Are you thinking about turning down the offer

Answers to various questions regarding the SMART Scholarship application process. Includes many tips and statistics.
Jim M

Are you thinking about turning down the offer

Post by Jim M »

Did anyone get a wrong offer or are you thinking about turning down an offer?

Guest

Re: Are you thinking about turning down the offer

Post by Guest »

I got a wrong offer. It simply won't work...but I'm hoping to be able to work through it.

If there is no level of flexibility in the awards though, I may be in trouble.

Ian C

Re: Are you thinking about turning down the offer

Post by Ian C »

I'm thinking about turning it down.

I already have 70% of my tuition covered by scholarship. I also have a co-op with Texas Instruments that I don't really want to jeopardize. The offer I got isn't in the field I exactly want to work in, and in addition a BSEE on the GS scale out of college probably makes 20k+ less than a starting salary in the semiconductor industry (especially at TI), which is something I'm actually interesting.

I did a total $$ analysis and over the course of the entire commitment, they come out about even, but I think I'd enjoy working in the semiconductor industry more. I applied for a 3 year award...a 6 year commitment is a long time.

Not totally sure still though, have to think more about it.

Lindsay

Re: Are you thinking about turning down the offer

Post by Lindsay »

Ian C wrote: I applied for a 3 year award...a 6 year commitment is a long time.
The commitment should only be 3 years... the standard ratio of scholarship to service is 1/1. Oh (re-read), well if you mean "commitment" total... then technically you are affiliated with the DoD as a summer intern and later a full-time employee for a total of 6 years (in a sense that you are not free to work for another technical employer)...I guess that is one way of looking at it.

My question, is does your co-op employer guarantee full-time conversion upon graduation? If not, I would seriously consider taking this scholarship for service... "commitment" means a guaranteed job. Also, I think it very unlikely that the DoD would not hire interested smart participants full-time after their service commitments...after all, recruiting a talented work-force is the end goal of this program. Moreover, due to the current economic situation, I think it is more important than ever before to weigh the pros and cons of a lower-paying, but significantly more "secure" civil servant position and a higher-paying private industry job that is dependent on the success of that private industry.

I am currently a GE co-op, and plan to apply for this program next year. So, I understand how hard it is to weigh the pros and cons of the government and private industry.

Best of luck.

guest

Re: Are you thinking about turning down the offer

Post by guest »

Lindsay wrote:
Ian C wrote: I applied for a 3 year award...a 6 year commitment is a long time.
The commitment should only be 3 years... the standard ratio of scholarship to service is 1/1. Oh (re-read), well if you mean "commitment" total... then technically you are affiliated with the DoD as a summer intern and later a full-time employee for a total of 6 years (in a sense that you are not free to work for another technical employer)...I guess that is one way of looking at it.

My question, is does your co-op employer guarantee full-time conversion upon graduation? If not, I would seriously consider taking this scholarship for service... "commitment" means a guaranteed job. Also, I think it very unlikely that the DoD would not hire interested smart participants full-time after their service commitments...after all, recruiting a talented work-force is the end goal of this program. Moreover, due to the current economic situation, I think it is more important than ever before to weigh the pros and cons of a lower-paying, but significantly more "secure" civil servant position and a higher-paying private industry job that is dependent on the success of that private industry.

I am currently a GE co-op, and plan to apply for this program next year. So, I understand how hard it is to weigh the pros and cons of the government and private industry.

Best of luck.

All of this is true but those of us who received the scholarship have already proved ourselves as very competitive among our peers and shouldn't have any problems finding high paying jobs in the private sector. After doing the math I'm just way better off turning it down and thats what I will most likely do.

Lindsay

Re: Are you thinking about turning down the offer

Post by Lindsay »

guest wrote:
Lindsay wrote:
Ian C wrote: I applied for a 3 year award...a 6 year commitment is a long time.
The commitment should only be 3 years... the standard ratio of scholarship to service is 1/1. Oh (re-read), well if you mean "commitment" total... then technically you are affiliated with the DoD as a summer intern and later a full-time employee for a total of 6 years (in a sense that you are not free to work for another technical employer)...I guess that is one way of looking at it.

My question, is does your co-op employer guarantee full-time conversion upon graduation? If not, I would seriously consider taking this scholarship for service... "commitment" means a guaranteed job. Also, I think it very unlikely that the DoD would not hire interested smart participants full-time after their service commitments...after all, recruiting a talented work-force is the end goal of this program. Moreover, due to the current economic situation, I think it is more important than ever before to weigh the pros and cons of a lower-paying, but significantly more "secure" civil servant position and a higher-paying private industry job that is dependent on the success of that private industry.

I am currently a GE co-op, and plan to apply for this program next year. So, I understand how hard it is to weigh the pros and cons of the government and private industry.

Best of luck.

All of this is true but those of us who received the scholarship have already proved ourselves as very competitive among our peers and shouldn't have any problems finding high paying jobs in the private sector. After doing the math I'm just way better off turning it down and thats what I will most likely do.

I don't think you took this the way I intended it (sad face). I didn't mean to suggest that you wouldn't be able to get a job...that would hardly be an intelligent conclusion to draw when your current co-op position and awardee status in regards to SMART are undoubtedly a direct reflection of your capabilities and career potential in the technological industry. On the contrary, I was simply trying to offer that private industry and government employment are radically different, both in benefits and in draw-backs.

I had the opportunity to work at NASA this past summer, and I can't tell you how eye-opening of an experience it proved to be; every day I was there, undoubtedly intelligent, highly qualified people were clearing out their offices due to the cancellation of the ARES program. Their contract termination had nothing to do with their lack of skill, and everything to do with decreased government funding over which they had no control. The civil servants, however, didn't have to worry about their positions in the organization. I do understand that a position working for a government contractor is different than a job in strictly private industry (like GE), but I feel the absence of strong job security plagues both. Of course that is not to say that the easily one and a half times pay the government contractors were making over the civil servants wasn't an amazing benefit! I don't think one job-type is better than the other, they are just different. I have no doubt all of the people who lost their jobs this past summer will be able to find equal work elsewhere, I was just trying to offer that job security is an amazing benefit that outweighs some of the monetary downside of government employment.

To rehash, I didn't mean this as an insult or anything even near that realm. Simply put, I was just trying to be helpful since I know this is a big decision! If you feel that declining the SMART award is in your best interest, then by all means act accordingly. I trust you know what is best for you! It sounds like you have two really awesome career paths ahead of you that are a direct result of your own hard work and ambition, so I will leave you with best of luck, and congratulations on the co-op and SMART (whether or not you choose to except the award, it is still amazing to be able to say that you were selected!!).

Sorry for the long posts... I am currently working this semester i.e I have more free time than I am used to!

=)

2ndRoundHopeful

Re: Are you thinking about turning down the offer

Post by 2ndRoundHopeful »

guest wrote: All of this is true but those of us who received the scholarship have already proved ourselves as very competitive among our peers and shouldn't have any problems finding high paying jobs in the private sector. After doing the math I'm just way better off turning it down and thats what I will most likely do.
I'm sure I speak for the rest of the first round rejects when I say... Do it.

Guest

Re: Are you thinking about turning down the offer

Post by Guest »

2ndRoundHopeful wrote:
guest wrote: All of this is true but those of us who received the scholarship have already proved ourselves as very competitive among our peers and shouldn't have any problems finding high paying jobs in the private sector. After doing the math I'm just way better off turning it down and thats what I will most likely do.
I'm sure I speak for the rest of the first round rejects when I say... Do it.
Doubly so for those of us that are working 30 hour weeks on top of 30 hours of class just to pay for school.

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