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It appears most people, assuming its fresh out of college, would start out at GS-7 which at step 10 in the DC area would only be $54K. Assuming they were gradua

by gaadd33 13y ago

It appears most people, assuming its fresh out of college, would start out at GS-7 which at step 10 in the DC area would only be $54K. Assuming they were graduating with a Phd, they could be at GS-11 step 10 which would still only be 81K. I understand the feeling of purpose but starting at half the salary and having a cap of 155K (assuming you move into senior management (GS-15 step 10)) vs somewhere like Google where you start at ~100K and the limit for technical people seems like its the 400K+ range seems like a tough sell. Also maybe its just stereotypes, but it seems like antisocial behavior which seems somewhat prevalent in excellent technical types wouldn't really mesh with the command structure there.

brigade 13y ago
Defense contractors pay a lot more, and once you have an active clearance you're in high demand. If they want higher pay, that's where they go.
- gaadd33 13y ago
  Oh yeah I know that but he implied that the salary gap wasn't that big. As far as I can tell it is. Sure defense contractors pay far more but that's not really working for the government anymore, you are in private industry and could just as easily go to someone that has use for people with clearances like Palantir or similar. On a side note do the top tier/brilliant software engineers at Lockheed/et al make Google level salaries? Actual technical people, not those who have moved into management that is.
  - dsl 13y ago
    The cost of living is something you need to adjust for. In the Bay Area everyone gets tech company salaries. In the places you might live, everyone gets government salaries. A lot of people like myself just don't want to work for Google, regardless of price. The people I know at defense contractors in the Bay Area all make more than what you would at Google.
    - flyinRyan 13y ago
      No it isn't. An iPhone and BMW cost the same thing in fly-over states that they cost in nice places. Maybe in a fly-over you're keeping 20% of your salary rather than 10% in the valley but the difference in salary probably means you still end up with more money in the valley.

by gaadd33 13y ago

brigade 13y ago

Defense contractors pay a lot more, and once you have an active clearance you're in high demand. If they want higher pay, that's where they go.

gaadd33 13y ago
Oh yeah I know that but he implied that the salary gap wasn't that big. As far as I can tell it is. Sure defense contractors pay far more but that's not really working for the government anymore, you are in private industry and could just as easily go to someone that has use for people with clearances like Palantir or similar. On a side note do the top tier/brilliant software engineers at Lockheed/et al make Google level salaries? Actual technical people, not those who have moved into management that is.
- dsl 13y ago
  The cost of living is something you need to adjust for. In the Bay Area everyone gets tech company salaries. In the places you might live, everyone gets government salaries. A lot of people like myself just don't want to work for Google, regardless of price. The people I know at defense contractors in the Bay Area all make more than what you would at Google.
  - flyinRyan 13y ago
    No it isn't. An iPhone and BMW cost the same thing in fly-over states that they cost in nice places. Maybe in a fly-over you're keeping 20% of your salary rather than 10% in the valley but the difference in salary probably means you still end up with more money in the valley.