MSPB Judge

[sgl]

Valuable experience in trying to get ALJ? Anyone have experience with serving as an AJ with MSPB?

[oldschool]

I have no experience with MSPB but if you are trying to build for yourself a career track to ALJ it can't hurt, as I understand that state court ALJs have done pretty well in the selection process in the past. With that being said, there is always a gamble in making a divergent career move in hopes of getting somewhere else down the road. Assuming that you were to be selected as an MSPB judge, you could potentially hate the job, or (hypothetically) you may end up not be very good at it, or both, in which case you will have not helped your chances at making ALJ. And some find that the ALJ job is not for them once they have experienced it for awhile.

Also, there are alot of variables to becoming an ALJ, as many here can attest. You have to get your application in within a (small) deadline, make the first cut, and then score high enough to make it onto a cert. Then you have (very roughly, as I do not want to rekindle that debate) 1 in 3 odds of being selected. Not to dissuadge you, but think of yourself as a sea turtle egg buried on the beach. Only a small handful pass all the obstacles to hatch, make it across the beach and into the ocean, and survive long enough grow into an adult sea turtle. It's going to get only harder as the hires are going to become smaller after this next one.

I don't know your situation but I recommend career moves that make sense from a financial and quality of life standpoint. But more importantly, pick jobs that you could see yourself doing for quite some time because you never know whether or when the next step will present itself.

[decadealj]

oldschool- what a terrific post. You need to post more often!

[tricia]

Oldschool, you said: "I don't know your situation but I recommend career moves that make sense from a financial and quality of life standpoint. "
That is such good advice.
And what a good analogy - thinking of ourselves as sea turtle eggs. This egg hopes that we get our scores today.