Mid-career Engineer At A Crossroad
Pros
- Time off: nearly 6.5 weeks off per year including sick and annual leave, plus 10 federal holidays once you been with the government for 3 years. - Experience: easy to explore other office missions and move once you are hired. - Work/life Balance: the combination of time off and most offices not pressuring engineers for deadlines results in a very nice work/life balance.
Cons
Environment: many office spaces are dull and out-of-date often with no natural light. Check your cell phones at the door. Many employees feel disconnected from the world with no internet at their desk. I should note there is an on-going effort to provide internet access to most employees. Also, often there is no maintained common kitchenette for refrigeration, washing dishes and heating food leading to unsanitary conditions. Promotions: for junior engineers it usually isn't too difficult to get promoted. But, for middle and late career engineers and who want to continue to stay technical and develop the promotion criteria does not favor this path. Personally, I've watched engineers and business majors pursuing management and contract support get promoted much quicker to the higher grades. This is my biggest gripe, leaving me questioning whether I want to continue to work at the NSA.