
Government Hankers for Hackers - jayzee
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2011/08/02/technology/tech-us-usa-hackers.html?hp
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nagrom
Hm. I don't know much about American government positions, but I do know that
here in the UK the government positions tend not to be very attractive. On top
of working in a very constrained environment (can't use any of your own
hardware, can't buy tools that are not vetted by security and IT, ridiculously
out-of-date technology and low standards for development and achievements),
the salary is bobbins compared to private enterprise and things take an age to
get done.

Almost certainly, you do not choose to take a government job to do with
technology - it's the only thing that you can get. All the interesting
projects seem to be outsourced to external consultancies, which can charge a
fortune for a poorly-implemented system that gets delivered behind schedule.

Is it any different across the Atlantic?

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gaius
_the salary is bobbins compared to private enterprise_

Not true, public sector workers are better paid than private sector, and have
absolute job security and generous, gold-plated pensions:
[http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sect...](http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/public_sector/article6974029.ece)

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nagrom
Not in technology! If you can code C++ or Java, you can get a job in a bank.
If you can make electronics, look to Siemens or a multitude of smaller tech
companies. The same sort of persons are sought by DSTL or Qinetiq, or even
AWE. The bank may offer £40k-£80k for someone with no prior experience. The
tech company may offer £40k. The government-run companies offer £20k-£35k.

I know this, because I am currently looking to find a new position somewhere
and I have been looking around. That Times article refers to all public sector
workers, including teachers, nurses and administrators. In these professions,
I believe the article. In research and development, I do not.

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redthrowaway
I don't know how the NSA plans to fight its public image of wiretaps and
general malfeasance. It might be in their interest to cordon off a particular
area for unclassified work and invite hackers over to get a sense of what they
actually do.

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bahman2000
we shouldn't underestimate the number of hackers (job applicants) who think
_wiretaps and general malfeasance_ are okay.

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metrobius
Are they looking for Lisp hackers? <http://cryptome.org/0005/dod-lisp-sol.htm>

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dlss
Anyone have direct experience with how sharp NSA guys are?

Versus an average quant? Versus an average googler?

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iwwr
It's a government organization, working on a political logic. So likely, they
won't be able to attract consistent quality applicants (to the extent a big
tech company could). They may however be able to get ideologically-driven
people (those who believe in the goodness of NSA's purpose), who are prepared
to work for lower wages.

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maeon3
Maybe we can use this to help the government bring the sentencing of website
defacing crimes back down to Earth alongside well known crimes like physical
stealing and vandalism.

If the government wants more top-flight hackers then maybe they should
understand that defacing a website is evidence of a deficient company website
rather than an evil person who needs to be punished 10x normal.

They will get what they want, because they will reach into your back pocket to
compensate the good hackers in short supply.

