Does NASA pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, NASA employees rate their compensation and benefits as 4.0 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at NASA. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at NASA?

86% of NASA employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated NASA 4.4 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.4 for culture and values and 4.3 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at NASA?

Intern (289) , Aerospace Engineer (125) , Engineer (101) , Astronaut (95) , Internship (76) , Software Engineer (56) , Systems Engineer (38) , Software Engineer(Internship) (37) , Mechanical Engineer (34) , Engineering Intern (31) , Research Scientist (24) , Summer Intern (23) , Contract Specialist (22) , Astrophysicist (21) , Senior Software Engineer (21)

What are the pros of working at NASA according to real employee reviews?

"Great people and learning experiences" ((in 284 reviews)); "Work life balance is great when you don’t go through management and let HR inform them of any accommodations" ((in 100 reviews)); "This makes it easy to win the best place to work in federal government awards year after year." ((in 80 reviews)); "Good work environment and people" ((in 65 reviews)); "benefits are good and useful" ((in 63 reviews))

What are the cons of working at NASA according to real employee reviews?

"low pay and old buildings" ((in 151 reviews)); "Government salaries are low and therefore it's hard to subsist in CA without a higher salary." ((in 56 reviews)); "Long hours and lots of talking about sending people into space." ((in 31 reviews)); "Some non performers and very poor managers." ((in 13 reviews)); "We have had 5 company changes in 6 years; but the upper management at White Sands has not changed." ((in 9 reviews))

What are employees saying about NASA layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about NASA layoffs and their outlook for job security at NASA in 2026.

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NASA

NASA reviews

Compare reviews

4.4

86% would recommend to a friend

(1,788 total reviews)

Charles F. Bolden, Jr.

82% approve of CEO

58% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.4

Culture & values

4.4

Work/Life balance

4.3

Diversity & inclusion

4.3

Career opportunities

4.1

Senior management

4.0

Compensation and benefits

NASA has an employee rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars, based on 1,788 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The NASA employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Gobierno y administración pública industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

5.0

Jan 30, 2014

Best job and engineer could ever have

Systems engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Super people and highly motivated to work as a team

Cons

begging Russia for rides to space

5.0

Jan 9, 2014

My childhood dreams of being part of human spaceflight were realized during my fulfilling career with NASA.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

It is incredibly rewarding to be a part of NASA's mission "to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research."

Cons

Some employees fall into the trappings of lifetime government employees, letting go of the importance of always aspiring to be their best.

4.0

Dec 12, 2013

Structural Engineering at JSC

Structural engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great people, smart people, a lot of hard workers. Sometimes you can work on lots of cutting edge designs or analysis. If you love space, this is the place to be.

Cons

Government controls budget, not based on performance or projects, heavily influenced by politics so budgets are low sometimes and sometimes discussions are drawn out too long so delayed or rushed decisions don't help schedule relief.

Viewing 40 - 42 of 1,788 Reviews

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Best job and engineer could ever have

My childhood dreams of being part of human spaceflight were realized during my fulfilling career with NASA.

Structural Engineering at JSC

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