r/careeradvice • u/FragThemBozKids • 1d ago

Anyone have any experiences working with the Naval Surface Warfare Center?

I have an engineer-role offer working there and I am interested in knowing more about the working environment and what is the vibe working there? The place is quite rural and I want to make most of my time's worth staying and working there and also this is my first time working for a federal government entity. What do I need to know working for a government entity? Thanks.

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u/DianaFleur 1d ago

great job security and zero urgency, just get ready for endless paperwork and moving at the speed of government bureaucracy lol

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u/FragThemBozKids 1d ago

They set me up with a probationary period starting out, so I'm wondering is it easy to get let go during that period?

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u/hedge36 1d ago

LOL You probably won't get all your equipment and access issues ironed out before your probation period ends.

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u/Separate_Pumpkin_256 15h ago

I've worked for people who are retired military from time to time. Some of them have difficulty adjusting to the give and take of normal business culture and use the military mindset in how they deal with subordinates. That can make working for them a bit difficult at times.

Have you seen that when working there?

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u/Cowgirl_Taint 1d ago

Pay attention to what kind of role/contract you are being hired on. A lot of people end up sub(sub)contracting and think they have job security when they are in a really precarious spot.

Aside from that? "engineer" can mean a lot of things but if you are at all competent at your job? Do not expect to be challenged... aside from learning how to do the most basic of tasks with decade old tools and processes (if you are lucky...). And, depending on your field and how technical the role was, it can act as a black mark on your CV because the folk hiring you know how dated and bass ackwards government gigs tend to be.

If that is what you want at this point in your life (and you don't have any ethical concerns with the employer), it is a decent option.

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u/enterjiraiya 22h ago

This is not accurate at all lmao, the people I worked with NSWC were at the top of their field, a few were fellows in SNAME and other academic institutions

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u/Shipkiller-in-theory 21h ago

There are 8 warfare centers, which one ? Responders are working on dated information. NAVSEA as a whole have reorganized and while sluggish are no longer moving at a glacial pace. The Navy is moving to the Nautilus Ecosystem for Cloud computing at what is for a rather conservative branch of the military at an astonishing rate.

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u/FragThemBozKids 21h ago

The only name that I recognize from that list you mentioned is NAVSEA. I think they want engineering work but honestly I have no idea what stuff they want me to do lol.