasser]

There is no issue with you working with a service connected disability.

Fill out the SF-15 to get your Veteran preference. (10 points) Yours will be a better preference as a 30 percent or more disabled vet.

If you are still on AD and you have not been Medically discharged and you are going to finish up and retire, future employment should not have much bearing on your current disabilities.

If in the future the disabilities make you not able to work then you can ask for TDIU based on your Service conected disabilities.

Good Luck

J

[broncovet]

Dont count on getting a job because you have VA preference. It is a "teethless" law, that everyone ignores. No one pays any attention to it. Non Vets are hired every day when qualified Vets also apply. If the Vet complains, it is pretty easy for the offender..it will be the Veteran who has to prove his case. If the Veteran has a Phd, and they hire a non Vet with a high school education, they will say that education has nothing to do with it..they hire on experience. Conversely, if they hire a non Vet with zero expericene when a Vet has 20 years experience, they will say that the non Vet went through eleven years of schooling while the Vet dropped out of high school with 10.5 years. Its a loose-loose situation for Vets..the only one that gets out of this law is the politicians put it on their resume of how they helped Vets.

[sandboxsquid]

Depending on the area of the country you are in, the road to federal employment can be quite difficult. Here in the Dayton, Oh area you can pretty much forget about any GS positions unless you have connections. If you score higher than their "preferred" candidate, they just close the vacancy announcmeent and re-open it a week later with some bizare skill-sets they are pretty sure only their chosen candidate has. I have been trying for over 5 years, have been referred not selected 47 times for various positions, and I have one interview to show for it. This interview was a sham at best, a waste of mine and the hiring managers time. It was quite onvious from the get go they had no intention of hiring me and they were "just going through the motions." The good 'ole boy network is alive and well in Dayton regarding federal employment. Other areas of the country, such as the Washington DC area, give a 10 point vet a much better chance of landing the job. And I agree with broncovet that there really isn't anything you can do if you don't get the job. Appealing will get you nowhere, and also it may label you as a "troublemaker" to any other hiring managers in the area.

[john999]

The only job where my service connection really helped was with the post office. However, they really look you over to see if you can do the job. It is labor type work and not ideal for a disabled person. I lasted about 20 years before I had to retire on disability. The only thing the SC did for me was get me in the door. After that all the relatives and connected people got promotions. I stayed a lowly clerk even though I had more education than 99% of the people that were my bosses. That was a strike against me since they feared people with education as a threat to their positions.

Other federal jobs I never had a chance at getting. I even got beat out at the VA for a couselor job. I was a college educated, disabled vet and they had to interview me, but they had the person already picked out for the job. This is how it works. Oh, yeah, and I got a call from the ATF to take people to jail for making white lightening. That is what they wanted me to do was to chase hillbillies in Kentucky and bust up stills. Nice way to get shot between the eyes. I declined the interview. Those were the only interviews I ever was offered in 25 years.