FFRDCs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:RAND is becoming a Kelly Services similar to a staffing firm… Most RAND research jobs advertised online seem to be 1-2 yr contracts and depend on funding all the while full time researchers are being forced out or RIFd soon.

I just spat out my coffee with a snort laugh. The amusement is much appreciated this Friday! October 1 looms large. I am curious to see if the retirement buyouts were enough, or if they’ll do another round of formal RIFs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RAND is becoming a Kelly Services similar to a staffing firm… Most RAND research jobs advertised online seem to be 1-2 yr contracts and depend on funding all the while full time researchers are being forced out or RIFd soon.

I just spat out my coffee with a snort laugh. The amusement is much appreciated this Friday! October 1 looms large. I am curious to see if the retirement buyouts were enough, or if they’ll do another round of formal RIFs.

Man, Jason seems to have a beef w/ everyone right now—the current administration, those RAND sponsors that aren't GER, his leadership team, and even the people who work here. It's really a downer around here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have the MITRE RIFs finally leveled off or more planned?

An October round was announced last Spring. In a few parts of MITRE, many of the smart/capable people already have left and taken jobs elsewhere. Good performers usually have better job options than poor performers.

Yup. The entrenched, well-connected, self-promoting people remain and the good ones are pushed out

The smart/capable people jump to a better job with more impact and better pay. They do not wait to be pushed.

And the losers just sit on the sinking ship?

Some are losers, yes. Some are scheming scavengers picking on the bones of projects that others built before they were pushed out.

Some are loyal to the mission and corporate culture, and stick around because they hope things will turn around.

[Anonymous]

One problem I've seen with a subset of MITRE folks - they spent many years doing very highly specialized work. And they became true experts at it, hard workers, good resources for that work. But the work was so specialized that it isn't performed broadly outside of very tiny areas of the government, I'm talking single units of 10-15 people. And, other more general skill sets suffered. So now if they have to go looking for a new job, they're kind of screwed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One problem I've seen with a subset of MITRE folks - they spent many years doing very highly specialized work. And they became true experts at it, hard workers, good resources for that work. But the work was so specialized that it isn't performed broadly outside of very tiny areas of the government, I'm talking single units of 10-15 people. And, other more general skill sets suffered. So now if they have to go looking for a new job, they're kind of screwed.

that is why rand hired and developed generalists but that seems to be changing…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One problem I've seen with a subset of MITRE folks - they spent many years doing very highly specialized work. And they became true experts at it, hard workers, good resources for that work. But the work was so specialized that it isn't performed broadly outside of very tiny areas of the government, I'm talking single units of 10-15 people. And, other more general skill sets suffered. So now if they have to go looking for a new job, they're kind of screwed.

That's happening all through government. And the second-order effects are, who would be willing to specialize that again?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One problem I've seen with a subset of MITRE folks - they spent many years doing very highly specialized work. And they became true experts at it, hard workers, good resources for that work. But the work was so specialized that it isn't performed broadly outside of very tiny areas of the government, I'm talking single units of 10-15 people. And, other more general skill sets suffered. So now if they have to go looking for a new job, they're kind of screwed.

That's happening all through government. And the second-order effects are, who would be willing to specialize that again?

Exactly.

These people are gems. Their loss is /will be difficult to quantify but at some point something will break or not be developed correctly and people will look around and wonder where things went wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One problem I've seen with a subset of MITRE folks - they spent many years doing very highly specialized work. And they became true experts at it, hard workers, good resources for that work. But the work was so specialized that it isn't performed broadly outside of very tiny areas of the government, I'm talking single units of 10-15 people. And, other more general skill sets suffered. So now if they have to go looking for a new job, they're kind of screwed.

At least the subset of those folks working on STEM problems for IC/DoD customers do have multiple job options, because the work still needs to be done and Joe or Jane Random cannot do that work.

I have heard of one case where the government moved some project funding from MITRE to another non-profit for FY26. The government also quietly told those individuals the government wanted to keep where to send their CV. Long term customers often know which individuals are really doing critical work and which are really non-essential.

The people working in a STEM niche might have fewer job alternatives (maybe 4-6 rather than 20), but they do have other job options and likely they know some people at those other places.

If their specialized skill is not (very) technical, then that is unfortunate and their outlook is more cloudy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One problem I've seen with a subset of MITRE folks - they spent many years doing very highly specialized work. And they became true experts at it, hard workers, good resources for that work. But the work was so specialized that it isn't performed broadly outside of very tiny areas of the government, I'm talking single units of 10-15 people. And, other more general skill sets suffered. So now if they have to go looking for a new job, they're kind of screwed.

That's happening all through government. And the second-order effects are, who would be willing to specialize that again?

Exactly.

These people are gems. Their loss is /will be difficult to quantify but at some point something will break or not be developed correctly and people will look around and wonder where things went wrong.

The country was served by these gems for decades and the US will feel their loss for a longtime

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One problem I've seen with a subset of MITRE folks - they spent many years doing very highly specialized work. And they became true experts at it, hard workers, good resources for that work. But the work was so specialized that it isn't performed broadly outside of very tiny areas of the government, I'm talking single units of 10-15 people. And, other more general skill sets suffered. So now if they have to go looking for a new job, they're kind of screwed.

That's happening all through government. And the second-order effects are, who would be willing to specialize that again?

Exactly.

These people are gems. Their loss is /will be difficult to quantify but at some point something will break or not be developed correctly and people will look around and wonder where things went wrong.

The country was served by these gems for decades and the US will feel their loss for a longtime

Not at all clear the gems are being lost.

Many merely are (or will be) shifting laterally to a different employer, while doing the same work for the same part of the government.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One problem I've seen with a subset of MITRE folks - they spent many years doing very highly specialized work. And they became true experts at it, hard workers, good resources for that work. But the work was so specialized that it isn't performed broadly outside of very tiny areas of the government, I'm talking single units of 10-15 people. And, other more general skill sets suffered. So now if they have to go looking for a new job, they're kind of screwed.

That's happening all through government. And the second-order effects are, who would be willing to specialize that again?

Exactly.

These people are gems. Their loss is /will be difficult to quantify but at some point something will break or not be developed correctly and people will look around and wonder where things went wrong.

The country was served by these gems for decades and the US will feel their loss for a longtime

Not at all clear the gems are being lost.

Many merely are (or will be) shifting laterally to a different employer, while doing the same work for the same part of the government.

A number of them are mid-to-late boomers and are hanging it up rather than sticking around to train the next generation.

[Anonymous]

a gov shutdown can't help things

[Anonymous]

I’m a former mitre employee now working for a large DoD / IC contractor PM in a large CIO shop. Mitre consultants come and go but few of them stick around and many churn out high level deliverables that were turned over to my team to refine or rewrite. None of them were specialists or SMEs. Mitre lost its competitive edge years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:a gov shutdown can't help things

Agreed

[Anonymous]

I know a lot of the conversation is about RAND, but will there be other layoffs in the new fiscal year for other FFRDCs?