NY Job Fair Offers Government Opportunities to Frustrated Fi

The latest New York City job fair to come across our desk underscores a point that we've touched on in this space before: The economy may be in shambles, but Uncle Sam can always use a few more good employees. And even though Wall Street is, um, "consolodating" all around, finance pros can find ample opportunities with the federal agencies that run it. Among the government organizations featured at the April 24 event, presented by the New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA), will be the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the FBI, and even our good buddy the Securities and Exchange Commission. Said SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro, “We have a phenomenal opportunity right now to bring in much more current and useful skill sets, with people who have lost jobs on Wall Street and are anxious to do something, and do something very constructive.”

Nothing is ever going to offer the high pay potential of Wall Street, but government jobs are stable, offer solid benefits and a good healthcare program, and aren't too shabby in the salary department, either. "A government employee in New York can earn between $76,000 and $153,000, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s web site." This is welcome news for a city that saw unemployment leap from 6.9 percent in January to 8.1 percent in February.

--Posted by Steven Schiff, Vault News & Commentary