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 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.

Skip to content Skip to footer

Notifications

NASA

NASA 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

4.0

Jul 25, 2011

Great place to work if you can handle the desert life.

Flight operations engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Amazing opportunities are possible at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. Management is great at getting good people on the projects or positions they want to be in. Working hands on with airplanes is a unique experience and will excite any aerospace fan.

Cons

The remoteness of the location is a huge downside of NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. The drive out into the desert every day takes a toll on you, plus the surrounding areas to live in are not ideal choices for most people.

5.0

Jul 21, 2011

Great place, great people

Developer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

great people, great place, even the security guards are nice

Cons

To slow to change, buildings are old

4.0

Jul 21, 2011

A great community to work for

Research scientist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

-very professional -a nice place to work because you get to be involved in the "NASA" family and learn about lots of projects -decent pay -Able to come into work late/early to finish day early/late

Cons

-Team leads not very good at management -Could be better at dividing work evenly -Better pay or incentive's -Longer summer program

Viewing 1735 - 1737 of 1,788 Reviews

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

US Army

4.1★Compensation & Benefits

US Air Force

4.2★Compensation & Benefits

UNDP

3.7★Compensation & Benefits

US Navy

4.0★Compensation & Benefits

Jobs at NASA

Emergency Management Specialist (Direct Hire)

Multiphysics Modeling Research Positions for Materials and Processing at NASA Ames

Aerospace Engineer, AST, Aerospace Flight Systems (Direct Hire)

NASA reviews FAQs

Related searches: NASA jobs | NASA salaries | NASA benefits | NASA interviews | NASA conversations

Reviews NASA reviews

NASA

NASA reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Great place to work if you can handle the desert life.

Great place, great people

A great community to work for

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

Jobs at NASA

NASA reviews FAQs

Want the inside scoop on your own company?

Bowls

Followed companies

Job searches

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

NASA reviews FAQs

Jobs at NASA