Did some time at LANL as an R&D engineer in the non-global security skunky areas, though wound up leaving for reasons not pertaining to the work. Participated in several projects involving Sandia and LLNL.
Pros:
- Pay was excellent, especially for the area
- Incredibly beautiful country
- Very interesting work
- Infinite well of taxpayer dollars for equipment and materials
- The best job security one can find
- Crippling bureaucracy enforced a remarkably safe work environment
Cons:
- Crippling bureaucracy made it difficult to move quickly and hit tight deadlines
- Internal politics (intra-lab and inter-lab) often adversely affected decision making and program success
- Living in a company town
- An inability to remove demonstrably problematic employees
- A Q clearance limits certain extracurricular activities
Personal experiences with LANL were all over the place and highly, highly dependent on which group one works with. I was very lucky to get in with a group of wonderful people and immediate management that firewalled most adverse developments from higher up the food chain. This is not a common experience but organizational mobility is relatively free, so you can move to work and groups that are attractive.
Worth noting for those coming from private industry: the national labs are institutions first and foremost, not businesses. Organizationally and operationally they exist in a very different mindset and within very different value systems than FAANG-like orgs. The adjustment can be a bit jarring.
My work at LANL will likely be the most interesting and most fulfilling work I'll have done: every day was an adventure into the unknown. The work/life balance was also excellent. If you're a naturally curious person and have an inclination for basic science I'd recommend taking a look at the labs. If you have specific questions feel free to drop them here!
Pros: - Pay was excellent, especially for the area - Incredibly beautiful country - Very interesting work - Infinite well of taxpayer dollars for equipment and materials - The best job security one can find - Crippling bureaucracy enforced a remarkably safe work environment
Cons: - Crippling bureaucracy made it difficult to move quickly and hit tight deadlines - Internal politics (intra-lab and inter-lab) often adversely affected decision making and program success - Living in a company town - An inability to remove demonstrably problematic employees - A Q clearance limits certain extracurricular activities
Personal experiences with LANL were all over the place and highly, highly dependent on which group one works with. I was very lucky to get in with a group of wonderful people and immediate management that firewalled most adverse developments from higher up the food chain. This is not a common experience but organizational mobility is relatively free, so you can move to work and groups that are attractive.
Worth noting for those coming from private industry: the national labs are institutions first and foremost, not businesses. Organizationally and operationally they exist in a very different mindset and within very different value systems than FAANG-like orgs. The adjustment can be a bit jarring.
My work at LANL will likely be the most interesting and most fulfilling work I'll have done: every day was an adventure into the unknown. The work/life balance was also excellent. If you're a naturally curious person and have an inclination for basic science I'd recommend taking a look at the labs. If you have specific questions feel free to drop them here!