Stability of Work in Defense Industry (USA)
Stability of Work in Defense Industry (USA)
(OP)
The major defense employer in my town is Lockheed. They have a reputation for having laid off 10X the number of people they have hired. The work there is seasonal depending on if the democrats or republicans are in power. Are all employers in the US defense industry like that?
I am considering a position with a communications equipment company that gets >50% of it's income from defense work. Things have been good for them the past few years. Should I expect that to change as we try to wind down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?
How can I tell if the job is tied to some large contracts and will be gone when it is done?
What should I look out for in working for a defense contractor?
In general what is it like compared to a private sector commercial job?
Thanks In Advance
I am considering a position with a communications equipment company that gets >50% of it's income from defense work. Things have been good for them the past few years. Should I expect that to change as we try to wind down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?
How can I tell if the job is tied to some large contracts and will be gone when it is done?
What should I look out for in working for a defense contractor?
In general what is it like compared to a private sector commercial job?
Thanks In Advance
ProEpro
www.whitelightdesign.com





RE: Stability of Work in Defense Industry (USA)
>> Not even all of LM is like that. Different divisions' management have slightly different styles.
Should I expect that to change as we try to wind down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?
>> Afghanistan is probably not going to end anytime soon. However, unless your company's business in production, current activities are essentially irrelevant.
How can I tell if the job is tied to some large contracts and will be gone when it is done?
>> In general, you can't tell. And even if you could tell, there's no way to know how the management has structured their employment levels.
What should I look out for in working for a defense contractor?In general what is it like compared to a private sector commercial job?
>> Personally, I don't think there's much difference. Business cycles are different.
TTFN
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RE: Stability of Work in Defense Industry (USA)
The jobs are not stable in any other sense. They come and go in different locales depending on which Congresscritters are in power and which of the Evil Empires wins the most recent contract, or in the case of airborne tankers, the most recent appeal.
The various Evil Empires compete mostly on the basis how thoroughly they can manage to mislead, underpay, and otherwise abuse the workforce, which because it is much larger than the instantaneous population of positions, is forced to be nomadic.
Chances are that you will meet more people in the defense community, because of the forced peregrinations, i.e. shorter business cycles.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Stability of Work in Defense Industry (USA)
With the US gov't talking of a shutdown soon, there may be a hold on all hiring, but more layoffs.
Chris
SolidWorks 10 SP4.0
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion
RE: Stability of Work in Defense Industry (USA)
TTFN
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
Chinese prisoner wins Nobel Peace Prize
RE: Stability of Work in Defense Industry (USA)
You should be able to get some information as to the company's current Defense contracts/subcontracts and duration thereof during the interview process.
RE: Stability of Work in Defense Industry (USA)
RE: Stability of Work in Defense Industry (USA)
Does it matter what part of the defense industry? Would communications equipment be better than planes?
ProEpro
www.whitelightdesign.com
RE: Stability of Work in Defense Industry (USA)
Chris
SolidWorks 10 SP4.0
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion
RE: Stability of Work in Defense Industry (USA)
However, all the armed forces are heavy into UAVs, so there's lots of work in developing smaller, more capable UAVs for different missions.
TTFN
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
Chinese prisoner wins Nobel Peace Prize
RE: Stability of Work in Defense Industry (USA)
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