Government JOb

<p>If I want to have a lucrative federal government job in the future (NSA, CIA, etc)...what would be a good engineering major? THis question might be really open-ended, i'm not sure.</p>

<p>EE or CS is probably your best choice.</p>

<p>Have you read Digital Fortress? It's a really good book with a fictional plot that revolves around the NSA.</p>

<p>I've actually read that haha...Those agencies love EE and CS, but I don't think working for the government is the most "lucrative" (not that you'll be poor or anything).</p>

<p>I agree with EE and CS but I'm going to add in Nuclear Engineering also.</p>

<p>Don't forget about aerospace engineering.</p>

<p>its not really lucrative...more of a good career move becuz of the job security and benefits you get....but you wont necc. start out wit an amazingly higher than normal salary.</p>

<p>BTW they seem to be looking for CS EE and AE majors</p>

<p>
[quote]
its not really lucrative...more of a good career move becuz of the job security and benefits you get....but you wont necc. start out wit an amazingly higher than normal salary.</p>

<p>BTW they seem to be looking for CS EE and AE majors

[/quote]
</p>

<p>True. You trade in a high salary for job security.</p>

<p>What major should I do if I want to be an analyst for CTU Los Angeles?</p>

<p>hahaha.... well, milo has a bs in Information Systems from UCLA, chloe has a bs from uc-davis, jack has a ms in criminology and law from UC Berkeley... apparently the UC system is a CTU feeder</p>

<p>For the more specialized organizations such as NASA, an ASE/ME/EE degree or for the NSA, a CS/EE/Math degree might be more viable but from my experience with recruiters, the government loves well trained engineers and will hire across the board for them.</p>

<p>Oooh, I've really been tempted by the thought of working for the government, but I've been too worried about getting to college before worrying about afterwards. I thought that the government was doing a lot more of like..contracted work now and not hiring as many engineers....? Or is there still a big need for them? Is ME a good pick?</p>

<p>At a college career fair, the CIA, FBI and NSA were very interested in engineers. I don't think that'll you be doing actual engineering work but instead it is our unique training in analytical thinking that make us wonderful candidates for government work.</p>

<p>One thing I want to note is that the CIA and NSA have some VERY cool sounding jobs--things like Proliferation, Political Speech, Foreign Language and Weapon analysts. The NSA might is more technical but they had some interesting openings in the crypto and security field.</p>

<p>oooooooooh cool. see, that's how they need to get more engineers. tell them what they could possibly do...</p>

<p>Listen to me now, and thank me later – never ever discount Government jobs.</p>

<p>Many perks of government engineers – to a certain degree, Government S & E</p>

<p>1) job security – you will never be fired unless you do something really stupid.
2) great pay – yes you start under 50’K but as an engineer, but you can easily advance to GS-13 or GS-14 level within 5-10 years ( 100K-120K), and possibly to GS-15+ (SES, ST) level after 10 years. With an advanced degree under your belt, you can even start as a GS-9 or 11 (MS) level or GS-11 or 12 (PhD) -- not too bad as compared to private industries
3) great pension plan & fringe benefits – everyone knows this
4) great career advancement opportunities for fresh minted newbie engineers- Uncle Sam will pay for all the fees & tuitions for your Master’s degree. If you want to further pursue your PhD, Government will gladly support you- yes they will even pay your salary during your timeaway for the full time residency requirement @ an institution of your choice. (Of course, you must sign a contract that you will come back to the agency after and work the double amount of your time-away, e.g., if you stayed at UW for 2 years, you must work 4 years before you leave for non-government job)
5) great equalizer - it really doesn’t matter which school you went once you are employed – equal opportunity for every one as long as you are motivated, hard-working, and politically correct :)
6) All engineering majors are in high demand – but NASA I would say EE/AE/ME/CS- NSA – CS/EE and advanced Math degrees, DoD Labs –EE/AE/ME</p>

<p>I am gonna be an Army Ranger after completing industrial eng..Hopefully my degree will help me towards my goal of being in SF and ultimately a Delta operator (if not, FBI HRT). Government jobs are great!</p>

<p>So what does a weapons analyst do? My younger son (13) just told me yesterday that he wants to "create weaponry" when he grows up. I told him I would be more than happy to research career opportunities in weaponry. He has been facinated with this ever since I can remember. I imagine he would need to study mechanical engineering or possibly apply to the Naval academy for their program in weapons and systems engineering. Does anyone have any knowledge about this? Any suggestions about career opportunities would also be appreciated.</p>

<p>I I would imagine that different engineers are needed for different weapon systems (e.g. rockets, chemical weapons, nuclear weapons, conventional bombs, etc...)</p>

<p>Good point Hye...I think he is interested in guns, grenades, explosives etc...</p>

<p>Tell him to try out for 18B in the Army. They are the top small arms experts in the world.</p>