The federal workforce is facing a sea of challenges as 105,000 feds retire, and the impact is rippling through the system. Andy's story is a familiar one for many executives leaving federal service, highlighting the mismatch in expectations between the public and private sectors. After leaving federal service earlier this year, Andy found himself in a big company in a sector he was intimately familiar with, with growing opportunities across the federal sector. However, less than a year into his new position, Andy is joining the growing number of former federal employees who are becoming consultants.
The numbers tell a similar story. There are 551 fewer Senior Executive Service (SES) members in 2026 than in 2025, and the pipeline of people at the General Schedule, or GS-14 and GS-15 levels, who are in line to become SESers, has also seen significant one-year reductions. The reduction of employees at the GS-14 level comes after years of growth, and the changes to employees at the GS-15 level erase growth since 2021. The reduction of senior leaders isn't all that different from what agencies saw last year, with 219,000 fewer federal employees in 2025 than in 2024.
Concerns over the impending retirement wave are not new, but the combination of retirements, employees taking the Deferred Retirement Program (DRP), the administration firing probationary employees, and people just plain quitting, has created more concern than ever about the pipeline of current and up-and-coming federal managers. The effect of this is stress on leaders, making it difficult to focus on mission delivery and provide services to the American people. It also leads to burnout because leaders are in a position where it's difficult to lead effectively when trying to manage daily operations and doing multiple roles themselves.
For those executives jumping on the wave of leaving federal service, the private sector may be just as challenging. The job market is flooded, and it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of a new opportunity. However, the experiences of Andy and others demonstrate what executives need to consider as they move into industry. Trust your gut, and make sure you have the right fit. The biggest mistake is negotiating the title before understanding the business, and accepting roles with vague charters. If no one can clearly explain what success looks like in six months, that role probably won't last six months.
