Unless you are your own boss, every job is probationary, whether it's called that or not.  Whether 1 year or 33 years, you can find yourself jobless based on the needs of the company.

That would be a HARD NO for me Bob "RealMan" Timm 

I would work my arse off, do more than expected, do it exceptionally, and prove my worth to the hiring manager in requesting a permanent position. I did that once in my early Corporate America days. When I gave my two-week notice because the manager said no to my request, the manager got approval to make my position permanent.  

Yeap. Another question: Who gave him those loans with a temporary position? I mean it's temporary till it's not, right?

To me that there is a big difference between "Temporary" and "Probationary".

What about the folks who might be unable to pay their rent?  Good luck finding a new place with lousy credit.

"Probationary" to me means don't srew up and you'll have a steady job.  Don't show up dreunk, on drugs, and get along with your co-workers and show up on time.  Don't call in sick on day 2 because you're in jail.

You got a few seconds of a glimpse of someone's life and are in no position to judge. Only bad news is good news - learned that in grad school while writing my Master thesis on "Infotainment in U.S. American local news". 

A probationary employee is not a temp hire. There's an employment contract with terms under which the employment can be terminated. 

Also, empathy. 

Foolish?

Let's look at the word....PROBATION.  If a criminal is out on probation, they're incarcerated if they violate probation.  The government doesn't simply wake up on a Wednesday and decide they'd rather have the person locked up again...the person has to do something wrong for that to happen.

The same assumption should apply to employment - a probationary period is to ensure an employee can perform their duties - if they do them, and do them well, there should be little risk to the employees job outside of economic factors that would impact them whether they were in a probationary period or not.

We can't tell people "buy a home it's a great investment!" and also call buying a home "spending money like a drunken sailor".

We are all sailing through uncharted waters.

Most of those federal workers were hoping for career opporunities as had been assured. I do not fault anyone for purchasing a home when qualified for that opporunity. 

Makes you wonder what part of "probationary" this person did not understand. So many feel entitled in our society today as opposed to understanding they have to earn their position.

Bob "RealMan" Timm 

Well, one does as one is🤓

When you think about it, most jobs are temporary, except some judges, some members of congress, and tenured professors. If everyone thought they could lose their job at any time, very few homes would be bought.

That would be a big no until the probationary period ended.

No of course not!!!  That would be a foolish thing to do financially for anyone.

Oh, absolutely! Not! Because nothing screams “financial stability” like splurging on a mansion and a shiny new car while you're on probation at work. I mean, if there’s one thing we've learned from life, it’s that job security is overrated and completely N/A when it comes to sensible budgeting, right? “Hey, boss! I’ll just secure my future with a mortgage and a monthly car payment. What’s the worst that could happen?”

So what’s next? A GoFundMe page to help fund his next “oops” moment? Seriously, folks—if I'm dipping my toes into a probationary job, my shopping list would consist of instant noodles and a used bike, not a Lamborghini parked in a three-car garage of a 14-bedroom mansion by the sea. Let's leave the big purchases for when that paycheck's as secure as grandma's secret cookie recipe, shall we?

In a world of unicorns and fairy dust, are you guaranteed a position for any length of time! During a probationary period, an employer is basing whether the employee remains or is not up to snuff.

Personally, I would not be reckless and buy things until that timeframe was up and I was permanent.

Actually, how did they get a Mortgage ? Did the Mortgage Company get a VOE  ???

That sounds like a foolish person to me and I don't think an underwriter would even accept income that is probationary in order to approve a home loan, haha.

Compassion and empathy are essential to being a Christian.

Maybe he had a wife on the loan to able him to qualify for loan, but everything has risks. Maybe he can find another job fairly quickly. He'll just have to adjust.

I used to train and teach New Hire Orientation. Probationary employment was explained very well and new hires had to sign an agreement that they knew about what Probationary means and how it applies to them. I know someone very well who a federal employee is and knew exactly what to expect. I would think tall federal employees would have known what to expect long before this new administration. 

Also, when I moved to TX via a relocation plan, I was smart enough to know, moving to another state, different position, same company meant the probation period starts all over again. I waited until my probation period ended before I bought my house. 

I have no sympathy for whiners who take what they should have already known personally. 

To throw a slightly different perspective into the mix. I know someone who worked on a "temporary" basis for a National Park service for 12 years. She showed up all the time, got paid regularly, and did her job well. After 12 years she was finally offered a "permanent" position but on a "probationary" period of a year. She's at the 11 month mark now, and last we heard was waiting to hear whether she was going to be let go. She knows she might be and will deal with it if it happens. But it doesn't mean she's happy about it. She drives an old vehicle and lives in a rental property. That being said, if she could prove she was receiving income for over a DECADE from a company, and at the time it looked like she would continue to be paid, there shouldn't be anything stopping her from buying a home or a better car. No one would have seen that her job might be at risk after that amount of time. Sometimes people love what they do and will put up with less than stellar conditions to do that job.

What I'm saying is that we really can't judge another person's financial decisions (well, we can, but we shouldn't). The person in the news article made purchases which may have been for a good reason (or not), is probably very upset right now, but will have to figure out what to do next. And their life will go on. Maybe they'll make a different choice next time, maybe they won't. Maybe their boss told them there was 0% chance they would be let go because they were doing an amazing job, and because of that they went ahead and made some purchases. Who knows?

As for me, no, I wouldn't take out a mortgage or car loan if I were in a probationary position. But I'm very careful with money and debt - not all people are.

Employers should have the right to do as they please and all employees should be employees at will. The riverboat gambler assumes and the conservative waits until the position becomes permanent. Which are you? When you roll the dice you assume the risk!

Doubtful. I think I'd be looking for a month-to-month lease too.

Not in my world. I learned at a very young age that the only things that are certain are death and taxes. 

That said, I have to wonder how long this person had been employed in that status and how on earth they managed to qualify to buy both a house and car. I suppose it is possible they were purchased prior to that job but, based on the information provided, it sounds like these were recent purchases.

Some people are destined to learn their lessons in a harsh way. Lessons can also be learned by a word to the wise, common sense, good input/feedback

 Government "jobs", especially Federal, but also State, Local, Teachers' Unions, Postal Service Unions, et al are like "Tenure" for College Professors.

  Unless your job specifically states "Temporary" (the State of Florida uses the initials OPS), or perhaps Probationary, getting fired is very, very difficult. 

    Full disclosure:  I have been employed by the State of Florida twice.  I have been a United States Postal Service employee; a member of the AFL-CIO American Postal Workers Union.  And an employee of the Federal Government, when I served in the United States Air Force.

I certainly would not buy anything without that permanent status. I am surprised that the banks would approve a loan with not having permanent  job. Would not be approved in Canada. You have to jump through hoops to get a mortgage.

Generally not advisable. 

If a lender is willing to give this person a loan, so be it.    But hope this borrower has a back-up plan to pay their mortgage if let go.

If I were hired for a "temporary" position I would definitely NOT, a job with a probationary period I believe  infers continued employment unless one did not meet the qualifications or standard of performance expected for the position. For decades continued employment in a position in a government entity would not be considered undue risk. If I were in the position of the person you describe, I do not think I would be whining and crying. Not sure how other states work but at will employment means either person or company can end the employment "at will".  There is NO job, private or public sector that is guaranteed employment, but I would not consider buying a home or car spending money like a drunken sailor. That said I try not to judge on how others learn their life lessons.

My priority would be filling the fridge and pantry.  Next would be getting as much money in the bank as possible.  Buying any material goods would be on hold and done stratigically.

Probably not. It depends if I have backup finances.

It greatly depends.  If I had a NEED for a new car, then yes.  When I last looked at changing jobs, one would have required considerable driving in traffic and my car at the time was having enough random mechanical issues due to age, where I would have had to buy a new one to be comfortable making that drive daily and being able to arrive at my destination.

On the house side, I bought one within the first couple of months of getting into my last corporate job.  But I was five years into that career field and I knew I was going to put in the work and I could always find another employer pretty easily in the area if anything did happen.  I left that job after five years.

If I was new to an area, say I had relocated to the east coast back when I had looked into joining a "three letter agency" then I would have rented unless I found one heck of a deal and only bought if I knew I was going to be stationed in a particular area for a good length of time.  Depending on the rental market, I may have bought with the intent of renting it out if I got reassigned.

Boy, Times have certainly changed over the years.  and  Yes, you are excused.  Lets not be hard on drunken sailors.