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It's also worth pointing out that there's a serious lack of talent in the defense contracting industry (not universal -- but certainly on average). The pay is
by tdfx 7y ago
It's also worth pointing out that there's a serious lack of talent in the defense contracting industry (not universal -- but certainly on average). The pay is typically not very impressive, the working conditions tend to be stressful (constant cost over-runs, impossible deadlines) and inflexible working arrangements (good luck with WFH). Talented people generally gravitate elsewhere with better pay and perks.
- magduf 7y agoThis isn't quite true. The working conditions tend to be less stressful usually, because by law you cannot be required to work overtime without being paid for it. Every hour you work as a defense contractor must be billable to a government contract, and you must get paid for it. You're also not allowed to work overtime unless the customer agrees to it, which they typically only do if there's a schedule crunch. You're correct about inflexible working arrangements though. WFH isn't very common, and work locations tend to not be in desirable geographic locations. The pay is generally good, certainly much better than working for the government (though without the job security), though it's probably not going to beat a top salary at a FAANG company by a long shot. But how many other jobs do? There seems to be a trend here on HN to assume that the very top-paid positions at FAANG companies are utterly average for the tech industry, and they're just not. Overall, defense contracting is fairly lucrative to people who can obtain and keep a security clearance and aren't completely incompetent, and want a job that doesn't have crazy overtime and lets them have a normal family life. But it definitely won't attract the very top-most talented people, because those people can go to work at FAANG companies for a lot more money.