Positive SMART Experiences

[doingfine]

Hi All,

After watching the spread of "hater" threads throughout this forum, I've decided to share the story of my POSITIVE experience with the program thus far (including the minor speedbumps of recent developments).

Before I was accepted to the SMART program, I was a different kind of intern for the DoD (didn't pay tuition, but it was a good summer job for a young college student). I wasn't a hugely impressed with the work I was doing, so I applied to the SMART program as a way to explore a different department and to fund the last year of my graduate studies. I had actually received offers entailing superior pay from local companies, but I stayed because the tuition benefits were superior with the SMART program. When my SF got word that I was accepted to the SMART program, I moved to my new team. Having done a small amount of work with my new team before I left for training last summer, I can now say that I've worked in two different groups at my SF as an intern where I not only had work to do, but it was meaningful. Yes, it took forever to get all my accounts and equipment set up, but in both groups once the red tape was out of the way, the work experience was quite enjoyable. I should probably also mention that my SF is NOT an R&D base, so it is possible to get a fun job outside the main hubs of your sponsoring service. The DoD culture is surprisingly flexible - I've already worked on two completely different projects and teams, and I've only been employed here for 3 years. My current supervisor explained the idea as this: the DoD would rather move an employee within the government to keep them happy with their job, than lose them to the private sector, and have wasted all that money training a person for a government job. You really can go wherever you want - if you want to climb to the top, there are real training and leadership opportunities to help you get there (I personally sign up for whatever I can), and having been a SMART scholar is a huge foot in the door. You can also sink to the bottom too and become what I've heard called a "government slug" (i.e. twiddling your thumbs and complaining rather than doing something productive, like going through the MONTHS AND MONTHS of online job-related training all DoD employees have access to, participating in force- or base-wide work initiatives, or my personal favorite, automating mundane tasks).

Now that my rant is out of the way, I'd like to talk actual perks, and not necessarily the ones you always hear government employees get:

- Most bases have a ticket and travel office, which I've used on multiple occasions to save money on Disney tickets and local entertainment. There's also a related website where you can get condos and hotel rooms for a steal.
- Most bases also have a recreation office, where you can rent stuff like boats, bikes, campers, ATVs, etc .. also for a steal.
- My base has a nice gym, where I (and my wife) can work out for free. I honestly hadn't worked out even once during college until I started working for the DoD - now I get PAYED to (a few hours a week).
- 4 hours' vacation every paycheck (6 for me since I'll have 3 years under my belt). ALSO, some facilities (such as mine) offer a pay system called "flex-pay", where you can build a balance of up to 24 hours' vacation by working extra hours, and then spend those saved-up hours whenever you see fit.
- Of course the retirement is decent - I think it's 7% matching, and the funds seem pretty stable, especially if you go for all government bonds.
- There are a LOT of health insurance choices .. not every employer is going to have a plan that is right for you, but if you can't find one that fits at the DoD, you're doing it wrong.
- In the ~18 months I worked for the DoD before I switched to SMART, I had received one bonus (for a proposed process improvement .. I didn't even know the DoD gave bonuses) and two raises - if you perform well, you WILL get payed for it.
- The electronic library is top-notch .. you have free access to Rosetta Stone software for every language. You can also buy steeply discounted Microsoft products and computers through government-only websites.

Lastly, I'd like to address the recent developments with the program. As far as I'm aware, there are no other scholarships out there (especially for undergrads) that just give you cash on top of your tuition without requiring you to lift a finger, so regardless of the amount of funding, it still trumps most other offerings in my books. And with the removal of the restriction on outside funding, those of you who think you deserve more money can go out there and get that money now! So rather than complain about the people who are paying you to go to school and promising a job after you graduate, perhaps you could just try to MAKE IT WORK - that's precisely what the SPO doing by changing the internship support payments!

Anyways, if you, like me, have enjoyed your SMART/DoD experience, this is the place to talk about it. I can't be the only one who's happy with my decision.

[Guest]

After watching the spread of "hater" threads throughout this forum, I've decided to share the story of my POSITIVE experience with the program thus far (including the minor speedbumps of recent developments).

...

Lastly, I'd like to address the recent developments with the program. As far as I'm aware, there are no other scholarships out there (especially for undergrads) that just give you cash on top of your tuition without requiring you to lift a finger, so regardless of the amount of funding, it still trumps most other offerings in my books. And with the removal of the restriction on outside funding, those of you who think you deserve more money can go out there and get that money now! So rather than complain about the people who are paying you to go to school and promising a job after you graduate, perhaps you could just try to MAKE IT WORK - that's precisely what the SPO doing by changing the internship support payments!

1. No one is judging you because you do like the scholarship so perhaps you can return the favor and not be judgmental to those who feel cheated. We are glad you are happy. So, for anyone else who posts on this thread, please actually post your positive experiences rather than your judgments about those of us who are angry. Otherwise you will get this:

2. Not every base is like yours. Not every SF is like yours. Not every job is interesting. The base I'm going to has none of those things you mentioned. The people I'm going to work with are nice and the job will be moderately interesting but I expect to be upset about the starting pay. But such is life.

3. For undergrads, this is still a decent program. For graduate students, like me, I could have gotten better now that the ISP are gone. Graduate students become ineligible for many scholarships after a couple of years of study. Also, most schools have student salary limits that prevent professors from paying you on top of an outside stipend. So those lifted outside funding caps don't help us who are a few years into the program. You aren't the only kind of student out there. Not everyone is you.

4. Not everyone needs a promised job after school. Some of us are so qualified we are shoe-ins for any job we apply to. Sorry to sound like I'm on a high horse, but sometimes the truth is the truth. Not all the smart benefits are benefits to everyone. Sometimes they are a penalty. Not everyone is you.

5. Calling us HATERS and complainers and other things is in very poor taste. We arent' asking for more than we were promised. We are just asking for that which we signed away a portion of our life. Lets say you're an independent airplane pilot with your own plane and you offer delivery and transport services to whomever for whatever. Let's say someone hires you to take their family from Iowa to Australia for an agreed upon price. You both sign a contract. Then, they wait until you are 3/4 the way between AU and US over the pacific ocean and they say, oh by the way we are only going to pay you 70% of what we agreed on. Would you call the pilot a hater if he was upset? Would he be wrong to complain that the payer had breached the contract agreement? Would he be wrong to be angry that when he was told about the change in terms, he physically had no choice but to continue to perform the service? What if his profit margin was low enough that the lessened pay wouldn't cover the fuel, maintenance, and flight back to the US? Well...that's some of us. The money they promised us, the ISP, in some cases was the deciding factor on signing the contract and we need that money to put food on our families tables and pay for medical insurance for our babies and keep decent tires on our car so our kids don't die in a crash. We simply are angry that someone promised us $5 and then only give us $3. We aren't mad at you. Don't be mad at us. Don't call us names. Don't suggest we are ungrateful or that you are better than us. You aren't us. Not everyone is you.

Now, please grow up and recognize that you're situation is unique just like the rest of us and you have no right to judge. For the rest of you thinking of posting on this thread....great! Post your positive experiences! Fantastic! I'm so happy this is working out for you. I'm happy my tax dollars are going to good use. I'm happy you aren't being hurt by the breach of contract. Please don't go beyond posing how happy you are into bashing other people. Otherwise it will get pretty nasty in here.

[sshog]

The money they promised us, the ISP, in some cases was the deciding factor on signing the contract and we need that money to put food on our families tables and pay for medical insurance for our babies and keep decent tires on our car so our kids don't die in a crash.

Exactly! My multi-year family budget depends on the ISP that was contractually agreed upon. I'm not being selfish or unreasonable in expecting the DoD to deliver funds that are (supposedly) already set aside for me as promised.

I have previously been accepted for another DoD internship opportunity that I turned down because they couldn't compensate me well enough. Yes it was better than what I was getting from my grad student stipend at the time, but it wasn't enough better for me to accept the deal. The ISP is what makes the SMART worth the lost summer productivity on my existing projects and worth the hassle and expense of traveling across the country.

[Guest]

The money they promised us, the ISP, in some cases was the deciding factor on signing the contract and we need that money to put food on our families tables and pay for medical insurance for our babies and keep decent tires on our car so our kids don't die in a crash.

This is so true for me as well!

[jramcam]

I agree with guest, if you like the scholarship is fine with me, but don't criticize me if I am upset about the changes the SPO has made. I will survive this change in policy only because I am doing only one summer internship in a place with low cost of living, but there are a lot of people that will lose a lot of money with this change. What the SPO has done is wrong, it is unethical, and will backfire on them. Do you really think people are going to stay in public service after this? I am happy that you are having a great experience, but don't think that just because you are everybody else is having one too, and most importantly, do not judge other people's reactions to the changes in policy.

[guest12]

We I for one was gled to hear some positive things posted on this site. THANK YOU!

It is a job, for some of us it will be a good one, for some it may not be. I think SF that doesn't offer any of the benifits the orig.poser mentioned must be under a bigger base that does because the military members under those bases MUST have access to the MWR and gym. I know I am retired military!

[doingfine]

We I for one was gled to hear some positive things posted on this site. THANK YOU!

It is a job, for some of us it will be a good one, for some it may not be. I think SF that doesn't offer any of the benifits the orig.poser mentioned must be under a bigger base that does because the military members under those bases MUST have access to the MWR and gym. I know I am retired military!

As a civilian I sometimes forget that fitness time is mandatory for soldiers, but you're right - everybody working on a base should have access to a gym somewhere nearby.

[i_am_so_smart]

I am with the original poster; my experiences have been almost exclusively positive. This scholarship is absolutely amazing money-wise, with almost zero requirements during school. Yes, you have to work for the DoD for a few years afterwards and yes, depending on the facility, that may be somewhat unpleasant. But all in all, it is a great deal.

I think the main reason you don't see more positive experiences on here is the same reason you don't see them anywhere on the web -- most people are not motivated to sign up for accounts and post something if everything went smoothly for them. Forums like this attract those who want to complain, that's just how it goes.

[tdavis145]

I agree I love the scholarship over. Yes sometimes it has been a hastle and yes they have tried to screw us. But lets face it from the outside people are gonna think we getting overpaid and tried to change it! I happen to really enjoy my facility. I really like the people I work with, and the work I do. I just hope that when I graduate I get put in a 7-9-11 series!

[tdav144]

Also what website and program can I find more info for this

" Most bases have a ticket and travel office, which I've used on multiple occasions to save money on Disney tickets and local entertainment. There's also a related website where you can get condos and hotel rooms for a steal."

[Guest101]

You can google your base and itt, that is the office they sell tickets at. My husband was in the military and this is one of the things I miss most about the military and one of the things I am most excited about for the scholarship!

[Guest]

You can google your base and itt, that is the office they sell tickets at. My husband was in the military and this is one of the things I miss most about the military and one of the things I am most excited about for the scholarship!

If contractors are allowed to use the travel and ticket office, great. If not, SMART will not help you, as you are a contractor when you are with SMART.

[Guest]

You can google your base and itt, that is the office they sell tickets at. My husband was in the military and this is one of the things I miss most about the military and one of the things I am most excited about for the scholarship!

If contractors are allowed to use the travel and ticket office, great. If not, SMART will not help you, as you are a contractor when you are with SMART.

You mean when you're on internship, after graduation.

[guest11]

I feel very lucky to have this scholarship. I actually turned down another prestigious fellowship to take this one. I am lucky that my grad work and my SF work are related and I get to actually do fun things and actively participate in advancing the work done at my SF. Financially, this is more money than my entire family income was when I was an undergrad, so I feel like a millionaire. Geographically, I am close to my family, and having a guaranteed job with the government is a wonderful opportunity I just couldn't pass up. It is very hard to get your foot in the door with the government. Almost every position requires some sort of previous experience on a GS scale (tried to get my fiance to apply for simple gov't jobs like working on the vehicles and such but they all require previous govt experience, if only GS3 level).

Have I been frustrated by the program? Yes, there is a lot that scares me and I don't like the ISP threat and how I keep switching CAs, and I have no clue anymore what paper work is due and what to do about health insurance. But all that being said, in the end it's still a sweet deal to me. If I had more responsibilities, like children, mortgage, etc., then I believe these issues would have more weight but for me and my personal situation, this scholarship has been a complete lifesaver.