What is it like to work for a defense contractor?

[Subexistence]

I have an internship at CSRA that gives $19/hr. My internship is both in the winter and in the summer. Right now I'm doing the 4 week long winter internship where all the work is uncleared and involves stuff like setting up computers, scanning, and other boring manual labor. After my winter internship, I will get a clearance so I can do more meaningful software development in the summer. I'm wondering what it's like to work in defense contracting in comparison to private tech.

[pipeguy]

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@Subexistence wrote:

I have an internship at CSRA that gives $19/hr. My internship is both in the winter and in the summer. Right now I'm doing the 4 week long winter internship where all the work is uncleared and involves stuff like setting up computers, scanning, and other boring manual labor. After my winter internship, I will get a clearance so I can do more meaningful software development in the summer. I'm wondering what it's like to work in defense contracting in comparison to private tech.

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First, don't consider your internship as "boring" it's one step at a time and that line entry on your resume will get you hired. Although I work on the other side - we appropriate the funds for DoD through the NDAA, my son in law works for a defense contractor. Upside the money is better than being a government employee, you'll be expected to work whatever it takes and be accountable but did I mention the money is pretty "darn" good....

The downside is that longterm everything depends on passing the NDAA every year and the terms of the contractor's bid/contract.  Bid companies like Lockheed-Martin as an example have so many irons in the fire that they are not affected very much by the Federal yearly budget battle, but smaller companies that have a 1-2-3 year project tend to "let go" staff if/when a contract is not renewed or goes to another bidder. My S-I-L has lost his job to contact lost and losing bids 2 or 3 times in the last 6-7 years, the good news is he gets picked up by the new company (that took over or won the bid) right away and generally at a higher pay.  

DC metro area is full of expensive homes and cars owned by defense (and other) government contractors. Note too that "IT" will always have a great demand by the Government - even Lockheed Martin has IT services contracted to the USGov and for companies that do business with the USGov.  I'm using Lockheed as an example because they make/contract/provide everything from aircraft to weapon systems to "secret stuff" to generic IT office services.

Just a side note, of the $4.2 Trillion annual federal budget about 50% goes to healthcare and social security (Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, etc) and DoD gets about $800 billion of the remaining, not counting Vet services, etc. Social Security, Healthcare and DoD = $3 trillion or so a year. How many "companies" have that kind of spending each and every year?  (my numbers are not "exact" but pretty close)

[Subexistence]

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@pipeguy wrote:

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@Subexistence wrote:

I have an internship at CSRA that gives $19/hr. My internship is both in the winter and in the summer. Right now I'm doing the 4 week long winter internship where all the work is uncleared and involves stuff like setting up computers, scanning, and other boring manual labor. After my winter internship, I will get a clearance so I can do more meaningful software development in the summer. I'm wondering what it's like to work in defense contracting in comparison to private tech.

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First, don't consider your internship as "boring" it's one step at a time and that line entry on your resume will get you hired. Although I work on the other side - we appropriate the funds for DoD through the NDAA, my son in law works for a defense contractor. Upside the money is better than being a government employee, you'll be expected to work whatever it takes and be accountable but did I mention the money is pretty "darn" good....

The downside is that longterm everything depends on passing the NDAA every year and the terms of the contractor's bid/contract.  Bid companies like Lockheed-Martin as an example have so many irons in the fire that they are not affected very much by the Federal yearly budget battle, but smaller companies that have a 1-2-3 year project tend to "let go" staff if/when a contract is not renewed or goes to another bidder. My S-I-L has lost his job to contact lost and losing bids 2 or 3 times in the last 6-7 years, the good news is he gets picked up by the new company (that took over or won the bid) right away and generally at a higher pay.  

DC metro area is full of expensive homes and cars owned by defense (and other) government contractors. Note too that "IT" will always have a great demand by the Government - even Lockheed Martin has IT services contracted to the USGov and for companies that do business with the USGov.  I'm using Lockheed as an example because they make/contract/provide everything from aircraft to weapon systems to "secret stuff" to generic IT office services.

Just a side note, of the $4.2 Trillion annual federal budget about 50% goes to healthcare and social security (Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, etc) and DoD gets about $800 billion of the remaining, not counting Vet services, etc. Social Security, Healthcare and DoD = $3 trillion or so a year. How many "companies" have that kind of spending each and every year?  (my numbers are not "exact" but pretty close)

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Are you guys cleared?

Unfortunetly a trend I observe is that more money into a company, the more likely it is wasted on things like unnecessary luxuries.

[Anonymous]

Classified

Someone in my family develop sensors for a defense contractor that no one else on planet Earth knows how to make and made the company Millions. He got paid I think five figures there. CEOs gave themselves million dollar bonuses every year and the employees got nothing. He hated it.

[CreditCuriosity]

Use to work at the pentagon as a civilian contractor with security clearance.  Not really any different than any other job other then filling out the fun sf-86 form and making sure ducks are in a row and be honest on the form as they are forgiving on some stuff, but if caught lieing that is another story.. Depending on the clearance is what you have to go through whether just background or whether polygraph, etc..  Even if something isn't classified as well doesn't mean it can be shared, use common sense there and hopefully the company will beat that into you.  Even if you have clearance whether secret, TS, crypto etc doesn't necessary mean you will use it either.  Need to know at least at the pentagon when I use to work there that is how it worked.

[Anonymous]

We don't do Defense but one of my bff retired from DCAA he spent his time at LM very boring.  He made good money. DW and mine biz is a subcontractor for two different government agencies. Both involve law enforcement. The money is good but they had us working Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Years Eve and New Years Day.  I have 3 places  to go to on Monday about 100 miles apart not fun.   With most government work they will hold you to very high standards and cut very little slack. We like doing government work because we know the timeframes to get paid. 

[Kree]

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@pipeguy wrote:

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@Subexistence wrote:

I have an internship at CSRA that gives $19/hr. My internship is both in the winter and in the summer. Right now I'm doing the 4 week long winter internship where all the work is uncleared and involves stuff like setting up computers, scanning, and other boring manual labor. After my winter internship, I will get a clearance so I can do more meaningful software development in the summer. I'm wondering what it's like to work in defense contracting in comparison to private tech.

---

First, don't consider your internship as "boring" it's one step at a time and that line entry on your resume will get you hired. Although I work on the other side - we appropriate the funds for DoD through the NDAA, my son in law works for a defense contractor. Upside the money is better than being a government employee, you'll be expected to work whatever it takes and be accountable but did I mention the money is pretty "darn" good....

The downside is that longterm everything depends on passing the NDAA every year and the terms of the contractor's bid/contract.  Bid companies like Lockheed-Martin as an example have so many irons in the fire that they are not affected very much by the Federal yearly budget battle, but smaller companies that have a 1-2-3 year project tend to "let go" staff if/when a contract is not renewed or goes to another bidder. My S-I-L has lost his job to contact lost and losing bids 2 or 3 times in the last 6-7 years, the good news is he gets picked up by the new company (that took over or won the bid) right away and generally at a higher pay.  

DC metro area is full of expensive homes and cars owned by defense (and other) government contractors. Note too that "IT" will always have a great demand by the Government - even Lockheed Martin has IT services contracted to the USGov and for companies that do business with the USGov.  I'm using Lockheed as an example because they make/contract/provide everything from aircraft to weapon systems to "secret stuff" to generic IT office services.

Just a side note, of the $4.2 Trillion annual federal budget about 50% goes to healthcare and social security (Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, etc) and DoD gets about $800 billion of the remaining, not counting Vet services, etc. Social Security, Healthcare and DoD = $3 trillion or so a year. How many "companies" have that kind of spending each and every year?  (my numbers are not "exact" but pretty close)

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My stepfather once has 6 Jobs in a 24 month period. His contract kept bouncing around, and the new holders kept hiring him on to keep working on it.