by guest000 » Wed Feb 08, 2012 1:45 pm
My current situation is also far less than ideal.
I received the smart scholarship in 2008 for my master's degree. Did my internship in 2009 with a great mentor, had a lot of fun, met the two supervisors I'd be working in the lab for (first line and lab director), and was really looking forward to starting in 2010. Well, 2010 starts coming, Jan, Feb, Mar, and I haven't heard anything about a job offer. I sent all my paperwork in Jan (updated transcript, work plan, thesis/project info) and was told I'd hear something in a month or two. Okay. When the middle of March comes and I've heard nothing I start to panic a little, making phone calls to the SF and ASEE people saying I haven't gotten an offer, what day did they want me to start, etc. I'm finally able to get someone from the SF to call me mid April (mind you, I made multiple calls between March and April that went unanswered). The one who called was a new lab director to find out that apparently the old one I met transfered and the first line supervisor retired, and it seemed from my impression that this director had no idea what to do with me. He however assured me that HR would call with an offer soon and to move to the SF location immediately after graduating. Well guess what, May came and went with no offer. I graduated in May, moved to the location from halfway across the country away within two weeks, only to sit, wait, and keep making phone calls. I really wish I could say that ASEE was helpful during the process, but they weren't in my opinion. At first it seemed like they blamed me for not getting an offer. After I sent them copies of the emails I had been sending people for the past 3 months regarding the matter they seemed to have sealed their lips from blaming me, but they still didn't help me at all. I tried to be really patient, but it was extremely frustrating. It took until mid Sept 2010 to be hired, which meant that my service commitment now goes from Sept 2010-Sept 2012 instead of May 2010- May 2012, a 5 month difference.
Unfortunately the story only gets worse. When I started in Sept 2010 my instinct that the new lab director didn't know what to do with me was right on the money. The new first line supervisor didn't want me/didn't take me because he was already overstaffed. So the new lab director literally created a new position/new PD for me in this lab, which somehow he was able to do, which seemed kind of cool at first, except there wasn't actually any real work for me. I spent my first my 8 months working in a "Quality Office" helping with redundant paperwork (certaintly didn't need a master's degree to do this stuff- 2 of the 3 people I worked with had no more than a high school diploma, none of it was technical at all). After 8 months a new lab director came on board and I was actually able to get "detailed" into another department at the same SF that is a little more technical and short staffed, however it's not official by any means, I don't actually have a "position" here. It doesn't sound so bad since it's been going alright so far, I'm still not using my degree at all, but I'm thinking at least it's something a little more productive.
I really wish that was the end of the story. The DOD is going through some major cutbacks as everyone knows. In order to avoid a RIF my SF is beginning to "restructure," and my actual position I was hired on as is on the chopping block. From a senior leadership level it makes sense since I'm not even doing direct labor work for that lab right now (never was), but for me it's a pretty crappy situation. I still have 7.5 months left of my service commitment so I don't have the luxury of quitting, which means that I'm going to be soon forced into another series (and potentially different grade) without any say. I've been trying really hard to make the most of every thing that's been going on, trying to be productive, trying to be happy, but morale has been so low across the entire base that it's becoming really hard to go to work everyday and be happy that I have a job.
None of this is what I signed up for when I accepted the scholarship, and when my service commitment is up you can be certain that I'm not staying at my current SF. I'm not even sure I want to work for the government anymore after this experience.
My current situation is also far less than ideal.
I received the smart scholarship in 2008 for my master's degree. Did my internship in 2009 with a great mentor, had a lot of fun, met the two supervisors I'd be working in the lab for (first line and lab director), and was really looking forward to starting in 2010. Well, 2010 starts coming, Jan, Feb, Mar, and I haven't heard anything about a job offer. I sent all my paperwork in Jan (updated transcript, work plan, thesis/project info) and was told I'd hear something in a month or two. Okay. When the middle of March comes and I've heard nothing I start to panic a little, making phone calls to the SF and ASEE people saying I haven't gotten an offer, what day did they want me to start, etc. I'm finally able to get someone from the SF to call me mid April (mind you, I made multiple calls between March and April that went unanswered). The one who called was a new lab director to find out that apparently the old one I met transfered and the first line supervisor retired, and it seemed from my impression that this director had no idea what to do with me. He however assured me that HR would call with an offer soon and to move to the SF location immediately after graduating. Well guess what, May came and went with no offer. I graduated in May, moved to the location from halfway across the country away within two weeks, only to sit, wait, and keep making phone calls. I really wish I could say that ASEE was helpful during the process, but they weren't in my opinion. At first it seemed like they blamed me for not getting an offer. After I sent them copies of the emails I had been sending people for the past 3 months regarding the matter they seemed to have sealed their lips from blaming me, but they still didn't help me at all. I tried to be really patient, but it was extremely frustrating. It took until mid Sept 2010 to be hired, which meant that my service commitment now goes from Sept 2010-Sept 2012 instead of May 2010- May 2012, a 5 month difference.
Unfortunately the story only gets worse. When I started in Sept 2010 my instinct that the new lab director didn't know what to do with me was right on the money. The new first line supervisor didn't want me/didn't take me because he was already overstaffed. So the new lab director literally created a new position/new PD for me in this lab, which somehow he was able to do, which seemed kind of cool at first, except there wasn't actually any real work for me. I spent my first my 8 months working in a "Quality Office" helping with redundant paperwork (certaintly didn't need a master's degree to do this stuff- 2 of the 3 people I worked with had no more than a high school diploma, none of it was technical at all). After 8 months a new lab director came on board and I was actually able to get "detailed" into another department at the same SF that is a little more technical and short staffed, however it's not official by any means, I don't actually have a "position" here. It doesn't sound so bad since it's been going alright so far, I'm still not using my degree at all, but I'm thinking at least it's something a little more productive.
I really wish that was the end of the story. The DOD is going through some major cutbacks as everyone knows. In order to avoid a RIF my SF is beginning to "restructure," and my actual position I was hired on as is on the chopping block. From a senior leadership level it makes sense since I'm not even doing direct labor work for that lab right now (never was), but for me it's a pretty crappy situation. I still have 7.5 months left of my service commitment so I don't have the luxury of quitting, which means that I'm going to be soon forced into another series (and potentially different grade) without any say. I've been trying really hard to make the most of every thing that's been going on, trying to be productive, trying to be happy, but morale has been so low across the entire base that it's becoming really hard to go to work everyday and be happy that I have a job.
None of this is what I signed up for when I accepted the scholarship, and when my service commitment is up you can be certain that I'm not staying at my current SF. I'm not even sure I want to work for the government anymore after this experience.