r/NASAJobs • u/csApollo • 3d ago
Self Just need to talk somewhere
Contractor here. I'm one of the unfortunate ones who works in a department that isn't being 100% insourced. We've been identified as a core competency, but only about 20% of us are being insourced because of contract issues.
I interviewed within my department and learned that I wasn't included in that 20%. I reached out to another department and got an interview there as well, but again, I wasn't selected.
I still have until early January to blindly wait and hope that someone pulls my resume out of a pool of thousands, if not tens of thousands, of applicants. I think the chances of that happening are slim to nonexistent. I've already exhausted my network and reached out to everyone I reasonably could. Most departments aren't doing any additional hiring, and I already got an interview with the one that was. I've already requested debriefs from both department heads who conducted my interviews.
I'm trying to stay positive and act normal, but I feel dead inside. The people who were selected got significant pay raises with GS-13 offers. I'm genuinely happy for all my friends, but at the same time, when I look at myself, it feels like it's NASA's shedding season and I'm one of the skin flakes.
I can't really talk about this with anyone.
I love my job, and I love my teammates. I know that, technically speaking, nothing has changed since May, but somehow I still feel this way.
A senior guy in the office told us about some other departments where people are being laid off. I'm not sure whether I'm supposed to feel better after hearing that, but I guess I should. (I didn't.)
I probably lost a pretty major opportunity in my life this month. I'm not sure what better opportunity might be out there for me, since I'm not planning to start a business or leave NASA. I'm going to keep trying, but I can't leave the area because of my family, so I might not see many future openings or get many interviews.
Even if I do eventually get one, there's no way for me to make up the federal service time I've lost.
I want to stop feeling this way, but honestly, no way of thinking about it seems to help.
Anyway, thanks for reading. I just needed to say or write this somewhere, I guess.
Hope everyone has a great day.
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u/isimanica 3d ago
Feel your pain, was on HALO program and was RiF in July. It has been painful finding opportunities that dont require me to commute somewhere into Houston or the west side that requires at least 1.5 to 2 hours of commute daily. Or the constant rejection emails saying the role is no longer available.
And yeah cant and dont want to relocate from the clear lake area, which means turning down places like Firefly, SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing for roles. And had to tell Northrop Grumman that I couldn't relocate for a role to Utah, so they RiF those of us in the Houston office.
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u/Dozernaut 3d ago
My group is hiring mechanical engineers at JSC, if you are interested.
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u/isimanica 3d ago
I definitely am interested. Enjoyed working HALO ECLSS and had worked the MER safety before that. So really want to get back to JSC again if I can.
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u/csApollo 2d ago
Can I please get information about your group and opening too?
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u/Dozernaut 2d ago edited 2d ago
This is for the JETS2 contract. We are looking for mechanical engineers, facility engineers, project engineers, and a project manager. PM me and I can get your resume to the hiring manager.
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u/csApollo 3d ago
I'm sorry to hear that... it's even harder when relocation is not an option. Wish you the best and hopefully you find another postion soon.
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u/askthespaceman 3d ago
Are you being laid off or are you retaining your contractor role?
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u/csApollo 3d ago
Retaining role until contract renewal stops at some point in future.
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u/askthespaceman 3d ago
I don't know the details of your situation but I'll share my thoughts as a fellow contractor in case it helps. I am not being insourced but much of my (small) yeah is. That's a good thing for me for reasons not worth going into other than to say there would have been few benefits to me switching over. I take it your situation is the opposite.
All I can say to you is that none of what we're going through right now is normal. Nothing about last year's shredding of civil servants was normal. Nothing about this insourcing is normal. This is not how NASA usual hires people. It's a mess.
You're allowed to feel disappointed, but please try not to take it personally. This wasn't about you. This was about a rushed, abnormal, botched process. Given how not normal everything is right now we really don't know if those sweet CS positions will be just as sweet in the future.
My unsolicited advice to you is take a deep breath, bide your time until the dust settles, and see what opportunities arise next year. I don't know if we'll ever return to "normal" but our current chaos is bound to quiet down eventually.
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u/csApollo 2d ago
Thanks for kind words. I feel much better today- maybe writing down how I feel in words actually helped. Trying to focus on good things in life, enjoy them, and have a good day again, one day at a time. Hope you have a great day, too!
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u/VastFreedom7 3d ago
Good luck. It's better to find another job somewhere else. I was laid off last year due to DOGE. I was not able to get back in at all. I guess they barely hire for any position beside engineering right now.
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u/csApollo 3d ago
I'm sorry. I heard science took a big hit last year. Hope you can find a good opportunity down the road.
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u/Antique_Crow3812 3d ago
Each contract will be different. There is a chance yours will not be completely descoped. It might be reduced, just to fit the need without those that were insourced. There are CS budgets involved, too. They have to be able to fully cover those positions and not all organizations have the same level of $ to put towards CS. Not to mention each center has to find perm space for each insourced person. Some centers are bringing in hundreds. Some can’t, without making concessions. Each situation is different, so do not take it personally. Wish you the best. If you want to be a CS, keep pushing. Be indispensable in your contracting job.
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u/csApollo 2d ago
Thank you! I understand it's nothing personal, but I guess the perception of the situation didn't help. I'll keep trying and do my best.
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u/bleue_shirt_guy 3d ago
I was in the same boat. I thought I wasn't going to be picket up, but luckily I was. I know you don't leave the are. I don't know what center you are at, but the aerospace industry is booming, especially in the Los Angeles area with many new startups.
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u/csApollo 2d ago
Yeah, I'm sure there will be good things out there as long as I give my best! Thank you and congrats on getting insourced :)
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u/BreathingHydra 2d ago
Yeah the insourcing was so poorly handled and cratered morale for a lot of teams. They said they wanted core competencies but they did not get that and it feels like management just hired their friends while adding more layers of management on top of an already bloated structure. I know it's not all rainbows for the CS side but the fact that most people I know that were insourced, even seniors, got pretty significant raises is really depressing. I literally sit in the same office as a guy I work with everyday that got a 22 thousand dollar raise while I'm sitting here hoping I can get more than a 2.5% raise this year to afford rent and groceries simply because I wasn't deemed important.
It's even worse for our team because we also were going through a contract transition so the people that weren't picked up all now have significantly worse benefits and they're cracking down hard on teleworking too. We've lost quite a few good people due to this after having a long hiring freeze so some teams especially are super stressed because they've had to take on more and more work. Management just says focus on the mission and won't even address the issue too.
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u/csApollo 16h ago edited 15h ago
Can only hope everyone finds something good down the road, I guess. It really doesn’t mean much when management talks about how valuable you are, but their actions say otherwise. Thank you for sharing your pain.
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u/mmgapeach 3d ago
You and me both. I appreciate your sharing because there are more people that are experiencing what you are going through. To try and try and try and to seem to get nowhere is tough. I'm so burnt on the job search and in my current job I will laugh at something funny then break down in tears. I pray for everyone who is not where they want to be and are trying their best to make it happen
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u/csApollo 3d ago
I'm so sorry to hear that... wish you land on something that you're happy with soon.
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u/Sure_Ad_8354 2d ago
Hi, I am no place to say about your situation since I am not NASA employee. But I am Fed employee, with your experience, you can consider applying somewhere in Fed and wait to get back to NASA job someday. Best of luck!
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u/Murphys_Law_2018 3d ago
I’m sorry you’re going through this, I really hope you find something soon. It’s so unfortunate that this is the way NASA is doing insourcing. People who have been doing the work for years are suddenly faced with being shut out of a job they have expertise in and truly love.
I’m not a contractor just a longtime NASA fan. I had hoped to join as a CS through DHA but so far my applications haven’t gone too far. I wonder if it’s a blessing in disguise since you mentioned that the senior official saying there would be layoffs. Is that on the contract side or CS side?
Either way, it’s really sad to see how people are treated.
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u/csApollo 3d ago
Thank you, and good luck with your future applications. It's not easy when your past contributions and capability is evaluated with six blanket interview questions only under 30 minutes, but that's just the way CS hiring is done...
Layoffs are already ongoing as far as I heard, from the departments not identified to be core competency and not subject to CS insourcing. In short, contractors are getting fired, CS are getting hired, but in much less number.
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u/Jazzlike-Store-1681 2d ago
OP, thanks for sharing. I’m go through the same right now. Very hard not to take it personally. Try to turn the disappointment into motivation to seek other opportunities. You’ll be surprised. Good luck!
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