SAIC reviews

Management varies *greatly* between the different business units! Not all of SAIC is doing well, so make sure your position is within a business unit with a profitable outlook...cannot emphasize this more. Don't expect an objective outlook at the job interview because they're trying to put their best foot forward. Also, you have to be proactive to get good work. You can't just sit back and expect to have the sweet stuff presented to you. If networking is key in "real" private industry, it's even more so in the defense industry which exhibits a lot of the 'old boy network' culture found in the military. Meet lots of people, ask what needs to be done (even if it's not entirely your area of expertise) and take action. Come performance review time, if you've only done what was expected you're gonna get a small raise...maybe 3%, and probably no bonus. The more people you meet & impress, the more leverage you have in demanding a larger raise...especially when you impress other contractors who just might be willing to hire you away from SAIC for a higher salary!

Each business unit is run separately (although corporate is trying to change that), and so there are variations across business units. My unit depends on relatively short-term government contracts, so there's not always consistency for what you'll be working on from year to year. On the other hand, I have a wide enough variety of skills that I can shift pretty easily among projects. I don't recommend SAIC if you want to do the same thing forever and forever.