| I interned at Sandia Livermore and Los Alamos in college, then worked at Sandia's main site for a few years before moving out to the Bay Area to work in the more dynamic world of consumer electronics. The labs are not for everyone, but it's the perfect job for some. If you want to work with fantastically smart people and don't mind following a lot of arbitrary rules, it can be a lot of fun. Most of my coworkers intended to spend their entire careers there. Just like anywhere else, a lot of the day-to-day experience depends on the group you work with. In general, it's somewhere between a university campus and a defense contractor, and the mix is different for each project. The good part is that once you get a security clearance and make some friends in other groups, you can move around. There might be some culture shock. Most employees have to be US citizens, so the labs are probably less diverse places than you might be used to. And you will really be hitting the brakes while you wait for a security clearance. I'd say look at the job postings and give it a try! It didn't end up being for me, I don't regret the time I spent at the labs. And it's tough to beat the work-life balance. You can't take a lot of the work home, and most people take every other Friday off (9/80 schedule). But do consider the location carefully. For example, Sandia and Los Alamos are both huge and have a huge variety of projects, but you're stuck in Albuquerque or Los Alamos which can be limiting unless you really enjoy hiking. |