Working at NAVAIR — Reviews by Employees

One of the best places to work in central florida

Work space at NAVAIR Headquarters is horrible. You can hear everyone elses conversation within earshot, and that can be as many as 20 people. Distractions are bad due to noise, speakerphone teleconferences, and folks discussing work and personal topics. Meeting rooms are very difficult which is why people crowd around cubicles to meet, while GS14 and GS15 folks have their own private offices with chairs tables and some with 42inch TV screens!! Think they would ever volunteer their office for a meeting place when things get crowded?
Travel under gov't Defense Travel System is fraught with horror stories, even the Airlines know this. When I arrived at the airport, I found that Gov't Travel office did not book my ticket because the approving official never authorized the orders. ""Oh, this happens often" the ticket agen told me. Is NAVAIR the worst place to work? NO! but what makes it bad is that it could be so much better with real employee input.
1) How about staggering work hours so it is not a parking lot on the roads at 4pm.
2) Advocate telework (this is currently discouraged by many program managers).
3) Improve DTS, NMCI, and nERP (too long to list improvements, use your sacred black belts), these systems waste hundreds of hours each day!

I left a 7 year stint at Fortune 500 company because I was sought out by upper management in NAVAIR. Promises of empowerment became layers of responsibility and accountability with little authority to implement goals. Working environment on a technical scale is scary, IT assets are acient and methods outdated. The process for travel here is horrible! After 18 months I am trying t get back with my company.

Pay is not bad, you can make more working in a similar position for a defense contractor depending on the company. New NSPS system is still unproven...sounds good but so did NMCI and nERP initially. Respect seems mutual among peers and borderline "Talk to the Hand" at the GS-15 level. Benefits good, job security good, work/life balance is available unless you take your job TOO seriously. Career potential is not good past GS-13. Location is OK Pax is nearing a mini Waldorf. Work environment-3 nice buildings on base otherwise you're working in a 50 year old renovated bldg, can you say cube farm for almost all GS-13 and below and closet space offices for most higher grades. Overall, a very dis-jointed organization which is structured on a specific model, yet operates under an competancy aligned organization with integrated product teams. Having worked with the Army at Huntsville, I see similar problems inherient to large organizations but they are not so apparent on the Army side. Specifically, the processes to accomplish changes to everything from flight clearances, ECP's instruction changes or implementing contract modifications. Army aviation seems more streamlined period!

PAY: The pay is pretty darn good. If you live in an area like Jacksonville, FL, the pay is pretty good. A GS-12 step 4 ($69,670) here in Jacksonville is equivalent to a GS-13 step 2 up in Patuxent River, MD as far as cost of living goes. We're close to the beach, gas is cheaper than Maryland and some other places, and we don't pay income taxes.

RESPECT: NAVAIR is relatively professional. Every company has their share of idiots, but for the most part, I work with complete professionals. If you work hard, your co-workers will respect you a lot more. Being in a professional environment demands professionalism.

BENEFITS: The benefits are outstanding. The only thing better benefits-wise is being in the military. The government pays a good portion of your healthcare, you can chose your health care that you want, and it's cheaper than in private industry. The 401(k) equivalent retirement system, called TSP (Thrift Savings Plan), is also good, as the government matches the equivalent of dollar-for-dollar for the first three percent of your paycheck, and then fifty cents on the dollar for the next two percent. A total of 10% goes torwards retirement, which is pretty good. Not many companies can say that.

JOB SECURITY: Like others have said, you pretty much have to commit a crime to get fired, i.e. download inappropriate material, copyrighted material, use the government credit card for inappropriate things, etc. Job security is outstanding. Best in the business.

WORK/LIFE BALANCE: Very balanced. You can work 80 hours in a two week period, and every other Friday you get off (called CWS). You get to know your co-workers' families, and you develop a "family" of your own. Co-workers also are very understanding when it comes to family issues.

CAREER GROWTH: The only negative that I can say about NAVAIR is the slight lack of career growth once you reach a certain level. Generally, people come into NAVAIR out of college or the military, and they start at the GS-5 or GS-7 level. If you have a Master's Degree, you may be able to start at the GS-9 level. You start at the GS-7 level, and if you are an engineer, within 6 months you can get a GS-9 automatically. After another year, you can get a GS-11, and then a GS-12 after another year. Here in Jacksonville, once you get to the GS-12 level, the promotion potential drops off dramatically. A GS-13 is considered a team lead position, and is very hard to get. The only way to get something like this is to have another person at the GS-13 level die, retire, or move on. The so-called glass ceiling is alive and well.

LOCATION: Outstanding. Living in Jacksonville, we're close to Orlando, Gainesville, Tallhassee, Pensacola, Miami, and Tampa, not to mention Atlanta. Weather is nice year round, with no snow.

CO-WORKER COMPETENCE: Professional.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: Also professional. There are a lot of cubicles, and you can hear your neighbor if they are loud, but if they are professional, which most NAVAIR employees are, they tend to keep noise to a minimum. The buildings are comfortable, with cooling and heating when needed. Security is outstanding.