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I recently discharged from the military. I was in the Army IT field for 5 years, and not to worry my discharge was honorable. Shortly, I'm going to go to school part time in an IT field, and I'm interested in being a government contractor. I live in Silver Spring, Maryland. It's close to many Government Contractor Agenceys (Lockheed Martin, Booz Allen Hamilton, General Dynamics, etc..) I have a good resume from my military experience, and it's only going to get better with school and work experience. Which contractor agencey is best? Salary? Benefits? Promotion? Experience? Training? I know it's a broad question that varies in many accounts, but i really like to hear some professional opinions. Thanks.
You mean Gov't contractor.....I would say; Lockheed, General Dynamics, Northrop, Raytheon, and perhaps L-3 or Boeing (not so many offices in the area for these two). It's tough to get into Lockheed though. Also, try CACI, they are always looking for people from services.
I would recommend Acclaim Technical Services (ATS). They work in IT, analysis, and language services.....I know many folks who leave companies to join ATS due to their pay, benefits, employee treatment/relationship, professional growth, etc.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket! Most of these companies you names are generally considered defense contractors (whether you do any defense related work is another matter) and have been fingered continuously by Obama as costing the federal government and the taxpayers way too much money.
During the campaign, Obama stressed that he (and his team) was going to pore through every item in the federal budget (especially those for contracts to defense contractors) and start to cut down on these contracts. Due to this, there are a lot of concerns within these companies that they're going to lose their contracts, which is happening right now. Another case in point. . . a typical contract administered by these companies for services provided to the government cost up tp 150% in overhead in additions to the salary of the person. What I see happening is that federal agencies are going to hire more and more "Term" and "Temporary" employees so to cut down on the amount of funds needed for the personnel (i.e. lower overhead costs).
Another thing to keep in mind, when you're a contractor to a government agency, alot of training and career development opportunities are not open to you. To make things worst, your employer may even treat you as simply a hired hand and not treat you the same as their "permanent" staff. This occurs moreso for those hired to work only at the client's site of business thus severely limiting any possibilities of your interaction with the company.
This contractor world is not as good as you think. The myth that contractors make more money than federal employees is only partially true and not always the case.
P.S. I just left one of the companies listed above as a contractor to start a term employment with the federal government for a HIGHER salary!
Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) is the Government Agency that works on defense contracts with those customers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AJOSEPHF
Hello,
I recently discharged from the military. I was in the Army IT field for 5 years, and not to worry my discharge was honorable. Shortly, I'm going to go to school part time in an IT field, and I'm interested in being a government contractor. I live in Silver Spring, Maryland. It's close to many Government Contractor Agenceys (Lockheed Martin, Booz Allen Hamilton, General Dynamics, etc..) I have a good resume from my military experience, and it's only going to get better with school and work experience. Which contractor agencey is best? Salary? Benefits? Promotion? Experience? Training? I know it's a broad question that varies in many accounts, but i really like to hear some professional opinions. Thanks.
Booz alumni here (yes, they do actually call it that). Good company to hone your management/executive skills. Not the most competitive pay.
They are more of a management consulting company though. And as such, a degree is required to work there. They do have a great support group for ex-military. I'm not ex-military, but I do remember seeing workshops and such while I was there on acclimating those that just retired into civilian life.
oh -and they throw a hell of a holiday party if you work at HQ.
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