Ask HN: Fellowship for school, but must work for USgov. What to do?

[decidetogether]

I am a student in a terminal masters program in information science on the west coast. I recently found out that I won a US government fellowship to pay for school (and a small cost-of-living stipend), but I would have to be employed by a US gov department upon graduation for 5 years.

The role seems to be more managerial than technical--effectively I would be a middle-manager for IT initiatives at embassies. Based on the interviews I have had with other people doing this work, it seems like the US government does help you do continuing education work.

I am using this degree to pivot from my previous career to the tech sector. My interests are in cybersecurity and data science. I have moderate student loan debt currently.

I feel conflicted about this because I would have to take 2 internships with the particular government department, and thus wouldn't be able to work at Google, Facebook, Microsoft, or somewhere else. I have mild-to-moderate technical skills and would like to develop them. I am worried that I wouldn't be able to do this in the government, regardless of what people say. It's also hard to figure out what the tech climate is going to be like in the next 5 years, after my government tenure is over.

Can any HNers speak about making a transition from the US government to a tech company? How has your managerial experience been impacted by your previous US government job? Above all, should I take the fellowship? What would you do? Help me figure out my life.

[jamesmishra]

I signed up for a similar government program and ended up leaving after 1 year.

If you want to dedicate yourself to public service, these programs are absolutely amazing. You can get your foot into doors that many other civil servants and contractors cannot.

But that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to work in Silicon Valley and eventually start my own company. So that's what I did.

Whether this program is right for you depends on how seriously you want to stay in government. If you want to work in the private sector, I suggest you look for private sector opportunities instead of doing any government work.

[caw]

Reasons for not taking the fellowship:

If you want to work at a particular company, interning there is a good way to get in the door before graduation.

If you want to develop tech skills, you may develop them somewhat in the internships (I can't see the internships making you a manager, that'd be post graduation), but looking 5+ years after college it may not be to the degree you're seeking.

Pay freezes are a thing in government. You may go a few years without a pay raise if there's another recession.

Reasons for taking the fellowship:

You'll learn tons about dealing with people and their priorities. You'll have to coordinate with different departments and agencies. Hugely underrated skill.

Your work schedule will be 40 hours a week.

You mentioned middle-manager for IT initiatives. I can guess that the systems targeted for those initiatives are 10-15 years old at least, and you'll be responsible for maintaining the legacy whatever while transitioning to new technologies. Great experience combination.

If you can obtain a security clearance as a part of your government work, doors open in the private sector (Boeing, Lockheed, Harris, etc). Active TS/SCI clearances are worth pretty good money because you can be productive immediately and not have to do desk work for a year while you're cleared. If you hate the pay/benefits you can always jump ship to a contractor. This should still be true in 5 years.

[Kevin_S]

Just wanted to +1 for the note about the TS/SCI clearance. I am a contractor, and my firm will pay an employee $10k for referring a new employee that already has one. It took me 2 months of non-work before I received my interim, and it's only because it was pushed up from the head of my client.

If you have a clearance, companies in the space will be falling over themselves to recruit you.

[QuarterReptile]

I'm always surprised when I see things like this, considering the somewhat large number of military officers continually leaving service with this active credential,many of them from pretty technical roles.

What sorts of roles is your firm having such a hard time filling?

[decidetogether]

My biggest questions, after reading the information on this page (thanks everyone!), are for my partner rather than myself. She's a current government employee and there are no job guarantees w/r/t placement. She has a particular skillset and would definitely not be able to work remotely. She definitely requires the external structure of a job to be happy, so it's a big deal for her.

In addition, we'd have to get married. We are cool with that, but the greater problem is economic. We have about the same amount of student loans, but if my salary is effectively halved that would definitely be a hardship for us in the future.

[fred_is_fred]

> You may go a few years without a pay raise if there's another recession.

If you're in the private sector you might go without a job or a raise.

[danjoc]

IT for US Embassies must be incredibly challenging from a security perspective. I think you would learn a lot. You might actually end up staying with government for the benefits. There's more to compensation than the paycheck. Also, nobody makes movies about cool spies who work for Amazon :) US Embassies. I would do that. That sounds awesome, even before you get to the patriotism aspect. The free school is just icing on the cake.

[toomuchtodo]

> IT for US Embassies must be incredibly challenging from a security perspective.

The pay is below market, but the benefits are fantastic.

[nataz]

Would you be OCONUS working at an Embassy/Mission overseas, or would you be CONUS working in DC or another U.S. city?

The Embassy lifestyle is a unique opportunity, and for the right person can be amazing both from a comp/benefits point of view and as a cultural experience. It can lead to a long term expat lifestyle, or it can be something you do for a few years and then settle down with some great stories to tell your kids/friends.

Also, if you want to get into real (state level actor) cyber work, you are going to need a TS/SCI. Right now a TS (without SCI) can take up to 2 years, and that's if you can find someone to sponsor you. Most contractors want folks who already have a clearance so they can get working (and therefore bill hours) as soon as possible.

[decidetogether]

I would be OCONUS for the majority of the 5 years, and in DC for one year.

All of the discussion around TS/SCI clearance is very good knowledge. I'm new to the field and am feeling all this out.

If I have a successful background check, but don't take the position, do I get to keep the clearance or no? I'd assume not...

[nataz]

So, This is way more then a background "check", it's an investigation. The government will collect information that you provide, and then it will attempt to validate it with multiple independent sources that they seek out. When you give them names to interview, one of the first things they ask those people are for another list of people to talk to. That's why it takes so long.

Once they issue a clearance it's good for around five years before you are re-up for another investigation.

Because of that investment of time/money/resources, generally speaking once you are issued a clearance, even if you leave government, the sponsoring agency can continue to hold it as inactive for a period of time (it varies from months to years). It's much simpler and faster to activate a clearer then to revive a new one.