View Full Version : Downsizing
:reaper: In 1999 I got laid off from a semi company and some of the interviews and rejections were traumatic. I was with the company pretty much all my life (27 years) I was only out of work for about a month before I got a job as a contractor for NASA. The job is great, the pay is better, and pretty much that same number of jerks and idiots. Well here we go again. NASA is reorganizing and downsizing contractors. The worst of it is that civil servants dont get cut, only the contractors. They say they want to keep the core competancy but that is a joke. Yeah there are some good engineers but frankly the governments core competancy, if you call it that, is management. Even though I have a lot of experience, no one wants to pay for it. Most of us are hoping that some money will filter down and we get to stay. Looks grim though.
Plough
29-10-2005, 12:58 PM
I guess its a chance to get rid of the bad apples.
I guess its a chance to get ride of the bad apples.
I had to read your message a couple of times to understand "ride of the bad apples". With Halloween this weekend I guess I was confused. In the USA we spell it "rid" but my "babel fish" has been sick lately. Was that a a typo, or do I need to add to my vocabulary. No offense just checking.;)
Holster
29-10-2005, 02:17 PM
When companies downsize it's stardard practice that contractors go first, thats another reason they get paid more than the full time counterparts.
Seriously, if you were tight on money and were down sizing would you cut the people you just had to stop paying or would you cut the people who you had to pay retrenchment packages to?
Plough
29-10-2005, 02:23 PM
Nah McZ, it was a typo.
It should be spelt "rid"
At least you got the halloween joke. Most of my sarcism is very dry and gets missed.
When companies downsize it's stardard practice that contractors go first, thats another reason they get paid more than the full time counterparts.
Seriously, if you were tight on money and were down sizing would you cut the people you just had to stop paying or would you cut the people who you had to pay retrenchment packages to?
That would normally be the case, except in the case of NASA, they want to keep core people who know how to work on space programs. In the last thirty years NASA kept the management side and let the technical go to the contractors. When I say contractors, I mean the Boeing, Lockheed, etc. So there are very few technical people that actually work for NASA. In a normal company 5% may be management and rest our technical. They contract out the overhead. NASA is ~60% management and 40% is technical. But about half of the technical are pushing paper and a lot of the technical are waiting to either die or retire. Our building manager is 83 years old. The sad thing is there is nothing that can be done. You cant layoff civil servants. In the case of NASA, it is going to be very expensive if they let the technical contractors go. The last time NASA actually did any technical work was back in the sixties. From Apollo on, Boeing and Lockheed have done most of the work. Rockwell (Boeing) designed and built the Shuttle. Now NASA wants to do it themselves. Yeah right.
:banghead: :deadhorse
FireHart
30-10-2005, 10:06 PM
What do you do for NASA? Ion cannons, plasma rifles?
What do you do for NASA? Ion cannons, plasma rifles?
I design specialized cameras and vision systems for inspection of the Shuttle and Station. At the moment I am designing a high speed video camera system to take pictures of the external tank during separation. In the past I have designed embeded computers for robotics. I am also a member of the team designing the AERCam minisat.
No ion cannons or plasma rifles but I have done some lasers. NASA does have some projects for plasma propulsion.
http://aercam.nasa.gov/
wolfpac181
31-10-2005, 06:11 AM
Geez. after the last launch and the importance of video monitoring, I'd really question why they would downsize that area.
Downsizing, well for me, was shite. They took a little, then a little more then some more...... I got fed up, spoke my mind, got fired. so that's how that ended. On the business side, it makes sense to cut $, but it's a heartache for workers. and well....... when there's a word ever said about "downsizing" it's time to go "look for another job". even if you find one, or not, they know you are not dependant on them for job security.
say_wat
31-10-2005, 06:35 AM
Since no one else is doing it, here goes:
"Houston, we have a problem"
FireHart
31-10-2005, 09:01 AM
I design specialized cameras and vision systems for inspection of the Shuttle and Station. At the moment I am designing a high speed video camera system to take pictures of the external tank during separation. In the past I have designed embeded computers for robotics. I am also a member of the team designing the AERCam minisat.
No ion cannons or plasma rifles but I have done some lasers. NASA does have some projects for plasma propulsion.
http://aercam.nasa.gov/
That's bloody awesome. I'll rep you again.
Since no one else is doing it, here goes:
"Houston, we have a problem"
Good one, love it.:8:
That's bloody awesome. I'll rep you again.
Thanks
:w00t:
rbranson
12-11-2005, 08:27 AM
Hey McZ, sorry to hear about your current situation.
I have been part of several companies that have downsized and there's just no positive spin you can come up with other than the fact that you do end up landing on your feet and looking back, it looks a lot less worse then it did when you were in the middle of it and inevitably asked yourself -- what the fuck do I do now?
Unlike many people in your predicament, you have the added advantage of performing what appears to be fascinating work and as long as you love what you are doing ... it will offset some of the pain.
I hope things work out for you. Hang in there.
Arcane1
12-11-2005, 08:38 AM
Back in the Apollo days my Father and I would drive out to the Everglades and get far closer to the launch pads than was legal. I remember the last time we did it the damn car got pushed back a few feet from the blast.
That was a NASA heyday, and it has been being cut to pieces since then.
As long as the current mentality of "We need to send men to Mars" on a budget that won't ship a fedex box across the State prevails NASA will keep getting cut. The management is far from the most competent, and from those that I know in the organization, once the contractors go there will be a serious brain drain. It should also be noted that NASA just announced the interests in working with private companies to send up loads.
While NASA is being killed slowly, why not look to the private sector where there are a number of startups that are making serious inroads? Granted they may not be the most stable, but the experience would be great. And clearly your skillset is one that any vehicle program is going to need.
Guys, I am really thankful for the support.
I have considered going to one of the other countries that have space programs but all space programs are in the budget crunch. The Chinese are the only ones that are spending any money. My Chinese at best is probably at the elementary school level.
NASA's biggest problem is budget. The US government is more focused on the war in Iraq. The public is focused on social problems. As others have stated on this site, the war in Iraq is questionable at best. The social problems unquestionably need funding.
The numbers are pretty sad. The US expenditures are $2.3+ Trillion, $450 billion military, .................. NASA $16 billion ........................
FYI US definitions are sometimes different.
US Trillion = $ 1,000,000 000,000
US Billion = $ 1,000,000,000
The NASA budget is less than 1% of the US budget and shrinking.
Many people are proposing taking NASA's money away. :shrug:
Bifrost
16-11-2005, 11:14 PM
Some people sith their heads firmly and deeply planted in their anal sphincters would argue that space exploration is a pointless waste of money and that we could use the money more wisely here on Earth.
These same people would have been standing before King Charles I of Spain complaining about the funding of Magellan's expedition.
Some people forget that our world is as big as we make it. Some people also forget the hardship, the sacrifices and the boundless benefits humanity has derived from exploration of the unknown. Some people think that their worlds are all there is to be known. Some people are morons.
just use the stargate, that way you get there instantly and almost all the planets have suitable environments that could sustain human life
just use the stargate, that way you get there instantly and almost all the planets have suitable environments that could sustain human life
That is how I got here. Now look at the mess I got myself into. Fucking Vogons. Where are they when you need them?
babajv
09-12-2006, 07:45 AM
I design specialized cameras and vision systems for inspection of the Shuttle and Station. At the moment I am designing a high speed video camera system to take pictures of the external tank during separation. In the past I have designed embeded computers for robotics. I am also a member of the team designing the AERCam minisat.
No ion cannons or plasma rifles but I have done some lasers. NASA does have some projects for plasma propulsion.
http://aercam.nasa.gov/
Isnt this stuff export controlled?
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