Government to Northrop? (transferring to, luxury, contractors)

[rayray5200]

Wow guys, great info. Greatly appreciated.

It will be with Aerospace System, supporting the unmanned vehicles.

The pay is only a little more, but a lot closer drive. Leave, holidays, 401k, all that stuff is in question.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by rayray5200

The pay is only a little more, but a lot closer drive. Leave, holidays, 401k, all that stuff is in question.

Pay is negotiable which you should leverage to your advantage. They need to make you an offer which makes taking this change worthwhile. Otherwise what is the insentive really? Is a shorter commute all that you would get out of the deal? If so you may be selling yourself short.

Derek

[elousv]

Originally Posted by rayray5200

Wow guys, great info. Greatly appreciated.

It will be with Aerospace System, supporting the unmanned vehicles.

The pay is only a little more, but a lot closer drive. Leave, holidays, 401k, all that stuff is in question.

Leave should be at least 2 weeks, 401K should have some type of matching to a certain percentage, holidays should be at least 10.

[jkbatca]

Originally Posted by rayray5200

Job is in same location, actually a good 20 miles each way closer to home. Antelope Valley. Trying to figure out if leaving the "stable" government is the right thing to do for a more exciting job, closer commute.

All of what I'm about to say is my own humble opinion and may be subject to correction!

The stability depends upon the project worked on and what position / role you will take. In most projects, development work (programming / design) tends to take peaks and valleys of employment - money available while support - training roles tend to have "smoother" employment - funding over the lifetime of the project.

If you get into the right project(s), unmanned systems is the place to be for all parts of the project lifecycle. I would think however that the development part will last a few years, and then most people in that crowd will then be looking for that "next big contract" (and I'm seeing that migration now from older projects). Getting into a "support" role of unmanned systems, while it pays less, will get you a position which will last probably your lifetime.

NGAS over the government? That's really a tough call unless you REALLY hate your current gov't position or REALLY GET a BIG RAISE at your NG position. However, you do know that when you leave a gov't position and get a permanent tenure on your leaving SF-50, and you can find a job back at the govt, I believe you can return at the same relative standing (benefits, pension, etc) as you left (please double check on that though!!!).

I left gov't to work at various small companies which gave me VERY LARGE pay increases over working for the govt. However, as others have said, it's virtually impossible to get fired at the govt, and they have decent pensions. And I can certainly get laid off where I'm at now...

[rayray5200]

Thanks for the info. Ya, the pay isnt much more, a couple k, but the commute is a big deal to me. Thats my fear, going to a big company, and layoffs come when the new budget drops, and bye bye my position. Really tough call for me personally.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by rayray5200

the pay isnt much more, a couple k,

This doesn't sound worth it.

Another thing, what is the likelihood you would like to stay in the Antelope valley long term - as opposed to the Los Angeles/Orange County or San Diego areas, for example? Or Colorado or Texas or other places where there are engineering jobs and aren't too expensive?

One of the good things about the LA/OC/SD is the ability to move around. There are huge clusters of employment centers between El Segundo and Irvine for example. You can play companies against each other. Work at NG for a five years, move to Raytheon for a 20% raise, five years later go to Boeing for a 20% raise, etc. I suppose you can do that too in the Antelope Valley - not sure what the employment density is out there.

Also, is the Antelope Valley a place you want to call home long term?

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by rayray5200

Thanks for the info. Ya, the pay isnt much more, a couple k, but the commute is a big deal to me. Thats my fear, going to a big company, and layoffs come when the new budget drops, and bye bye my position. Really tough call for me personally.

Then tell them that. It needs to be worth your while financially to give up certain things you have. Recruiters are aware of this and will negotiate. Even if you told them your minimum requirements, its not too late to let them know your concern. Then see what they can do.

If you are working with unmanned systems and that becomes your specialty I don't think you will have any problem finding and keeping a job. This is really the future of warfighting and large Gov't contracts - design, development and maintenance. My father-in-law works with UAVs at General Atomics in SD and they have been growing leaps and bounds even during the recession. So I wouldn't worry too much about that IMO. Everything in life has some risk. Even in the Gov't you risk missing certain opportunities and potential rewards by doing nothing.

Derek

[rayray5200]

Thanks for the advice. Still contemplating, have no idea. I still have a couple of more days, probably till the middle of next week to decide. Any more input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[rayray5200]

Bump

[rayray5200]

Any other suggestions out there? 4k more and a sign on bonus?? Is it worth it to leave????