Have an offer for a full remote junior role at a government agency willing to sponsor a clearance. Taking a cut in TC but maybe worth it? Current team is falling apart with RTO (senior engineers quitting, manager obviously interviewing) and idk if we're gonna survive layoffs. Exceeds bar in forte but doesn't matter because we've confirmed no promos until Q4 in our org and internal transfers frozen anyways. TC: 130k YOE: 2
No guarantee that NSA won’t layoff. Weather the storm in AMAZ until something better comes up. Never take pay cut willingly.
It depends!!! Are you still learning new stuff on current job? I’ve been in a similar situation before. it was the best opportunity for me to learn and glow up my resume and gain experience. No seniors were there to take the responsibility Government jobs are slow and legacy stacks are not worth learning in my opinion
nope everyone is paralyzed on my team now, just writing docs currently
NSA and then go job search in 5 years, you will be valuable and security is a good area.
I think the TC difference isn’t large enough to deal w Amazon culture vs laid back chill gov cult
If you think working for the NSA is going to be chill and laid-back, you've got another thing coming. The promotion process is even more cuthroat at federal agencies than it is in the corporate world, it's primarily based on years at the Agency and seniority, and your pay is capped at a measly (for FAANG) amount. You'll also deal with outdated tools, complex bureaucracy, severe limitations on your personal life, and having to be in the office 100% of the time to do your work (for like, 99.99% of teams). You won't have to deal with layoffs - it's a running joke that there's only a 50/50 chance you'd get fired for shitting on your manager's desk directly in front of them - but you will have to deal with Congress's budget approvals (or lack thereof) affecting your life. It seems like every other year there are furloughs and people who don't get paid for months at a time while the budget bullshit goes on. On the positive side, if you get a clearance, you can always become a govt contractor, which pays similar rates to top FAANG salaries. While contracting has most (or more) of the irritants as being a direct govt. employee does, and contracting positions aren't especially stable, contracting itself is more solid than granite. If you find yourself on a contract that doesn't get renewed, or goes to a different company, you can get a new job within a few weeks, while still being careful and selective in your choice.
Thorough response thank you! Yeah promotions are kinda moot right now but the clearance seems like a plus. Idk if faang will have any career progression until Q2 2024
I don't know about your experience but promotions within NSA have been revamped lately, depending on your Grade and Step you may not even have to compete for promotions any longer(more towards the beginning 7-11 steps I believe?). I know tons of teams that work on modern stacks, this is just regurgitating what everyone else says about cleared government work. Being in the office is also dependent on your team and what work you will be doing. There are tons of teams out there that deal with unclass info on a day to day basis so that gives opportunities to telework. I don't have experience with not being paid so I can't comment on that.
Is it typical for NSA to offer sign on bonus? Is it based on GS Level?
It's not really sign in it's like relocation assistance
Fancy