MITRE reviews

My biggest downsides are: 1. MITRE is limited in how much work it can perform and this limit has been pretty fixed for the last 15 years by Congress. There are so many new and important problems we could help on yet are unable to contribute in war on terror, security, technology modernization (mobile wireless, unmanned vehicles, integrated sensors, etc.) due to this limitation. 2. If your career ambitions include making lots money, then MITRE has a limited salary range and little opportunity for entreprenurial financial success no profit that becomes a bonus (think stock brokers). 3. While MITRE has made great strides in diversity in the more junior ranks more needs to done at senior technical leadership areas.

Getting promoted involves getting to know the right people in the right way. It can get very political when it comes time for funds to be granted to projects or promotions to be issued. I have found it difficult to take a purely technical path, this approach is viewed negatively. You must be willing to kiss a little butt. This is difficult for me to accept since I never had this problem in the private sector. I've since talked with reps from private sector companies about employment but have received almost a stigma for working for Mitre. It's almost like they think I've been taking it easy and my skills have dwindled, this isn't the case, there's plenty of opportunity to learn as much as you want but just don't expect it to go noticed by your department supervisor. I've had a few moral issues with some of the work we're doing.