When discussing concerns about our project lead and the challenges of finding different projects, a greybeard who had been with the company since the early 80s relayed to me, "You're best move is to get out while you're still young... I don't even think of MITRE as a real company anymore. It's now nothing more a collection of independent consultants fighting over scraps." It was a harsh assessment, but one I couldn't find fault with. With no real staffing, career, or resourcing support, the hunt for coverage certainly hangs like a Sword of Damocles over every employee's head. And as other reviewers have noted, for some, that situation begins on Day 1 with the company. "Welcome to MITRE. Now find a job."
I was relatively lucky and spent some of my time on interesting, impactful projects. But most of my time there was spent cleaning up after ill-prepared project leads (and also salvaging sponsor relations), dealing with the effects of odd project staffing decisions, and ultimately, toiling under an erratic, tempestuous and arguably abusive lead (and again, finding myself salvaging sponsor relations).
Despite the annual corporate claims that pay was commensurate with peer companies, salaries were - and remain - well below market. To all prospective new hires, even if your initial salary offer is workable, know that you have little chance of promotion and that your annual salary adjustments will be so small that they can't even be considered COLAs.
Also be aware that whatever skills you come with, there is so much powerpoint engineering and shelfware taking place that there's a very good chance your skills will wither, making you less employable on the outside with each passing day. When I finally had enough of the soul-crushing atmosphere, I left for another company and an unbelievable increase in salary despite it being a lateral move. I walked out of the door on my final day wondering what the heck I'd been doing with myself for the past decade. Or what anybody was doing by remaining there.
