I have a commitment at my current job (tuition reimbursement) that will keep me here till 08/2023. After that I want to work at a more commercial company, perhaps FANG if it’s still paying well. With that being said is there anything proactive (or just general advise) I can do to prepare for a role outside of defense? I know the typical grind leetcode boiler plate answer. Looking for something more insightful. Current role: embedded software engineer TC: 125k YE:4 Education: BSEE, will finish MS in Cyber security in August. Region (hoping to stay if possible): Colorado Thanks in advanced. #software #swe
How much do you even owe for the tuition remaining?
They’d claw back the whole degree (right now 37k ish by August 43k)
Defense and government jobs pay peanuts and come with tons of strings attached. I'd GTFO ASAP.
Amazon has an office in Denver. Know anything about the environment there?
Thanks for letting me know I’m open to moving which it seems I might have to but I’d have to be able to keep my lifestyle.
I switched out of defense. Lots of interview prep and interviews. Try to generalize the knowledge you have gained so far and dont focus on defense specifics too heavily on the resume. Alot of that old tech is more harmful than good on the resume imo.
Thanks for the tips! That was my suspicion.
Heard WLB is very chill in defense tech?
I’ve worked in both environments. Speaking very broadly, tech companies tend to be much more meritocracies than government contractors. I’m not saying they are a utopia free from politics but if you’ve worked on the stereotypical government contracts with people who literally are there to fill quotas and do nothing, you understand what I mean. On the other hand, you are doing embedded software engineering for Lockheed in Colorado so you might not be on that kind of project. My experience is that the more people’s lives and the fate of the world hang in the balance, the higher the level of competence in government contracting. If you are working on something that’s actually important (not the Defense travel web site), you may find there is some satisfaction in seeing it through to the end of your commitment next year. Working on a mission that matters is a feeling that brought me a lot of pride and personal satisfaction. Having said that, I was also happy to get back to the commercial world where you don’t have to worry about sleeping in a crack hotel on a business trip stay within FAR rules (that happened to my colleague not me, but I heard it was quite a time). If you are working on a government project that doesn’t matter, it’s not good experience and you should move on now. Just explain to recruiters your situation and that you will need them to repay the tuition (plus taxes).
Every now and then I see someone who says that they won't work for company X (Facebook I'm looking at you) since they say it's evil and blah blah. But how does it feel to design something which going to kill people on a massive scale? Serious question 🙋♂️ Ps: thanks for your comment.
With respect to that I work in the space segment (LMCO is responsible for GPS amount other things) so that’s not as much of a concern for me personally. There’s various moral hazards for working at any company/developing technology … the obvious example here is the technology that rockets and missiles share.
Good job! Get out of defense
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Screw it. Don't care anymore. Let Israel take it. One state solution.
I would look for a new job anyway. The pay hike is likely to be over the tuition clawback amount
I guess I’ve been dreading the interview preparation. This is motivation to take it more seriously.
Happy to help! It's not too bad, think of it like working out