Northrop Grumman

The company laid off hundreds of workers this last week with no warning to employees that anything was coming. Their "generous" package included 1 week of pay for every 2 years - benefits end at the end of November. The only thing they didn't do was walk people - last day is 10/9.

Benefits are really poor and getting worse.

As an intern you do a bunch of busy work. Basically all the paper work between the designs the actual engineers don't want to do, that are necessary for any changes or proposals to happen within an defense/gov contracted company. Even if you do get to do some things a little more interesting like CAD, it's all very insignificant work like modelling bolts or circuit chips. Lots of times there isnt work for you to do, and time is wasted. This however, is typical of many defense companies, not just for interns but for entry level engineers as well. Large government contractors are stable and pay well, but they are so compartmentalized that you end up doing the same work day after day. Good pay, but boring: a trade off between being in a larger company with money and smaller company with more things that need to be done.

I've worked at NG for over a year now and consider it a descent job. It's not the best job I've ever had or the most exciting. However, there is nothing that makes me hate coming in on a day to day basis.

The pay is on par with your title/experience but NG does not really reward the top performers. Benifits are solid.

Maybe I just got lucky but I found myself under some very good management. I know others have had trouble in this department. Let your gut feeling during the interview process be your guide, it should become clear right away.

Finding a good contract (i.e interesting work) with good management will make or break your job here at NG. The rest is up to you.

Don't even think about working here! I tried to convince myself that this would be a good place to work...then after a year, i couldn't take it anymore!

The tasks they give you are sooo boring! Basically grunt work. The bosses are on another level. Just can't relate to them. It seems everyone just is waiting for the day to end...

The initial wage/salary is decent, but don't expect any sort of attractive raises/promotions (even if you put in more than excessive overtime). Benefits are pretty standard, but good (i.e. health, matching 401K, tuition reimbursement etc.)

Most of the management I dealt with was excellent, but given the creative constraints of defense contracts, "fun" may not be in this company's vocabulary.

The biggest disappointment regards company's employee retention which is particularly apparent during budget crisis and a project's final stages.