Hands on work inside the federal government?

[BinEng]

Hi all.

I work as an electronics engineer for the federal government (DOD) and basically all I do is push paper and travel to help push more paper. All the engineering work our office requires is contracted to labs/groups throughout the nation. Sure, I see some neat things but it is all look and don't touch. My expertise and passion is building small factor rapid prototypes electronic systems from the ground up: choosing components, fabricating PCBs, developing firmware, field testing, writing documentation, etc. (I love working in lab spaces and on technical teams) My skills and resume are going to seriously degrade if continue long term in my current position.

Does anyone know where actual hands on work is being performed in the federal government? NSA, CIA, FBI, NRO, DOD, DEA, etc.?

Or does anyone know where my type of work is being performed in the private sector that could warrant a switch from the fed?

Thanks all.

 

[Bot-Man]

The good thing about working for the federal government? It's almost impossible to get fired. The bad thing about working for the federal government? It's almost impossible to get rid of incompetent people for the reason listed above. The fastest way to get to where you want to be is to network with the people that you contract the work out to. Almost everyone I know that has retired from or left government employment had transitioned into doing contracting work for the very offices they left. Usually for large defense contractors like General Dynamics or Lockheed Martin. Defense is where all the money is and therefore the jobs with great budgets.