MITRE vs. Fed
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Anonymous
| Some people do that who think it is more money but you get less for benefits and lower job security. |
Anonymous
| Underpaid vs the private market but paid better than govt. Stable. High contribution to retirement. Reasonable hours and lots of WFH especially in certain departments. But yes many employees are lazy or just really really slow to respond. |
Anonymous
| Can you work on the side as a consultant if you are working at MITRE with a Clearence? That would be good option if you have that choice. |
Anonymous
How good is their retirement in terms of salary percentage match, etc? |
Anonymous
They are not contractors. They cannot do the same work as eg, Booz Allen, Accenture, CACI, Northrop, etc. |
Anonymous
Yes and No, part of the terms of employment at Mitre is that any work you do outside Mitre also belongs to them. So, you can have a side hustle, but they can claim all of the products. When you on-board, you must declare any existing side work, IP, or business interests. I know of someone who quit because they wanted to explore a business idea, but Mitre would not waive rights to the products. |
Anonymous
More money, less work. |
Anonymous
| Most contractors present themselves as if they are a FED. When you meet them. Not the other way around. A prestige issue? |
Anonymous
No. It is because they are not contractors. They are quasi-government workers. You need to learn more about what FFRDCs are and do. |
Anonymous
This is crazy. How can that be possible if you are painting someone's house. I have seen a lot of FFRDC folks working on the side part-time or as a consultant with other small businesses. No issues there. I don't think all of your time could be legally owned by Mitre. They say the same thing in universities but professors run all these R&D companies on the side. I am also curious - how would they know? |
Anonymous
It would be illegal for them to present themselves as a federal employee. Never seen this and have been working in this field for 20+ years. They say things like "I support this and that office" but can't do certain work that is inherent to the government. |
Anonymous
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“ The Federal Acquisition Regulation system (FAR) governs the establishment, use, review, and termination of FFRDCs.15 According to the FAR, FFRDCs are intended to address an R&D need that cannot be met as effectively by the federal government or the private sector alone. Essentially, FFRDCs are intended to only perform work that cannot be done by other contractors. FFRDCs accomplish their R&D through a strategic relationship with their sponsoring agency. Two overarching characteristics—special access and longevity—define this strategic relationship.
An FFRDC may be given special access to government and supplier data, employees, and facilities.16 This access is beyond what is typical in a normal contractual relationship and may include access to sensitive and proprietary information. Accordingly, the FAR requires that FFRDCs (1) operate in the public interest with objectivity and independence, (2) be free from organizational conflicts of interest, and (3) fully disclose their activities to their sponsoring agency.17 Additionally, FFRDCs are not allowed to use their special access to privileged information, equipment, or property to compete with the private sector for federal R&D contracts. However, an FFRDC is allowed to perform work for other agencies when the capabilities of the FFRDC are not available in the private sector. Finally, the prohibition against competing with the private sector for federal R&D contracts does not apply to the parent organization or any subsidiary of the parent organization associated with an FFRDC.18 The other defining characteristic is the long-term relationship between an FFRDC and its sponsoring agency. Under the FAR, the initial contract period of an FFRDC may be up to five years, but these contracts may be renewed, following a review, in increments of up to five years.19 For example, one DOE FFRDC—the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory—has been operating under the same contract since 1964. The FAR encourages long-term contracts to provide stability and continuity that are intended to allow an FFRDC to attract high-quality personnel.20 Additionally, under the FAR, a long relationship is required to enable the FFRDC to maintain in-depth expertise, stay familiar with the needs of the agency, provide a quick response capability, and maintain objectivity and independence.21” https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R44629.html |
Anonymous
Mitre always says this. “We only do strategic work,” but really they do whatever they can bill for. They sent us a recent college grad that they tried to say was a “senior level” consultant. Like senior college course completion? |
Anonymous
| Husband works at Mitre. Never heard anyone say they are a Fed. Lots do non-competitive consulting on the side, with permission. |
Anonymous
I have a couple of friends that work for FFRDC. They do consulting on the side and never asked for permission. They never had to because there is no reason for them to know what he/she is doing in his own personal time. |