<p>I never thought I'd be someone in this position (I use to be the guy trying to get one internship), but now I have to decide between two. I'm a junior cs-math double major trying to decide between these two jobs. </p>
<p>I know this should seem like a no-brainer b/c Amazon is suppose to be awesome (and pays way more) but I still have some concerns. Mostly that DoD guarantees a job after I finish college (its also local since I live in Maryland). I'm also assuming the gov offers other benefits to make the gap between salaries a little smaller. </p>
<p>I would rather stay in MD after I graduate. I guess I just want to know what the job market is like and if I should be looking more at stability than big bucks.</p>
<p>If I were you, I would honestly go for Amazon. I have a friend who interned there last year and is having a coop there right now and he loves it. Not only is the work you do meaningful to many people, the compensation, atmosphere at work and other benefits are excellent. I can guarantee all of these are far better at Amazon than any government related developer jobs. I am pretty sure working at Amazon would look better on your resume in the future too. I will note that, if you do well at Amazon, I am confident you would get a job offer too.</p>
<p>Now, since I am not you, of course the weight into staying in MD comes into play. I don’t think Amazon will have any rocky job stability down the road, nor will work as a Computer Science grad be tough to find down the road. If you really prefer being in MD, obviously go for the DoD job. However, I think the benefits of Amazon will truly outweigh and benefits from the DoD.</p>
<p>Anyways, great job nailing these opportunities and good luck making the choice!</p>
<p>How do you want to position yourself for future jobs?</p>
<p>If you work at DoD you will have to get a security clearance. The security credential plus a few years at DoD is worth a lot for future positions (better paying) with defense contractors. If your work with DoD involves cyber security then your experience + the security clearance will put you at the sweet spot for a new wave of CS work.</p>
<p>Getting an internship at Amazon and presumeably an offer for full time employment when you graduate is also nice. The work will put you on a different path.</p>
<p>I’ve worked at a national laboratory (not exactly the DOD, but the DOE is similar in some ways) and at Amazon (doing similar work, no less) and there are definitely differences.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Pace of work. Things move a little more slowly in government work than in the private sector. This is neither good nor bad. It’s good because people can spend more time on getting something right, as opposed to getting something out the door fast. The price of this is that you will learn new things more slowly than you would at Amazon (long term; you learn a lot after you start any new job).</p></li>
<li><p>Organizational structure. Maybe things have changed since my time in the DOE, but the org chart was huge, and you will start out near the bottom. Process tends to be heavier owing to large amounts of documentation that must exist. At places like Amazon, things tend to be a little more lightweight - sometimes, they border on ad hoc. Everybody agrees that documentation is important, but it’s usually the first thing that teams sacrifice in order to ship.</p></li>
<li><p>Financial. You’ll probably enjoy higher compensation, initially anyway, from places like Amazon. They can afford to hire at near the top, and they have no reservations about doing so. The government, of course, can also afford to pay top dollar (well… depends on your definition of afford, I suppose), but in general the most attractive aspect of government work are the benefits and relative job security (no idea how people feel about government job security now, what with sequestration and all… how things change)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If you like the idea of a secure, comfortable job that pays the bills and doesn’t get in the way of the rest of your life, you should definitely consider the DOD gig. If, on the other hand, you like the idea of fast-paced, exciting work that pays you like a rock star and demands a lot of you, Amazon might be a better fit. Neither is necessarily better than the other; it depends on what you want out of life. For all the differences, what you actually do on a day-to-day basis is more or less the same: sending e-mails, reading documentation, hammering out some code, doing reviews, getting reviewed, going to meetings, etc. And the pay difference, by itself, isn’t enough to be a deal-breaker, at least in my opinion ($110k-$120k starting vs. $80k-$90k starting).</p>
<p>I was also going to say the same thing about some DoD jobs. You will get paid more IF the DoD job will get you a Top Secret/SCI clearance and even more if it comes with a Polygraph.</p>
<p>Which brings me to my suggestion…</p>
<p>Since I work the first 14 years of my career in the private sector and last 8 with DoD, I would chose the DoD job ONLY IF IT WILL GET YOU A CLEARANCE. If the DoD job is not with the likes of FBI, CIA or the “No Such Agency”, then take Amazon for at least your younger years.</p>
<p>Although I “like” the as Aegrisomnia says “a secure, comfortable job that pays the bills and doesn’t get in the way of the rest of your life”…I sure miss the days of the private sector when you had the evaluation copy of the latest software (from Oracle or Microsoft or Whoever) on your desk ready for you to play with and to give your opinions on.</p>
<p>So so sum it up: DoD + Clearance, take DoD…no clearance, take Amazon.</p>
<p>What are you going to be doing in job a vs job b? How many hours a day? travel? responsibility? morals? (i.e. if DoD job involves programming a drone or something :)) and so on. How many newbies vs oldsters? possibilities for mentoring and advancement versus dog-eat-dog?</p>
<p>No disrespect to Amazon, Google, and the like, I get monthly emails from their recruiters, but I prefer 40 hours a week for 40 hours of pay…</p>
<p>If salary is a major consideration and if you plan to stay with the government until the day you retire then you should be aware that the top salary (GS15- Step 10) that you can receive is currently $155,000 clearance or no clearance.</p>
<p>Globaltraveler, it is one of those agencies (though I don’t think I’m supposed to say which one >_>).</p>
<p>I interned at the DoD one before and liked it; I think that is why this is a tougher decision because I’m giving something up I know I will be satisfied with. </p>
<p>I know money shouldn’t be the biggest factor, but DoD is offering me a salary of ~$42,000 (grade 7, step 1) and Amazon is offering me $6,000 a month plus a stipend of $2,000 a month for housing. I think the Amazon housing is around ~$2,500, so that is effectively a salary of $66,000 (I’d live at home for DoD, so no rent). </p>
<p>I am sorry, but I’m a bit of a money pincher. Is it reasonable to ask for a higher salary from DoD?</p>
<p>This only helps the first years. You need to move out, build your own family later.</p>
<p>If you like to stay in MD then it’s OK to work for DoD. I guess the agency that offers you job has exciting work. Some agencies only hire private contractors to do real work and the gov. employers only oversee the contract without doing exciting things.</p>
<p>$42k in the DC area - all other things considered - is a bit of a red flag. Unless you live at home for a while, at least, you could find yourself in he same position my friends did at Intel making $34k/year (in 1985) in Santa Clara… Not sure they’d be likely to offer more, but at the same time, job safety may be worth some $.</p>
<p>$42K is for the internship; I think its supposed to be like ~$65K full time (grade 9 I think?). Maybe more if you apply for a higher end job afterword?</p>
<p>I’m just being flaky at this point. I’ve already taken most things into account; I’m just having a hard time differentiating between stuff that’s kind of hard to measure (summer with friends, new experiences, etc.)</p>
<p>42K is fine for the internship. The problem with working for Uncle Sam is that they are required to slot you into the payscale based upon your level of experience. When you graduate you may only be able to get a grade 9 (although you could negotiate a higher step based upon your two internships). Oftentimes a government position may be listed as GS9-11-12 which allows for promotion without having to competitively apply for the new position. For in-demand positions you should expect to be promoted from a 9 to an 11 in one year and from 11 to 12 in another year.</p>
<p>There’s a reason that Uncle Sam has difficulty attracting and retaining highly skilled employees. But, if you look at the time as an investment in your future in cybersecurity the time will be well spent.</p>