So yeah, if you’ll remember, I got fired by the NRCS a month ago.
I miraculously got hired for the same Civil Engineering position by a private firm 2 weeks later (I was literally under/unemployed for 2 years so this was insane fortune).
I got a call from USDA telling me not only am I reinstated and getting back pay, I also have the chance to do the ‘deferred resignation’ bullshit Elon came up with so I’d get paid until September.
It’s great I’m literally getting paid to do nothing, it’s great I’m literally stealing funds from the great satan but but I feel bad because…
Well, because this money is not coming directly from the private coffers of Elon.
And I actually believed in the mission of the agency.
But 
I guess I come out of this winning (?) AND unquestionably fucking over the Federal government
Yeah I hear that. I have no idea what I’m gonna do- I’m almost a “career” employee in the agency I’m at so I may as well stick it out and see if the outlook improves in that time, or see if they fire me - tbh maybe that would be the fun “change of pace” I’ve been craving haha. Good you’ve got something lined up though - the civil engineering world has been wild since 2020, kinda the opposite of the late 2000s- there’s just so much work to do - hope it’s doing something you like and can learn from in the mean time! And most importantly take some time to recover from getting jerked around