by Guest » Sat Sep 27, 2014 10:15 pm
Larry_52 wrote:The SMART Scholarship gives young people an opportunity to accurately assess the Federal Government. It has brilliant people doing meaningful work that you will enjoy working for and be inspired everyday. And, right down the hall in the same organization will be the biggest moron you've ever met that will have you sharpening pencils...
You will be frustrated by the folks who are paid to take care of you, but you will get paid.
If you don't want to take money from the Federal Government because you like student loans or have lots of money from elsewhere than this program isn't for you.
I do recommend finding the person at MDA you think you'll be working for and meet them before you apply. Not that hard to role up the org. chart of a DOD organization. If you can't, I wouldn't want you on-board. If you do, you'll be able to assess if the program is for you - you want to work for the guy doing meaningful work that's a great mentor...
Larry
With all due respect, Larry, it's not nearly as simplistic as he is making it.
The SMART scholarship does NOT give young people an opportunity to accurately assess the federal government. It shows young people just enough of the good stuff to get them to sign up, and then will allow them to see the rest. It's at this point of no return that threats of repayment start. Don't ever think about getting out until your committment has been repaid, because you'll be browbeaten like you wouldn't believe. I've never seen such strongarm tactics used in negotiations, but the SMART Program Office takes the cake when it comes to keeping their scholars in line. They'll consistently treat you like scum. If any disagreement arises between the scholar and the sponsoring facility, the student is treated as guilty until you can prove yourself innocent. Sometimes even that is not sufficient. Don't be scammed by Larry saying you will be frustrated by the folks who are paid to take care of you. They don't see it that way. They're paid to keep scholars in the program and moving from Phase 1, to Phase 2, to Phase 3. They're not paid to take care of you, and they won't. They'll do everything in their power to make sure you stay in the program.
Larry is right, there are some of the dumbest, most ill-equipped (in terms of life skills) people who have found a way to leech taxpayer dollars until they get to retirement age at which point they will continue leeching taxpayer dollars. These people will likely not be shown to you when you're investigating your possible sponsoring facility and deciding if you are going to take a job with them. In fact, they might be your boss right after you've taken enough money from the government that it's no longer feasible to back away.
I visited with several people from my sponsoring facility and was given a day-long tour before I chose to accept (an opportunity that isn't actually afforded to many scholars in the program). Talk about bait and switch. I showed up for my first internship 9 months later. Everyone who was on the tour was gone or in other departments. I met my boss (who had somehow missed the tour the previous summer... not sure how that happened... hmmmmmm) and he was a real piece of work. Talk about a guy who LOVED bureaucracy to the point that bureaucracy was the point of his existence, and the science was something he would do if he found time (which he usually didn't).
[quote="Larry_52"]The SMART Scholarship gives young people an opportunity to accurately assess the Federal Government. It has brilliant people doing meaningful work that you will enjoy working for and be inspired everyday. And, right down the hall in the same organization will be the biggest moron you've ever met that will have you sharpening pencils...
You will be frustrated by the folks who are paid to take care of you, but you will get paid.
If you don't want to take money from the Federal Government because you like student loans or have lots of money from elsewhere than this program isn't for you.
I do recommend finding the person at MDA you think you'll be working for and meet them before you apply. Not that hard to role up the org. chart of a DOD organization. If you can't, I wouldn't want you on-board. If you do, you'll be able to assess if the program is for you - you want to work for the guy doing meaningful work that's a great mentor...
Larry[/quote]
With all due respect, Larry, it's not nearly as simplistic as he is making it.
The SMART scholarship does NOT give young people an opportunity to accurately assess the federal government. It shows young people just enough of the good stuff to get them to sign up, and then will allow them to see the rest. It's at this point of no return that threats of repayment start. Don't ever think about getting out until your committment has been repaid, because you'll be browbeaten like you wouldn't believe. I've never seen such strongarm tactics used in negotiations, but the SMART Program Office takes the cake when it comes to keeping their scholars in line. They'll consistently treat you like scum. If any disagreement arises between the scholar and the sponsoring facility, the student is treated as guilty until you can prove yourself innocent. Sometimes even that is not sufficient. Don't be scammed by Larry saying you will be frustrated by the folks who are paid to take care of you. They don't see it that way. They're paid to keep scholars in the program and moving from Phase 1, to Phase 2, to Phase 3. They're not paid to take care of you, and they won't. They'll do everything in their power to make sure you stay in the program.
Larry is right, there are some of the dumbest, most ill-equipped (in terms of life skills) people who have found a way to leech taxpayer dollars until they get to retirement age at which point they will continue leeching taxpayer dollars. These people will likely not be shown to you when you're investigating your possible sponsoring facility and deciding if you are going to take a job with them. In fact, they might be your boss right after you've taken enough money from the government that it's no longer feasible to back away.
I visited with several people from my sponsoring facility and was given a day-long tour before I chose to accept (an opportunity that isn't actually afforded to many scholars in the program). Talk about bait and switch. I showed up for my first internship 9 months later. Everyone who was on the tour was gone or in other departments. I met my boss (who had somehow missed the tour the previous summer... not sure how that happened... hmmmmmm) and he was a real piece of work. Talk about a guy who LOVED bureaucracy to the point that bureaucracy was the point of his existence, and the science was something he would do if he found time (which he usually didn't).