I've heard JPL salary might be very low, but looking for a number or range to get a better feel. I'm aiming for something that would be similar to an L5 position, or about 6-12 years of experience. On Glassdoor, it suggests $159k average, which isn't bad at all for the Los Angeles area, but heavily skews towards submitters with 15+ years of experience. Can anyone confirm or elaborate? #JPL #NASA
$110 is very tough for LA area, especially around JPL where it’s all very expensive
I got 10 YOE, for a very specialized role in software, in SF they offered only 165k. Prestigious, but really low.
TC $110k, L2 with 3 yoe, EE. It very heavily depends on your discipline and the group that you're looking to go to, the disparity can be huge.
Which group is best paying?
Research scientists get decent money, so do systems/optics/robotics engineering groups. Core spaceflight design teams (HW/SW) can also make good money.
Dang that sucks... would love to work at NASA but the TC cut would be very hard to swallow. Any redeeming qualities?
Retirement plan is the good part of working for gov agency.
Would you get any of the gov retirement plan stuff? Most of JPL is actually Caltech, not NASA. I'd imagine Caltech benefits would be better than gov, though. Can anyone confirm?
My buddy got $160k JPL offer with 17yoe.
So spacex level pay without the RSUs or bonus?
There is a lot of prestige in working for JPL. Opens a lot of doors.
For me JPL is like grad school. If I were to choose I’d go there for 2 years as opposed to doing a Masters or a PhD
Pay is low low low.
Federal jobs in general pay very low. I have 7 YOE and was just offered a federal job at $87k for the DMV area. It’s astonishingly low.
I think with your YOE it is closer to 110k.
That sounds quite low. Is that up to date? I've got 9 years basically.
Yes. Nine year puts you somewhere between Sr and Stf. A senior at my company will earn around 110k and a Staff will earn somewhere around 125k.