[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by mjohnson

We (USA Dept of Energy weapons lab) don't usually hire baccalaureates "cold", but we do what we call "post-bacs" which are basically non-student grad student stints. Six - twelve months of that get both sides a good understanding of the candidate and the environment (and it pays somewhere between a grad-assistant and a junior engineer's salary). I've worked three kids through this and at least two were good "grabs"...

For us, a grad research position is the entry point. That's how I got in, a GRA doing metallurgy pursuing my MS in Metallurgical Engineering - paid for the degree, paid far better than the TAs got (so I think we know who had to pay for beer), got a clearance and slid peacefully into a few decades of the nukular-weapons-industrial-complex.

But if you're mentoring - be active! It's more than a little thing here and there, it's a job. I cannot do it anymore as I don't have the attention span but there's nothing sadder than a summer intern camped out on their phone. Props to the people that manage all of that. Especially for some of us in "interesting" places (remote/rural/etc...) it's a great tool to find those that really want to sign up and help.

Sent you a pm.