by andrew » Wed Nov 26, 2025 4:16 pm
After graduating in May 2025 from Carnegie Mellon University with a professional master’s degree in Robotic Systems Development, I moved to San Diego to begin working at NIWC. A hiring freeze initially delayed my start date, and I was later told that I was in the process of being onboarded. During this time, SMART notified me that my service commitment would be waived if I was not hired within six months of graduation. When that six-month mark arrived, I was officially released from my service obligation. Overall, the SMART scholarship worked out extremely well for me—I had an excellent internship at NIWC, and the scholarship provided roughly $240,000 in support. While the past six months of waiting were frustrating, I was able to travel, get married, work an online job training an AI, and begin interviewing for permanent positions all while receive my $40K/year stipend. I would have loved the opportunity to work at NIWC and fulfill my service commitment, but now that I’ve been released, I’m receiving job offers in the $150–180K range.
After graduating in May 2025 from Carnegie Mellon University with a professional master’s degree in Robotic Systems Development, I moved to San Diego to begin working at NIWC. A hiring freeze initially delayed my start date, and I was later told that I was in the process of being onboarded. During this time, SMART notified me that my service commitment would be waived if I was not hired within six months of graduation. When that six-month mark arrived, I was officially released from my service obligation. Overall, the SMART scholarship worked out extremely well for me—I had an excellent internship at NIWC, and the scholarship provided roughly $240,000 in support. While the past six months of waiting were frustrating, I was able to travel, get married, work an online job training an AI, and begin interviewing for permanent positions all while receive my $40K/year stipend. I would have loved the opportunity to work at NIWC and fulfill my service commitment, but now that I’ve been released, I’m receiving job offers in the $150–180K range.