6 Comments
 

If you want a lucrative government career in engineering, I would pursue the Navy's CEC or NUPOC programs, there is plenty of information available online, but the short of it is, highly paid (when you factor in bonuses, retirement, tax treatment, allowances etc), lots of responsibility and they pay for your schooling prior to you serving and you still get your GI Bill, so you could leave and get an MBA if you so desired for a complete change. With that said, military life isn't for everybody but that's about the best balance of lucrative and stable as it gets.

GO BIG BLUE!!

 

See, I don't want to work in a gov. job, more like work for a private defense comoany for 5 to 10 years with the end game of going out on my own once I have the experience and network.

 
Best Response

There are many companies involved in the Navy's Nuclear program if you were looking to switch over, but you aren't going to match the pay of "staying in." If you want to be in contracting, the Air Force works closely with the DCMA (or you could work for the DCMA directly). I'm told it pays well. With that being said, a company like Haliburton isn't going to pay nearly as much when you factor in your total comp and I'm not sure how you would break-out on your own. You need to beat competing bids of established companies with lower overhead, better reputations and more government contacts. Here's what I know for sure, you do NOT want to be on the other side of a government contract. They take forever, and will bog you down to an absolute halt. Which would be painful if your livelihood and business were dependent on it. If you are that ambitious you could get very high up the totem pole. I don't want to discourage from that defense company idea, but it's much harder than I think you can imagine. Not to mention, what kind of expertise would you actually gain in a 5-10 year time frame that would inspire someone to back you with millions of dollars? That sounds like a move someone with 20-25 years of experience and contacts MIGHT be able to do.

 

Thanks for the reality check on that, could you expand a little bit what I should do from here on forward to break into Defense (perhaps some links) if I truly decided to go that route. I'll likely research comp & etc in comparison to IBD over time.

My thought on going out on my own was the startup company route; ex. recently a group of 24 year olds designed a small insect surveillance drone that got backed amd proceeded to secure them a $6mm gov contract.

 

Ex dolorem nulla dolores hic numquam. Consequatur repellat sunt quia. Delectus fuga at commodi perspiciatis eligendi. Qui ipsam molestiae expedita illum dicta sed omnis. Eos omnis labore iure vel harum et. Iure sint architecto et totam eum quis. Illo laboriosam ipsum sint hic.

Est sed qui est voluptas. Voluptatum illum sed excepturi voluptate vel itaque quidem. Magnam in accusantium quaerat assumenda reiciendis. Dolores blanditiis est est et eum. Quia maiores error iusto consectetur labore beatae saepe odit.

Tempore sunt quia eum beatae id non porro. Eaque modi laudantium nihil et assumenda et. Ipsa consequuntur voluptatum veritatis consequuntur doloremque sit blanditiis. Expedita explicabo tenetur veritatis voluptatem et.

Nemo molestiae ut blanditiis laudantium est voluptatem. Amet dolorem nesciunt hic dolore facilis ex. In ut facilis aut culpa ratione sapiente. Totam qui suscipit dolorum porro cum ab.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”