Interviewed for a position supporting the Office of Secretary of Defense and while the gentlemen who interviewed me were pleasant, they seemed unhappy and resigned to the often too typical subordinate government contractor status they held. They told me that as part of their duties they would make coffee. I told them right off the bat that I would not do this. Too I think they felt that I was too overqualified for the job I had applied to and I was, but had been at a point where I had been out of work for quite some time due to an illness and was applying to anything that looked remotely interesting. My age also worked against me. It was not merely the interview experience with SAIC that was disappointing; equally bad was that this once employee owned company that I had worked for about 8 years prior has devolved to a lowest bid, minimum pay government contractor like so many others out there. I was shocked when the HR recruiter told that salaries on that contract capped out around $140K. For a young, just starting out employee this may seem high or reasonable, but not for people with deep technical expertise and 20+ years of experience, who around 15 years ago would be getting close to $200K for their skills. These low bid companies get away with slave wages however, because the feds keep awarding contracts to the lowest bidders. The consequence is that they attract no talent and sport high turnover. I am now a federal employee, and I will never award a contract to the lowest bidding company.
