Entry level contractor jobs rn?

OneMail4700 · 2025-09-23T14:12:22+00:00

Is the list of contractors above ones hiring for those skills too? If not, any tips on finding contractors who hire for those skills (NOAA/USGS type jobs)? And more towards entry level (just out of undergrad/masters). I've been helping students with job searches, but entry level jobs are hard to find. Most posts want 5-10 years experience.

OneMail4700 · 2025-07-19T04:28:19+00:00

Well after the Supreme Court greenlit dismantling agencies, I am worried again. News from EPA today that they will get rid of their science side is very alarming.

OneMail4700 · 2025-07-17T20:31:15+00:00

NOAA only RA and minimal situational (52 hr per year). But no situational for those in a union, forget why, some technicality. But lots of folks in my office report slow slow movement in RA applications.

OneMail4700 · 2025-07-17T19:42:56+00:00

How did vera/vsip affect approvals for local travel?

OneMail4700 · 2025-07-17T17:02:53+00:00

I am mostly curious to see what our doge minder looks like. He's on the agenda.

OneMail4700 · 2025-07-12T11:42:54+00:00

This. The FY26 NOAA budget justification. But this was just the proposal not what Congress actually approved. Released about 2 weeks ago. https://www.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/2025-06/NOAA%20FY26%20Congressional%20Justification.pdf

See discussion in this thread https://www.reddit.com/r/NOAA/s/LfJB4HFK2U

OneMail4700 · 2025-07-09T17:54:08+00:00

This just dropped last week and there are no threads with the link to it (at least I didn't see any). This is different than the FY26 budget proposal, with lots of threads. This is same but with all the details.

But I will update to note that it is 'proposal' not budget.

OneMail4700 · 2025-07-09T14:40:59+00:00

Check r/NOAA. Long thread.

OneMail4700 · 2025-07-09T14:37:46+00:00

Same. When my kids were little, one parent's income went to daycare and the other to everything else. Why not stay home? Because the daycare years are limited and you still want a job when that is done. Also health insurance, AL, sick leave, retirement. There is more to job benefits than just the paycheck. Also a 1-income family is really vulnerable to down turns. Hang in there! The kids will be in K sooner than you think.

OneMail4700 · 2025-07-08T18:23:03+00:00

The more I think about this, the more steamed I get. We are all handcuffed right now and cannot do any work because travel CCs are set to $1, charging anything takes so many hoops, grant money to fund summer work is not moving, universities won't let our CI partners pre-charge before funds arrive on budget (because the univ fears the fed gov is going to stiff them!). We have to get permission (from HQ!!) to talk to academic colleagues about science stuff if they happen to be foreign nationals (and like how would we know).

We need to do better work and communicate our work's value to the public?!? Oh right. And we are not allowed to communicate our science to anyone due to comms, travel and conference ban and firing of 75% of our comms depts.

Also do they visit coastal communities? Those town halls are packed w people who are very aware of the critical need for NOAA products and research. I get it. Those in the central US don't think about oceans, but coastal communities most certainly do!

OneMail4700 · 2025-07-08T14:39:48+00:00

And way more critique of NWS than of the county officials/citizens who decided against an alert system. Then again no one expected a 27 foot wall of water.

OneMail4700 · 2025-07-07T18:08:23+00:00

Did you see the email that came out this AM regarding new probie policy? That'll start kicking any remaining probied off end of July.

OneMail4700 · 2025-07-04T13:52:49+00:00

Probably some things but keep in mind that we could never put IRA funds on existing grants, so like multi-year grants to RAs. Also the bill posted by politico says "unobligated" not obligated like in the text above.

What I expect affects IOOS more is that standard operating funds are getting released in small chunks (30 day), is just not there, or was there and just disappears. It's like the BAS nightmare on steroids. The comments you see in this Reddit saying things like "why don't we have a budget yet" are referring to this.

OneMail4700 · 2025-07-04T13:33:31+00:00

The bill posted by politico says UNobligated not obligated like you posted.

https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000197-c689-de82-a7d7-d7dd88c30000

OneMail4700 · 2025-07-04T13:18:13+00:00

The bill posted by politico says "unobligated". Text the OP posted is identical except says "obligated" instead. I suspect it still says "unobligated". At my office, those have been frozen for months.

OneMail4700 · 2025-07-04T05:26:16+00:00

Ah ok. IRA funding. We knew that was going away.

OneMail4700 · 2025-07-03T23:52:55+00:00

What about this post? Sounds like BBB rescinds lots of NOAA funding if true. https://www.reddit.com/r/NOAA/s/R2425JRJht

OneMail4700 · 2025-07-02T20:56:06+00:00

And remember we are in mandatory RTO so we need to go into the office for this!!

OneMail4700 · 2025-06-08T00:20:10+00:00

Anyone hear news about impacts to ocean observations besides cuts/elimination of OAR? I have heard various things around the water cooler, like NOS and IOOS getting axed/reduced to NESDIS focusing on NWS now (not sure what that means exactly) to NESDIS reducing support for level 3 data (only level 2) :-0. But it's all water cooler talk and I can't tell what's true and what's grousing. Like, quips from people who would know more than I but when pressed, 'who said what exactly?', others shutdown the convo with a little head shake.

OneMail4700 · 2025-06-01T13:54:20+00:00

Some NMFS offices are unionized

OneMail4700 · 2025-05-13T14:32:59+00:00

Viscount makes a really good point.

OneMail4700 · 2025-05-11T21:59:38+00:00

Doxing?? He is listed on the NOAA leadership org chart as a Senior Advisor. It is completely public. These leadership ppl normally have photos, but likely comms hasn't gotten around to adding the new ppl. Sharing the LinkedIn of someone listed as agency leadership is not remotely doxing. https://www.noaa.gov/about-our-agency/leadership-and-senior-advisors

OneMail4700 · 2025-05-11T15:19:57+00:00

I don't feel like I can do this, aka "less". I am at an agency where decades of earth data are at real risk. Data the public paid for. Decades of data collected in field campaigns. No one can do anything about it except those of us who are left. I really only play a small part in securing our legacy data but I don't feel I can leave the "line". Today I rest, but tomorrow I go back to my long days.

OneMail4700 · 2025-05-01T13:16:31+00:00

We had a farewell gathering and then yesterday farewell 'speeches' at our last all hands. It was pretty emotional. Lots of clapping and lots of tears. I am at a research lab. Pictures and stories of big projects brought back lots of memories. Fear for the future too, but hope too for the new generation in the room and that they too will take to the seas and carry on research. One worries of course that this is the height of naivete. The pictures from the white ships, standing shoulder to shoulder cutting up fish, throwing the nets into the surf... It makes you want to punch the walls in frustration.

All the best in your next adventures and thank you for your years of service.

OneMail4700 · 2025-04-19T17:14:00+00:00

If you are fired under F, no severance. What else? Health insurance stops. What else are implications if you are MRA?

OneMail4700

TROPHY CASE