Senior Executive Service Puns

Has anyone applied to and gone through one of the Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Programs (SESCDP)? I saw a recent posting about a cohort opening at VA.

1. What's the application process like
2. What is the 12-24 month long program like
3. Was it worth it?

Out of curiosity what does it take for an individual to reach that level within government? How can a person starting out at as a GS-7 eventually find themselves in the process of becoming an SES?

I'm the CIEIO

edit: No call to action. Im just sad that we can’t have free and fair markets. There’s always just crime at every corner and retail never gets a fair shake. Makes me sad.

What are the exit opportunities for those who are in the Senior Executive Service (SES)?

Do most folks make a career and retire as SES or do they leverage the position to further build their network and pivot into the Private Sector after 5-10 years?

McKinsey and Partnership for Public did a report on the SES ranks back in June 2016 on ways to improve retention and recruitment incentives. Not sure if things have changed since to entice individuals to stay vs resuming building to get a job that pays 2-5x in the Private Sector.

Fixing the SES lends insight into exit surveys conducted by OPM and interviews with existing SES who have done tours outside of Federal Government and amount of money, sometimes close to $100K, that they've turn down from Private Sector roles in order to stay SES.

Reference:

1. https://ourpublicservice.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/4df40d1d237c9acd2f65a17085964206-1466544190.pdf

2. Fixing the SES: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/congress/2015/02/fixing-the-ses-this-used-to-be-an-honor-now-its-a-joke/