DoD Contractor Employment

[Guest12345]

I received the SMART award this year and it will fund the remaining 2 years of my BS in mechanical engineering. I know I want to leave public sector work to go to the private sector as soon as possible, preferably to a big defense contractor like Lockheed, Northrup, or Raytheon. I figured the scholarship would help me get a job like this after my 2 year commitment since I will have a security clearance and 2 years of experience in the DoD. Will this scholarship be more or less helpful for landing a job in one of these places? I could theoretically still cancel since they have not given me any money yet. Would it be wise to take the award, wait 2 years, and start applying. Or should I reject the award and start mass applying when I graduate?

[Vandal]

While no-one other than you can/should make the decision on whether to accept or rescind the SMART scholarship I would recommend you take it. I have heard plenty of stories that shine both a good, or poor, light on the program but for myself, being 2 years into a 3 year commitment, I am very happy with the program and the opportunity it has provided me. A full ride scholarship along with monthly stipends to work a (paying) job that even if it might not be your dream job, is a relatively small time commitment and will most likely lead to a better job at the end of your commitment whether you stay or not than what you'd have otherwise gotten going immediately into the private sector upon graduation. (Note: the job during your service commitment isn't some unpaid internship, its a paying job that pays you, in my case, a salary AND you're working off student debt passively so it has quickly overshadowed the income my friends, with the same degree, in the private sector are earning.) There's a running joke between me and my manager whenever I get back from work travel or conventions about "Who's trying to steal (hire) you away from us this time?" as once you are within the gov sector, and know the ins and outs of contracting, you are much more appealing to companies that bid on said contracts. Granted this is a fairly specific part of my job so you aren't guaranteed to have the same experience but still something to keep in mind. Not to mentioned not having any student debt and being able to sit back while my other college friends run around hectically to job fairs and interviews was rather euphoric.

In the end if the job placement is in a field you find generally interesting and its in a location that you can bear for the length of your service commitment I would recommend you to accept; you can do almost anything for 2-3 years and the payoff is much much greater than having student debt or uncertainty in your future, at least imo. Regardless best of luck on the big decision and hope it pans out for you. Cheers!

[Guest12345]

Great, thank you for your advice! My only issue is that I already have free tuition, meaning the only thing I’d be gaining is 30k a year for 2 years, and a job offer. So I’d get 60k along with a lower starting salary than the private sector, which I don’t feel is really worth it for me in exchange for 2 years working where I don’t think I’d like to commit to. Any thoughts?

[Guest12345]

While no-one other than you can/should make the decision on whether to accept or rescind the SMART scholarship I would recommend you take it. I have heard plenty of stories that shine both a good, or poor, light on the program but for myself, being 2 years into a 3 year commitment, I am very happy with the program and the opportunity it has provided me. A full ride scholarship along with monthly stipends to work a (paying) job that even if it might not be your dream job, is a relatively small time commitment and will most likely lead to a better job at the end of your commitment whether you stay or not than what you'd have otherwise gotten going immediately into the private sector upon graduation. (Note: the job during your service commitment isn't some unpaid internship, its a paying job that pays you, in my case, a salary AND you're working off student debt passively so it has quickly overshadowed the income my friends, with the same degree, in the private sector are earning.) There's a running joke between me and my manager whenever I get back from work travel or conventions about "Who's trying to steal (hire) you away from us this time?" as once you are within the gov sector, and know the ins and outs of contracting, you are much more appealing to companies that bid on said contracts. Granted this is a fairly specific part of my job so you aren't guaranteed to have the same experience but still something to keep in mind. Not to mentioned not having any student debt and being able to sit back while my other college friends run around hectically to job fairs and interviews was rather euphoric.

In the end if the job placement is in a field you find generally interesting and its in a location that you can bear for the length of your service commitment I would recommend you to accept; you can do almost anything for 2-3 years and the payoff is much much greater than having student debt or uncertainty in your future, at least imo. Regardless best of luck on the big decision and hope it pans out for you. Cheers!

Great, thank you for your advice! My only issue is that I already have free tuition, meaning the only thing I’d be gaining is 30k a year for 2 years, and a job offer. So I’d get 60k along with a lower starting salary than the private sector, which I don’t feel is really worth it for me in exchange for 2 years working where I don’t think I’d like to commit to. Any thoughts?

[Vandal]

Great, thank you for your advice! My only issue is that I already have free tuition, meaning the only thing I’d be gaining is 30k a year for 2 years, and a job offer. So I’d get 60k along with a lower starting salary than the private sector, which I don’t feel is really worth it for me in exchange for 2 years working where I don’t think I’d like to commit to. Any thoughts?

I mean that certainly makes the program immensely less worthwhile for you. (Do note that the scholarship does limit your ability to work outside of your classes to up to 16hrs per week so if you're looking for more than just the monthly stipend for spending money your options are limited.) If you are not benefitting from the free tuition I wouldn't accept it personally. I was incredibly lucky to be placed at a position that interests me but based on other stories on this forum that is not always a given and if you don't have the need for the tuition portion of the scholarship it sounds like you would just be committing yourself to a job for a set amount of time where you have little bargaining power regarding starting salary, location, position etc.

You can always do the math if the 60K for the 2 year commitment would be > or < the potential salary for that equivalent in the private sector job, however keep in mind that many gov (at least from my experience as a "civilian") positions have built in promotions; in my case I've moved up from a GS-7 to GS-9 after 1 year, and I'm now about to move to a GS-11 position at the end of my 2nd year, which with my specific location's pay locality and job specialty rate does end up placing me at a happy salary position. You should be able to, if you haven't already, take a tour through your SF office/building/etc and be able to ask what your expected starting position, pay etc would be PRIOR to submitting your final decision on the scholarship. NOTE: In my case there was a SIGNIFICANT difference in pay between being a "local hire" (the better option imo) and being what's called an ACT-ED (pretty much being hired by big military, Army/Airforce/etc, and just technically being on "loan" to your SF until your intern/learning period is over) so if this is a possibility try your best to figure out which you would/could be prior to accepting if you do. (Local = ~30% higher pay, ACT-ED = "more" training opportunities as you'd be pulling from big military budget instead of your SFs but this is very much in flux as budget comes and goes, so not worth it to be an ACTED imo)

Overall if you're not going to benefit from the tuition ride, just be proactive with job interviews and you'll most likely end up at a better position in the long run. Plus I'm sure someone else would be thrilled to take up the spare scholarship if you decline. Best of luck!

[malarious]

I am not saying you should keep your options open, but I would absolutely not chase the paycheck. You have a lot of benefits in Government and our pay is not bad generally. The exact pay varies by location. At my facility you would be at 91K by 18 months, having started at 70k+. We get education benefits, affordable insurance, and we work 40 hour weeks (or 80 a pay period if you use schedule options). We also get an actual pension and more perks than I can list.

Once you go private, you may be signing up for 60+ hour weeks because, guess what, you are salary, not hourly.

If you still think you want to chase the check over work-life balance (as some could be okay balance). I would advise focusing HEAVILY when you start. You likely have Defense Acquisition University courses to take. Finish your engineering level 1 and then also try for contracting and/or project/program management certs. Practical background means a lot more than cert, but at least you can say you understand the background then. You will also need talk to your ethics office, as violations of ethics laws is a criminal offense, so you have to work with ethics to ensure you can accept offers and disclose if you are looking. Make sure you understand those rules.