Is NASA a good company to work for?

NASA has an overall rating of 4.4 out of 5, based on over 3,238 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has increased by 1% over the last 12 months. 86% of employees would recommend working at NASA to a friend and 60% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about NASA have been left by employees working as Software Engineer(Internship) , Astrophysicist and Intern - Hourly .

Does NASA pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, NASA employees rate their compensation and benefits as 4.1 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at NASA. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at NASA?

86% of NASA employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated NASA 4.4 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.4 for culture and values and 4.3 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at NASA?

Intern (290) , Aerospace Engineer (125) , Engineer (101) , Astronaut (95) , Internship (77) , Software Engineer (57) , Systems Engineer (38) , Software Engineer(Internship) (37) , Mechanical Engineer (35) , Engineering Intern (31) , Research Scientist (24) , Summer Intern (23) , Contract Specialist (22) , Astrophysicist (21) , Senior Software Engineer (21)

What are the pros of working at NASA according to real employee reviews?

"Great people and learning experiences" ((in 292 reviews)); "Work life balance is great when you don’t go through management and let HR inform them of any accommodations" ((in 96 reviews)); "This makes it easy to win the best place to work in federal government awards year after year." ((in 81 reviews)); "Great Benefits and retirement plan" ((in 72 reviews)); "Good work environment and people" ((in 68 reviews))

What are the cons of working at NASA according to real employee reviews?

"low pay and old buildings" ((in 142 reviews)); "Government salaries are low and therefore it's hard to subsist in CA without a higher salary." ((in 56 reviews)); "Long hours and lots of talking about sending people into space." ((in 33 reviews)); "no management pretty much do what u want" ((in 31 reviews)); "Some non performers and very poor managers." ((in 14 reviews))

What are employees saying about NASA layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about NASA layoffs and their outlook for job security at NASA in 2026.

What are the top reviewed NASA locations?

Houston , Mountain View , Washington , Hampton , Huntsville , Greenbelt , Moffett Field , Kennedy Space Center , New York , Cleveland , Cape Canaveral , Los Angeles , Edwards AFB , Pasadena , Merritt Island , San Francisco , Stennis Space Center , Goddard , Edwards , Orlando , San Jose , Wallops Island , Las Cruces , Texas City , Norfolk , Fairmont , Denver , Chicago , Virginia Beach , Austin

NASA reviews

4.4

86% would recommend to a friend

(1,792 total reviews)

Charles F. Bolden, Jr.

83% approve of CEO

60% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.4

Culture & values

4.4

Work/Life balance

4.3

Diversity & inclusion

4.3

Career opportunities

4.2

Senior management

4.1

Compensation and benefits

NASA has an employee rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars, based on 1,792 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The NASA employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Government & Public Administration industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

5.0

Jun 2, 2014

Great place to work

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

You learn a ton, great area of California, amazing projects to work on. Compensation is fair and leadership is truly there to help you and the project you are on meet and exceed goals and expectations. There is rarely a day where you feel like you're not doing anything short of amazing.

Cons

lots of unspoken 'politics' within NASA; government budget cuts

4.0

May 27, 2014

Working for one of the coolest organizations on the planet, in a small, intimate environment.

Aerospace engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great work/life balance. Wonderful benefits. Laid-back work environment. Strong dedication to employee development (SELDP, MLLDP, FIRST, etc.).

Cons

Opportunities to work on flight hardware are limited. The area is a little dull for single young professionals. Top-heavy age demographic (similar challenge throughout NASA).

4.0

May 17, 2014

important & challenging problems; freedom to be creative; incredible support for continuing education; pay is not great

Research aerospace engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

I work on air traffic management research, which is fascinating and important stuff that you can't work on in many other places. Given lots of freedom to try explore new approaches. Stable employment - not hard to get the equivalent of tenure. They support me to do grad school part-time at Stanford, which has been a blast. Good benefits. Awesome work-life balance. Very understanding/supportive of parents.

Cons

In the area I work (air traffic management) it is difficult to actually change the system. Not really NASA's fault, but still a bummer. Pay is not great, and promotions hard to come by at higher levels.

Viewing 1630 - 1632 of 1,792 Reviews

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Jobs at NASA

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Security Specialist (Direct Hire)

Legislative Affairs Specialist (Direct Hire)

NASA

NASA reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Great place to work

Working for one of the coolest organizations on the planet, in a small, intimate environment.

important & challenging problems; freedom to be creative; incredible support for continuing education; pay is not great

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