Opinions on VA/DC Job Security (Cana, Washington: unemployment, contractors, college)

[usabound]

My husband is in the preliminary stages of securing a job with one of the big Defence contractors in a Senior Analyst (not IT) type role ( looking to move to VA mid next year).

He is very excited about the career move but very nervous about job security. We live in Australia where the financial crises has had a smaller impact than in the USA and we are trying to gather some more info before our move so as not to end up jobless and pennyless in another country.

So my questions are :
1. does anyone work for this type of co (eg Northrupp Grum, Lockheed Martin, CACI etc)? Have you seen many job cuts?

2. Do you feel that you have job security?

3. The recruiter is saying that as the job is linked to the war effort, this type of job is not going to disappear quickly - do you agree? They appear to have literally hundreds of vacancies on their websites but are they really recruiting this many people in this economy??

Any thoughts/experiences appreciated.

Cheers

[Bigfoot424]

The DC area has not suffered the loss of jobs compared to much of the US. Not to say there hasn't been layoffs and downsizing but not to the extent you see it in other places. Lockheed had some layoffs recently but I don't believe any were in the DC area. No one can guarantee anything but considering where we are this is probably one of the safest places to hold a higher lever job.

[CAVA1990]

I work for a defense contractor here in NoVA and I'd say what you're describing is probably more secure than just about anything else in this economy other than working directly for the government. Does the contract have an end date? That could be a consideration but if someone else wins it, chances are he'll be able to move to them. Kind of surprised if it's linked to "the war effort" that it doesn't require a security clearance.

[Denton56]

Defense contractors are almost always looking to hire people. If they hire you, they will do the security clearance.

I would say that the jobs are very secure. Washington DC area is always hiring and has very little unemployment.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Denton56

Defense contractors are almost always looking to hire people. If they hire you, they will do the security clearance.

Generally only if he's a U.S. citizen.

[normie]

Originally Posted by usabound

My husband is in the preliminary stages of securing a job with one of the big Defence contractors in a Senior Analyst (not IT) type role ( looking to move to VA mid next year).

He is very excited about the career move but very nervous about job security. We live in Australia where the financial crises has had a smaller impact than in the USA and we are trying to gather some more info before our move so as not to end up jobless and pennyless in another country.

So my questions are :
1. does anyone work for this type of co (eg Northrupp Grum, Lockheed Martin, CACI etc)? Have you seen many job cuts?

Job cuts? No, not among the people I know, most of whom work for Northrop, Lockheed, and SAIC. However, your job could be sold to another company. I have a friend who works for the TASC division of Northrop Grumman. The entire division was just sold to another company. For now he believes his job is safe and there have been no cuts. But that sort of thing would make me a little nervous.

Originally Posted by usabound

2. Do you feel that you have job security?

Somewhat. More security than most other jobs these days. Less security than I felt there was five years ago.

Originally Posted by usabound

3. The recruiter is saying that as the job is linked to the war effort, this type of job is not going to disappear quickly - do you agree? They appear to have literally hundreds of vacancies on their websites but are they really recruiting this many people in this economy??

Despite what recruiters say, I have my doubts that there really are hundreds of openings at the senior level. Most openings would be at an entry level, IMO. Of course, this is just based on the people I know, you might know better than I do. I say this because I know several senior level engineers who want to move up to new positions in their company and are finding it unusually difficult to find openings this year. Even though they have strong networks, and are already employed by the company. This didn't use to be the case.

[anonymous703]

Originally Posted by normie

Job cuts? No, not among the people I know, most of whom work for Northrop, Lockheed, and SAIC. However, your job could be sold to another company. I have a friend who works for the TASC division of Northrop Grumman. The entire division was just sold to another company. For now he believes his job is safe and there have been no cuts. But that sort of thing would make me a little nervous.

Truth be told, whoever signs your paycheck is an afterthought. You work for a business unit, and business units get wheeled and dealed all of the time. I co-oped for Lockheed Martin when I was in college. I worked on some computer code that was copyrighted by four different companies over the years. My office mate at the time had worked for four different companies as well -- yet reporting to the same office the whole time.

I had an interview with Northrop Grumman when I got out of college. They specifically told me not ask them anything about NG itself -- the unit I interviewed with was acquired by NG that week.

These days, I work for a really small consulting shop whom you'd only know if you were in this industry. We were recently purchased by a group who wants to infuse some capital, grow us, and eventually sell us. In five years, it's not unlikely that I will be working for a name you all have heard of before.

Moral of the story: A name is just a name, and don't put too much into it. You could easily be working for another employer through no choice of your own.

[Aspe4]

USABOUND, You must be from Engand by the way you spelled "defence" :-)

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by Aspe4

USABOUND, You must be from Engand by the way you spelled "defence" :-)

Could be from Canada or Australia as well. We're the only former colony who spells things "funny".

[michgc]

Originally Posted by Aspe4

USABOUND, You must be from Engand by the way you spelled "defence" :-)

The OP mentioned in her second paragraph that she's from Australia.