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

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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

1.0

Nov 7, 2011

The workplace atmosphere was negative.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The mission is exciting. The opportunities to contribute to the country are plentiful.

Cons

Management is incompetent. The leadership is negative. There is vast waste and inefficiency,

4.0

Nov 2, 2011

Great experience as you work with cutting edge technology to benefit the entire nation.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Working for NASA Ames Research Center is beneficial as there is great job security and there are several small perks, such as using a government car/plane to get o meetings throughout the country.

Cons

Working for the government can cause a delay in several activities, and there is a lot of paperwork and bureaucratic steps to get anything done.

4.0

Aug 18, 2011

Challenging, yet rewarding

Graduate research assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

1) Ability to make good connections within the aviation industry 2) Work on cutting edge advances 3) Good work-life balance

Cons

1) Engineering needs a more top down approach. They do not work their way from small, cheap tests to high fidelity expensive tests in an effective manner.

Viewing 1738 - 1740 of 1,788 Reviews

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The workplace atmosphere was negative.

Great experience as you work with cutting edge technology to benefit the entire nation.

Challenging, yet rewarding

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