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How do you feel about the future of LANL?

How do staff feel about the future of LANL with Triad? Seems like it could put things on a slow, but upward trajectory. Sure, the labs still lack a mission and they don't command the respect or secure funding they had during the Cold War. But I'm thinking about going back to the labs in an R&D role once I cash out in Silicon Valley and can buy a nice house in Santa Fe mortgage free. Now seems like the right time since they are non-profit again, and the economy is likely to enter recession in 1-2 years.

Comments

Anonymous said…

I am in a similar boat, albeit I am in DC. I made a good amount of money and would like to settle in Santa Fe but I would still like a good income flow and do some interesting and fun work at a more relaxed pace and I figured LANL could be just the ticket. My DC connections will open doors but I would like to know how folks feel about LANL. I have other options as well but I want to be in a fun and relaxed place and the money needs to be nice as well. I could also look into working at some art markets as well but before I do that I need to get a pulse for LANL. Sandia might not be the kind of thing I am looking for. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Anonymous said…
Hard to comment if you don't specify your expertise and experience, and how you might assist/complement LANL's mission. Sell yourself.
Anonymous said…


Do any of you guys have anything to offer LANL? It might be a good question to ask yourself before LANL just gives you 250k for a few hours of work a week to talk about how great you are that you where part of a startup that failed or hung out in the DC swamp. Than again maybe you do have inside connections and that is all the matters, in that case yes LANL is great, many nice things to do in Santa Fe in your retirement, er I mean you new job at LANL. With Bechtel gone there should be lots of money that needs to be "wasted" er I mean spent on people just like you.

Anonymous said…
...the future is so bright, I gotta wear shades..."
Anonymous said…
Opinions? These comments are nauseating and stink of arrogance. Some examples:
-the lab still doesn’t have a mission. Ever heard of certifying the stockpile? Surveillance? Pu production? LANL is more relevant in mission space Than any other national lab.
-I made a good amount of money in DC....We don’t really care.
- I have DC connections that will open doors. Don’t care.
- I want a relaxed pace. Like LANL just loafs around?
-the money needs to be good.

So the real question is, what do YOU bring to the Table other than demanding a relaxed pace, a house in SAnta Fe
a good income flow.
-
Anonymous said…
Secure funding. Do you realize the lab has a 2.3 billion dollar budget?
Anonymous said…
"and the economy is likely to enter recession in 1-2 years."

Maybe but with smart people (NY money Billionaires Mnuchin, Ross and others like Kudlow) running the economy and maybe fair trade
I would not bet the farm that there will be a recession.

Time will tell, just sayin'.
Anonymous said…
This is a great troll post which highlights all the elderly double-dippers at the labs.
Anonymous said…
In 29 years of working at LANL, I have never experienced a 'relaxed pace.' Maybe that's what the taxpayers get from those working in DC, but that's not how it is at LANL.

The workload is intense, complicated, high-consequence, understaffed and micromanaged.

It doesn't sound like a good fit for you.
Anonymous said…
September 13, 2018 at 7:58 PM

Well said.
Anonymous said…
4:54pm nailed it
Anonymous said…
Carpetbaggers go away,
Do not come to Santa Fe !

Join the lab and you will pay
For the lifestyle, every day.

Stay away, keep your job,
we don't need another snob!

Anonymous said…
4:54 PM is spot-on. I know co-workers who have had ulcers from unrelenting job stress at LANL. One mid-level manager who was under extreme pressure cracked and had to spend a month at a "stress management retreat". LANL's upper management asked him to resign. He did resign, leaving an even more understaffed organization.

There might be less stressful jobs at LANL, choose wisely.
Anonymous said…
I applaud the words of anonymous on September 14 at 4:54pm. LANL doesn’t need the double dippers from either the left coast or DC. I am sure, just like LANS did, TRIAD will bring in a few overpaid folks who will stay a few years than leave. Thus it will be those career LANL folks that will have to bail out the mess they create as they leave to bigger and better things.

To those who want to double dip, please stay away. We got this. We can handle it. LANL will chew you up and spit you out. To the TRIAD folks, please don’t view this as a short term layover. As we showed LANS, we can wait you out because you will screw things up! There are still a few “cowboys and buttheads” here that focus on the mission and getting things done!
Anonymous said…

I don't mean to come off as arrogant but the two posters simply asked about the future of LANL. As for what they have to offer one worked in a startup in one of the most brutal markets in the world and the other worked in DC which is one of the most sharked infested dog eat dog places you can imagine. You need to be smart, agile, and very imaginative to survive in such environments. People in those places are super educated and ambitious. No doubt LANL is very laid back compared to this. As for super educated and ambitious that was the case for LANL during the Cold War and about 10 years after that, it is a far cry from that now. Just the other day Bill P talked about the distribution of the postdocs and there is not a single one from Ivy League schools like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell ect. In contrast 20-25 years ago LANL had numerous postdocs from these schools.
Anonymous said…
Sorry 7:48 AM, the OP did not simply ask about the future of LANL. The OP's post included several unsupported statements/opinions that were totally unnecessary if the point was to ask the simple question.

As for your claim that one poster worked in a startup, that was false. Neither poster said anything about working in a startup. You made that up. You also assumed the part about the "sharked" (sic) infested ... run-on blather. Unless you are one of the original posters, you have no idea what environment the poster worked in.
Anonymous said…
Since when is DC filled with the super educated? Most are BS-level poly sci, naval warfare or equivalent type folks.
OhNoNotAgain! said…
We also don’t need shelf sitters and clock watchers. I’ve worked in many orgs and at many jobs at LANL and it is obvious who are the producers and who watch others produce.
Anonymous said…
The future will be a change in the name of the mgmt team. Other than that nothing will change. Make salaries public that would be a good start.

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