An increasing number of Gen Zs are choosing government jobs for its stability, especially after massive private sector layoffs in the past years. However, this trend could be upended by the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), co-led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
The proposed agency plans to recommend cutting millions of federal jobs and even eliminating some departments. Just this week, they wrote about aims to cut regulations and federal spending, reclassify job protections, and enforce full-time, in-office work for federal employees.
Government jobs often pay well, with average salaries over $100,000. For example, the Department of Education averages $144,561.
Additionally, federal departments are also among the largest employers. The Department of Veterans Affairs is the biggest with 486,522 workers. Homeland Security, employs the second-highest, 222,539 people.
Although DOGE will likely function as an advisory body without direct power, the plans from Musk and Ramaswamy may still create uncertainty in federal job security, particularly in these large departments.
Experts say Social Security and Medicare, the biggest areas of government spending, are harder to cut, as they’re protected by laws and public opinion.
Musk, however, has shown he can make big changes, like when he laid off 80% of Twitter’s (now known as X) staff and still kept the platform running.