What less prestigious federal agencies have good exit options? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm sure that SEC or other financial regulatory agencies have great exit options, and DOJ --> biglaw is a well known path, but what other agencies can a less prestigious applicant aim for if she wants the chance to go make more money outside of government down the road?

I'm a fed clerk from a lower t-14 and am looking for fed jobs, I'm getting a bunch of referrals but no interviews yet, but I'm fairly confident I'll get something eventually. Just not sure what these jobs might lead to. Like, I'm guessing doing immigration work for DHS or ICE is not going to lead to $$$. Department of Energy? EPA? Any ideas about what I should be looking for?

[Anonymous User]

I believe the Office of the legal advisor at the state department has some openings and it's pretty high end work. Also check out the treasury, like their banking and finance division. It's like a poor man's SEC because I don't think too many people think of it when looking for that type of job

[Anonymous User]

I believe the Office of the legal advisor at the state department has some openings and it's pretty high end work. Also check out the treasury, like their banking and finance division. It's like a poor man's SEC because I don't think too many people think of it when looking for that type of job

Legal jobs at State are some of the hardest to get in the federal government, generally harder than getting a job at DOJ. They are basically unicorn positions. Treasury is probably a little easier to get than places like the SEC but it's still extremely competitive.

It's kind of hard to answer this questions since federal agencies are so varied. Generally, every agency that regulates an important industry will have good exit options to that industry if you are in a programmatic legal position. This is true even if the agency isn't well known to lay people. For example, FERC has some of the best exit options in government even though it's less well known because it regulates a huge part of the electricity transmission industry. Places like Social Security, Veterans Affairs, and some parts of DHS will have worse or non-existant exit options since they either don't regulate any industries or the industries they regulate like immigration law don't pay well. Just look at a list of federal agencies and research what they do to figure out where to apply.

[Anonymous User]

I know some people who’ve gone EPA —> large firms. The primary qualification for getting into the EPA did seem to be specialized environmental knowledge/experience (one did a joint Environmental Studies MA, which, where we were, was pretty scientific/technical).

[Anonymous User]

Treasury is still very competitive, as is Commerce, but both have great exit options. Generally any Fed job that requires skills that can be transferred to biglaw will be just as, if not more, competitive than the firm route.

[Anonymous User]

Generally, every agency that regulates an important industry will have good exit options to that industry if you are in a programmatic legal position. This is true even if the agency isn't well known to lay people.

As a federal government employee, this is the correct answer. Agencies that regulate large companies will always pay for law firms that have hired lawyers formally employed at their regulating agency. The list is pretty long - EPA, FDA, FTC, all of the financial regulators (SEC, OCC, IRS, Treasury, CFPB), DOT, FERC, FCC, NLRB.