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Y-12 National Security Complex

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Socialist Empire - Engineer Y-12 National Security Complex Employee Review

2.0
Mar 5, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It's easy to impress people, because most of your peers will never go above and beyond. There WAS a pension plan that made their compensation package competitive, but that went away a couple of years ago. Your salary can START seemingly high.

Cons

Company has promotion guidelines, but does not follow them and your performance doesn't matter. You can be a stellar performer at pay grade x and the worst performer at pay grade x+2 will get the same percent increase you do, which equates to a lot more actual dollars for the lackluster performance. People never get demoted, so there is never freed up budget to reward the performers. Meanwhile, you can never get promoted unless you are at the top of your manager's list AND there is a budget for promotions AND you've been around 3 times longer than the promotion schedule AND you have dirt on someone. Additionally, you will not attain any new skills that translate to other industries. It's a bad career move to come to Y-12, unless you plan on staying until retirement.

Explore other reviews about Y-12 National Security Complex

5.0
Jun 10, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good work schedule 4 days on 3 days off, big safety culture. Seems to emphasize on retention. Lots of cool projects and opportunities to learn.

Cons

Projects a bit slow sometimes, ongoing major construction.

4.0
Jun 7, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Four 10-hour workdays weekly, plus time balancing - Very strong job security - Work-life balance is very good - Work culture is good, the people are very down-to-earth and relaxed - The work supports an important, meaningful mission

Cons

- DoE work pacing is very slow at times - Opaque promotion system that seemingly rewards less experienced new hires much more than long-term employees, with respect to time in grade

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