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 (290) , 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 287 reviews)); "Work life balance is great when you don’t go through management and let HR inform them of any accommodations" ((in 95 reviews)); "This makes it easy to win the best place to work in federal government awards year after year." ((in 80 reviews)); "benefits are good and useful" ((in 65 reviews)); "The work environment is good and there are lots of group bonding experiences." ((in 60 reviews))

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

"low pay and old buildings" ((in 148 reviews)); "Government salaries are low and therefore it's hard to subsist in CA without a higher salary." ((in 63 reviews)); "Long hours and lots of talking about sending people into space." ((in 33 reviews)); "no management pretty much do what u want" ((in 32 reviews)); "Poor leadership." ((in 15 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

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4.4

86% would recommend to a friend

(1,789 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 1,789 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

4.0

Mar 1, 2013

Okay

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Relax and good research environment

Cons

Low salary, tons of organizational bureaucracy

4.0

Feb 24, 2013

We are treated well though we are not always sure where we are going

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Its a fun project and you are allowed to work independently. People are smart and I enjoy working with them.

Cons

Having to deal with government bureaucracy to get things done really slows things down at times. Not being allowed to have admin access on mac laptops with slow IT support.

5.0

Feb 5, 2013

I will probably work for NASA again

Mechanical engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Worked with brilliant individuals in technology development and testing

Cons

Innovation, Future, Bureaucracy, Aerospace, Technology

Viewing 1711 - 1713 of 1,789 Reviews

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We are treated well though we are not always sure where we are going

I will probably work for NASA again

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