PRESIDENT GEORGE W. Bush will not be the only one leaving a job in Washington on January 20th, since about 8,000 of his appointees will also be vacating their offices to make way for president-elect Barack Obama's choices.
For those who want to find work in the new administration, the US federal government's "Plum Book" is once again the oracle - proving invaluable for those who want to find out what jobs are available, what they pay and what hurdles have to be jumped before they can be won.
The hurdles are set high: each candidate must respond to a seven-page questionnaire which probes not only their past conduct, but also the conduct of a spouse, partner or child in the toughest vetting ever seen in Washington.
Besides the posts which would be known to lovers of the TV series The West Wing, such as those of White House chief-of-staff and counsellor, the Plum Book delves deep into the US government's administration to posts such as the director for the rural housing programme in each of the 50 states in the US.
The state position in Hawaii, for example, will shortly be available on a Government Service 15 pay grade, which offers $96,000- $124,000 (€75,500-€97,500) a year, and it has none of the potential unpleasantness of a Senate confirmation hearing.
Much attention will be devoted by some to the list of diplomatic vacancies available, some of which have traditionally been doled out by past presidents to large donors, and president-elect Obama has people of this type whom he will need to reward.
All of the jobs listed in the Plum Book require political connections if candidates are to have any chance of getting them. One-third of them will be decided solely at the discretion of the president - and no one else.
Many of the posts on offer are part-time, unpaid appointments, such as those which will be available on the board of the American Folklife Centre once existing members such as US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson depart.
However, the salaries on offer are unlikely to make anyone rich, judging by Mr Paulson's own pay of $191,000, which compares starkly with the pay on offer in Ireland to both senior politicians and civil servants, even if it does bring with it good health benefits.
However, Mr Paulson was already well provided for before he came to the US Treasury, since his last post as chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs was paying $30 million a year, plus pension and other benefits.
Published every four years since 1960, the Plum Book contains about 1,000 jobs more this time than it did just four years ago, reflecting the ever-expanding role of the federal government in American life, much to the annoyance of many of its citizens.
Costing $38, it is available online for purchase or viewing (www.gpoaccess.gov/plumbook/ 2008). US citizenship is a requisite for all would-be contenders for jobs it contains.