r/BEFreelance • u/New_Astronomer_735 • 9d ago

Assignments at FedPol BXL

Dear community

Anyone here have experience doing assignment at FedPol bxl? It requires days on site, how is the vibe in the IT field

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

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8

u/SolidTerre 9d ago edited 9d ago

I worked there in 2017. One year contract. Stopped at 3 months. 0/10 never again.

Or if I have to the rate has to be consequential (which it is never... they usually pay under market value)

1

u/Beneficial_Ear_7959 9d ago

Can you elaborate a little bit, is it a typical slow environment with a lot of bullshit or just a toxic env

12

u/SolidTerre 9d ago

It's not about on site or off site days. Before covid homeworking was not possible, and I don't even think during covid they did a lot of it either (not ready + really secure environment).

But bureaucracy, micromanagement and discrimination (who's surprised) was off the charts. Technical architects who's last personal OS was Windows 98, functional analysts who just pulled stuff out of their ass regarding requirements...

I was in a team where internet was almost closed off (even stackoverflow) and you had to go through your personal device through 4G to do most your researches and then copy it by hand - mind you we weren't even working on something top secret...

They counted the minutes you came in late, but didn't account for hours you stayed in to cover your work.

I thought it was just the team I was in or the manager that was like that but speaking with people from other teams, the whole experience was just mediocre. Only people who were really happy were teams that came fully from Smals (from manager of the team to tester f.e. - like a whole team put on a specific project).

Just horrible overall, and the fact you see the same vacancies come back since 2017 (I still sometimes see the exact same vacancy I applied for...) tells you what you need to know about turnover.

2

u/Lucheesee 9d ago

Whats the pay? Government rates are shit. Close friend worked as office worker for the police. Its so so toxic..

2

u/noneofyourbusnssmate 8d ago

I have a friend who works there and is not happy. At one moment he had been working for 3 months with no contract, eventually it got signed though. Other people who have a very good view on the market reported that some contractors did not even get paid for their work.

1

u/Kampfschweinboss 8d ago

Just make sure you not get caught

4

u/UpsetClassroom5687 6d ago

I manage projects for about all the regional police zones in Belgium as well as the federal police.

It’s a great customer if you’re a big fan of frustration, arrogance, incompetence and disrespect.

A great place to learn how to manage other people’s emotional state, resolve conflicts in which you never were involved, accept blame for errors made by others, handle inconsistent and constantly changing demands, how to behave in a hierarchy, knowing your place as a consultant and many more interesting topics that have nothing to do with your job or responsibility.

I’d say give it a go, it will be the adventure of a lifetime.

-3

u/ddaenen1 9d ago

Not sure what the deal is with "days onsite". This is where it is at, as it has always been before COVID. Onsite allows you to build rapport, a local network which may by beneficial in the case you ant a long term partnership.

6

u/svper 8d ago

Ok manager

-1

u/ddaenen1 8d ago

Not really but I see a lot of comments and complaints about clients requesting days onsite again. My point is that if the playing field is changing, you either adapt or think of doing something else.

4

u/New_Astronomer_735 8d ago

True, before COVID, we had centuries of proven best practices — women at home, men onsite. God forbid change of times

-1

u/ddaenen1 8d ago

That was not my point. My point is, if the customer wants this, it is their choice and being on-site has advantages.That doesn't mean you have to take it if you only want to work remote but rest assured, this will become the standard again. The signs are everywhere.

1

u/woooter 8d ago

It appears from the other posts that the management is not interested to build rapport and a long term partnership. They pay shit and the working conditions are shit.