by mathphd » Tue Jun 03, 2014 3:24 pm
You are right, you can make the experience much better if you are proactive. However, if you draw motivation from others around you, perform better under pressure, or you need incentives to be motivated, then this isn't the right scholarship for you. If you want, you can browse facebook all day and get away with it. It is sometimes hard to motivate yourself when there are less obvious/immediate incentives. Promotion in many places will not be based off performance, but only time of service. I can imagine it's difficult to watch incompetent people move up the ranks. Also, keep in mind that the defense budget won't be going up, and most likely will be coming down in the next few years. This can't be good news for anyone in the sector.
At times, the work is frustrating, boring, and much lower pay than in industry. However, if you are content with a relaxed job with very few hours, it could be right for you. The people at my internship are very nice, and it's mostly a pleasant atmosphere to work in. However, there is a lot of laziness and incompetence, and it's easy to get dragged into that.
It depends what you're looking for. If you're a graduate student, I would say don't take SMART. There's almost no situation in which you will be better off, unless you're not in STEM. If you're an undergrad, it's actually a pretty sweet deal. If you like research, make sure you get a position at a lab and nothing on the GS pay scale. Thoroughly research your SF before committing, ask to talk to all SMART scholars confidentially, and don't trust the descriptions given to you by those recruiting you. My technical director gave me a mix of outright lies about the technical work and vague, exciting sounding project descriptions. I still take responsibility for being naive and not knowing myself and what I wanted. Its pretty simple. If you know you thrive off a challenge, stay away from SMART. If you need the money or you already know you like government work/are very familiar with your facility, then it might be a good deal.
2014Smart wrote:jjm390 wrote:2014Smart wrote:
Thanks for that info. I'm planning on sending out my information sometime early next week.
I have been reading a lot of info about people that are unhappy with the SMART scholarship. Should this be taken with a grain of salt? It seems to me that the award is very generous and sets you up with a job after graduation. In this economy that seems to be a safe bet. Should I be worried about not being happy with the scholarship and work at the SF after graduation? Anyone please feel free to chime in.
That totally depends on you. If you think you can be comfortable working in the Government, I would say it is a great deal. The government bureaucracy scares a lot of people. For me, I spent many years in the Military, so the government mindset is very familiar to me. I think it is a great opportunity, and a very generous award. Again, I will stress that nothing will "just fall in your lap" while working for the government. You have to have initiative, and be on the lookout for yourself.
This initial paperwork is a good example. The deadlines are completely on you. You have the power to make it work for you (i.e. get the paperwork done early, ensure that it gets in on time, send it certified so you have some proof that you did what you were supposed to do and anything else was beyond your control, etc.), or you can procrastinate and likely miss some deadline because of something unforeseen! Use the "make it happen" mindset through the entire program and you will be golden. Furthermore, if you maintain that mindset, you will are actually likely to ENJOY your time working for the government. If you expect people to always do things with you in mind (there are a lot of those sorts out there), then you will likely hate it with every fiber of your being. It does take a certain type of individual to work for the government successfully. Of course the problem is, if you don't try, you will never know! :)
As always, this is just my opinion based on my time working under government bureaucracy. You milage may very. :)
Yea that is sort of what I figured. Obviously the people that are not happy with the program are going to be louder than the people who are fine with it. The people who have positive experiences with the program have no need to let others know, but the people who are upset with the program want to let the world know.
To me it seems like the people that are not happy with the program are a little bit entitled and want everything to be perfect. Whether you're in the government or the private sector nothing is ever going to be perfect. I feel like if you're able to roll with the punches then either one can be a good fit for you.
Thanks again for the insight. Really helps having this forum to discuss with others about the program.
You are right, you can make the experience much better if you are proactive. However, if you draw motivation from others around you, perform better under pressure, or you need incentives to be motivated, then this isn't the right scholarship for you. If you want, you can browse facebook all day and get away with it. It is sometimes hard to motivate yourself when there are less obvious/immediate incentives. Promotion in many places will not be based off performance, but only time of service. I can imagine it's difficult to watch incompetent people move up the ranks. Also, keep in mind that the defense budget won't be going up, and most likely will be coming down in the next few years. This can't be good news for anyone in the sector.
At times, the work is frustrating, boring, and much lower pay than in industry. However, if you are content with a relaxed job with very few hours, it could be right for you. The people at my internship are very nice, and it's mostly a pleasant atmosphere to work in. However, there is a lot of laziness and incompetence, and it's easy to get dragged into that.
It depends what you're looking for. If you're a graduate student, I would say don't take SMART. There's almost no situation in which you will be better off, unless you're not in STEM. If you're an undergrad, it's actually a pretty sweet deal. If you like research, make sure you get a position at a lab and nothing on the GS pay scale. Thoroughly research your SF before committing, ask to talk to all SMART scholars confidentially, and don't trust the descriptions given to you by those recruiting you. My technical director gave me a mix of outright lies about the technical work and vague, exciting sounding project descriptions. I still take responsibility for being naive and not knowing myself and what I wanted. Its pretty simple. If you know you thrive off a challenge, stay away from SMART. If you need the money or you already know you like government work/are very familiar with your facility, then it might be a good deal.
[quote="2014Smart"][quote="jjm390"][quote="2014Smart"]
Thanks for that info. I'm planning on sending out my information sometime early next week.
I have been reading a lot of info about people that are unhappy with the SMART scholarship. Should this be taken with a grain of salt? It seems to me that the award is very generous and sets you up with a job after graduation. In this economy that seems to be a safe bet. Should I be worried about not being happy with the scholarship and work at the SF after graduation? Anyone please feel free to chime in.[/quote]
That totally depends on you. If you think you can be comfortable working in the Government, I would say it is a great deal. The government bureaucracy scares a lot of people. For me, I spent many years in the Military, so the government mindset is very familiar to me. I think it is a great opportunity, and a very generous award. Again, I will stress that nothing will "just fall in your lap" while working for the government. You have to have initiative, and be on the lookout for yourself.
This initial paperwork is a good example. The deadlines are completely on you. You have the power to make it work for you (i.e. get the paperwork done early, ensure that it gets in on time, send it certified so you have some proof that you did what you were supposed to do and anything else was beyond your control, etc.), or you can procrastinate and likely miss some deadline because of something unforeseen! Use the "make it happen" mindset through the entire program and you will be golden. Furthermore, if you maintain that mindset, you will are actually likely to ENJOY your time working for the government. If you expect people to always do things with you in mind (there are a lot of those sorts out there), then you will likely hate it with every fiber of your being. It does take a certain type of individual to work for the government successfully. Of course the problem is, if you don't try, you will never know! :)
As always, this is just my opinion based on my time working under government bureaucracy. You milage may very. :)[/quote]
Yea that is sort of what I figured. Obviously the people that are not happy with the program are going to be louder than the people who are fine with it. The people who have positive experiences with the program have no need to let others know, but the people who are upset with the program want to let the world know.
To me it seems like the people that are not happy with the program are a little bit entitled and want everything to be perfect. Whether you're in the government or the private sector nothing is ever going to be perfect. I feel like if you're able to roll with the punches then either one can be a good fit for you.
Thanks again for the insight. Really helps having this forum to discuss with others about the program.[/quote]