Letters to the editor

Following are responses to an FCW.com poll question that asked: "Do you favor dividing the Senior Executive Service into a corps of managers and a corps of technical experts?"

Currently, most technical positions are capped at GS-13/14. The qualifications and pay scales of GS-13/14s are at about the low/middle level of private-sector technical people. Government technical staff usually cannot go any higher unless they take on supervisory positions starting at GS-15. However, most GS-15 positions have low technical requirements and call for greater management skills. This really prohibits advanced technical experts from joining or staying in the government.

The separation will establish a rewarding career path for technical people, recognizing the important contributions of technical experts—just like the private sector.

Name withheld by request

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It's a really bad idea. SES should have people with strong management expertise. A technical corps will just allow more technical people with no or minimum management skill to "legitimately" perform management functions.

Higher GS levels and pay (above GS-15) should be created to recognize and reward technical expertise.

Name withheld by request