I’m new to the VA after working 30 years in highly-demanding Oil and Gas Roles, and I must admit that while I was excited about this new chapter to start, I don’t feel that way as strongly now. I’m bored and underutilized, and terrified that this newfound joy in my life - for the first time in decades, is going to be destroyed by this state of personal stagnation, overall poor attitudes of coworkers, and obvious low-morale and dysfunction across my local organization, and the VHA at large.
That being said, here are my real questions:
1) Is transferring to an identical role at another facility even plausible as a probationary employee with 11 mo of service in step 2 of WG-9?
2) Does working under a 4-year relocation and retention program that is distributed as a monthly stipend for hard-to-fill USO positions change this? USRO roles died in OPM for my facility in 2025, and the VA terms for the reloc/recr programs escape me.
3) If I leave the VHA and return to a private-sector role before my 4 years of service, and my reloc/recr is paid monthly, am I required to repay what I received through these programs?
Sorry in advance for my ignorance, but the VHA learning curve is real.