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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here, agree with 615 and thanks all for the discussion points! I really don't think I need to market myself much, I'm an 29 year old aerospace engineer focused on orbital mechanics. Not many of us and space is a growing field, think SpaceX. Have a wife and young child dependant on me so risk is a big deal, although I could survive 6 months with no pay and not dip into retirement savings. I've been a huge saver.

I'm probably going to stay fed for now and see what else comes up. Maybe a mid-size contracting firm would be great to get the feel for a smaller place. Wish I knew how to get ahead, but i know staying fed wont do it since years of service seem to matter more than productivity. [/quote]

OP, I'm a physicist and aerospace engineer.  Former fed who was in a non-technical role, and I'm now I'm a technical person again in the private sector (though not in aerospace specifically).  Except for the higher salary, there is very little benefit to being a fed contractor.  You typically get the worst work, and the feds look down on you.  This was more or less what I was explicitly told when I was considering a technical role with NASA.

For non-defense work, outside of SpaceX and some of the small satellite companies cropping up, you aren't going to find a lot of interesting roles outside of Federal government.  But SpaceX and the small satellite companies (many in California) are pretty cool.  I can't comment as much on defense work, and you've gotten good advice from other people here.  In general, though, aerospace is a pretty stodgy field (for good reason), and that can feel a little stifling as you get older.  It's part of why I'm applying my technical skills in a different sector.

My advice is always to follow the interesting work.  As you've noted, finding jobs that interest you is not going to be so hard for someone with your background.  But be very thoughtful about what you want your career trajectory to look like.  Do you want to stay in a technical role?  Or move into a management role?  Do you want to be on the business side of things and have the ability to set technology strategy?  You're pretty early in your career, so you've got a lot of time to do a variety of things.  But be mindful of them, so you can get opportunities early and you don't end up 30 years from now wondering what you've done.[/quote]

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