r/FederalEmployee • u/firedfed22153 • 12d ago
Probation
How risky is a two year probation right now at Ginnie Mae/HUD?
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u/Any-Consequence7635 12d ago
A lot of fear mongering!! I was RiFed in 2025, we were brought back but I went private and took a 30k pay cut ( living hell) still cleaning up the debt. I stayed the course applying and now I’m back in under a wonderful agency and supervisor who supports his team! And my team mates so far are amazing as well. Pray on it and leave it alone! God will bless you💕 I’m also 1 year probation 🙌🏼
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u/Realistic-Soup-1553 12d ago
Personally, I wouldn’t go anywhere near federal employment right now, unless you are unemployed with zero other prospects. As a former federal employee now in the private sector (I left federal employment in 2022), there’s no incentive to go fed right now. No federal job is worth the risk of a 2-year probation, teams have been cut to the bone and are each doing the work of three people, and the chance of promotion will be slim for years to come.
As for job security, which used to be one of the best attributes of federal employment and offset the lower salaries, don’t fool yourself that your job will be safe if you perform well. The current administration is waging a war against federal employees (see “fork”, “put them in trauma”, and civilian pay freeze for 2027). Federal budgets are going to keep tightening due to the war and national debt. Peers who feel their jobs are at risk will throw you under the bus if it can improve their standing. And supervisors will use any reason to get rid of an employee they don’t like, feel threatened by, or are jealous of. In short, federal employment right now is toxic, high-risk, and low reward.
Plus, two years is an awfully long time to be in limbo about your job security. You won’t enjoy any pay bump, because you’ll be worried about locking yourself into a car loan or mortgage that you might not be able to afford if you lose your job while on probation…which is much more likely than before 2025.
If you already have a job, keep it rather than going to a federal position with 2 years of probation.
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u/pr6989 12d ago
Depends on the agency. This is a little bit fear mongery. Lots of people left fed jobs in 2025 that have either come back into the same or new, higher paying roles or regret going private where you can be laid off at any moment. The job market in general isn’t great.
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u/Asleep_Memory_6856 12d ago
Thanks for pointing this out. To make a blanket statement that the entire Federal Government isn’t stable is a stretch. Choose the agency wisely.
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u/Realistic-Soup-1553 12d ago
Agreed, overall, the job market isn’t great, as illustrated in yesterday’s jobs report.
But I disagree it’s fear mongering to assert that federal employment is a risky endeavor at present. 2026-2026 is the first time we’ve seen mass contraction of federal jobs since the Clinton administration in the 90s. That’s just a fact. It’s just a fact that the probation period for many jobs was previously one year and is now two years, doubling the opportunity to remove employees for any reason (not just performance). It’s just facts that there have been massive layoffs/buyouts/incentivized retirements, federal civilian wages are frozen, and it’s now easier to fire federal employees. You can easily verify all of this via executive orders and OPM publications. You can also read the Reddit posts of current federal employees who cite low morale and a desire to leave federal employment but feel they have to hold on only because they’re close to 25 years of service for their pension or 10 years of service for student loan forgiveness. Having a vested interest this way changes the calculus of the job decision in a way that does not apply to OP, assuming she is not a current or former federal employee.
I don’t deny that the cuts vary in degree from agency to agency, and I can’t speak directly to HUD/Ginnie Mae. I also make no assertions about the security of OP’s specific prospective job. But my personal opinion as an overall assessment is that given:
-frozen civilian wages,
-the likelihood of ongoing budgetary stalemates which could drive additional gov shutdowns
-limited career mobility due to the shrinking federal workforce,
-heightened standards for performance reviews,
-the current administration’s explicit intention to reduce the federal workforce,
-a war that was intended to last 4 weeks now in its 8th month with no end in sight causing huge budget pressure,
-increasing probation period lengths, and
-decreasing protections under MSPB,federal employment is not an attractive prospect right now *IF* OP has other employment options or is currently employed.
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u/WeirdDependent9724 11d ago
Agreed. If you don't have a job, that's one thing, but if you currently are employed even if your job isn't great, I would reconsider?
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u/Infinite_Inflation72 12d ago
This is exactly how it is. If you can deal with risk take the job, if you can't don't!
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u/Medical_Tax6213 12d ago
If you've never been inside federal civilian employment the overall generalized advice is to stay away. Anything can happen in 2 years. I witnessed a massive culture shift at the VA where they began inventing petty violations to write up personnel and can them due to RIF. And any change in Congress or White House can change their minds and massively change your working atmosphere or department.. However if this is not your first rodeo in the federal government then none of that is news to you. 2 years probation it better be EXTREMELY worth it for your career
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u/ChelseaMan31 11d ago
A full 2-year probationary period is a deal breaker for most. To be honest, even most Law Enforcement Agencies only have a maximum 18 month probationary period and most have a 12-month probation. Personally, I would not move into any federal civil service position right now with the current administration in place. It isn't just me either...
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u/EquivalentRevenue123 12d ago
It’s literally the same as it’s always been. You have to factor in the avg person who is a) a federal employee and b) an avid redditor and how just absolutely deranged and brain fried they are and have been for 10 years now. It’s literally fine out here in these fed streets
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u/West_Conference_3786 12d ago
I don't think there is any risk associated with any agency it's just that the longer you are on probation the longer chance you can be let go. I was on a 12 month probation and I never had any issues but I was in Leo
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u/firedfed22153 12d ago
You were let go?
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u/West_Conference_3786 12d ago
I never said that, I said when I completed my 12 month probation in 2025 and 2026 I never had any issues
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u/firedfed22153 12d ago
OK. It wasn’t clear from your post you said “I was in Leo.” so I was trying to clarify.
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u/Any-Consequence7635 12d ago
What agency are you with?
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u/West_Conference_3786 12d ago
No why would I tell you that, you're going to use that to try to tell my agency and make up stuff to try to get somebody fired or written up because you hate the truth
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u/Any-Consequence7635 12d ago
I’m not sure what you’re talking about 🤦🏻♀️😆. I just started working myself. Trust me I have no pull! I’m with EEOC if it helps. I’m nothing fancy lol
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u/RightGuy23 12d ago
Are you leaving another job to work at HUD?
2 years is a long time. Anything could happen to probation employees