US Navy reviews

3.8

65% would recommend to a friend

(31,992 total reviews)
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Sean Stackley

65% approve of CEO

56% positive business outlook

US Navy has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 31,992 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The US Navy employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Regierung & öffentliche Verwaltung industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

32K reviews
3.0
Sep 28, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The Navy can be wonderful. They offer steady pay, housing, and sometimes the opportunity for travel and seeing other parts of the world. You also have access to the GI bill for further education, VA loans for purchasing a home, and free healthcare.

Cons

You work on salary, which means that you get paid the same whether you work 30, 40, or 60 hours per week. In my experience, you almost always work more hours, not less. Because of this, there is often a poor work/life balance. In addition to your job, you will be required to have additional task or responsibilities, known in the military as "collaterals". For Officer advancement, it is these collaterals that often determine whether you will advance to the next rank. The system is broken. Advancement should be based on how well a person performed their job, not how many or what kind of extra tasks or duties they take on. In addition, you have little to no say in what kind of job you will do (even as a nurse, the type of nursing job will have is largely outside of your control). If you want to choose what job you will be doing, do not join the Navy. In addition, as a supervisor, it is very difficult to 'fire' a person, even if they are unqualified and unfit to do their job. Often, people with performance problems are passed from department to department, and even eventually promoted.

4.0
Dec 23, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Autonomy, job mobility, Navy provides adequate training, Navy provides adequate development tools. Salary and benefits are good. Flexible time off.

Cons

Too many technical decisions are made with political basis dominating. Appearances matter more than good technical decisions and competence both for promotions and for portraying the work. Inappropriate buzzwords used. For example. use of "Agile", "Architecture", not in compliance with published standards.

5.0
Feb 28, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There are three primary pros for working as a Medical Service Corp Officer in the U.S. Navy: Upward mobility/career progression, pay/benefits, and wide scope of responsibility. The Navy gives large amounts of responsibility to its Junior Officers which offers new graduates a real chance to manage between 30 and 70 staff members right away. The pay and tax advantages are generous considering the limited experience many Junior Officers hold. In addition to base pay, Junior Officers receive tax-free allowances: Basic Housing Allowance and a Basic Food Allowance. Lastly, Junior Officers earn extra pay when deployed on top of earning all pay tax-free.

Cons

Cons as a MSC Officer are: Moving every three years, lack of creativity at the command level, and working with unionized government employees. Being in the military you are required to change duty stations every three years unless there are unusual circumstances. Second, because the US Navy employs 350,000 people and operates in every corner of the world, policy is often handed down from Washington DC with little concern for local circumstances. Institutional changes are excruciatingly painful and often require years of effort. Finally, the number one problem facing Military hospitals are sub-par government employees. While 60 to 70 percent of employees are hard-working and competent, the remainder desperately need dismissal due to performance. Unfortunately, removing a unionized federal employee requires years of air-tight documentation, counseling, co-operation with HR, help from superiors and assistance from staff members. Most Officers know that they will be moved to another hospital or department before a bad employee is ever fired so many officers don't be bother trying.

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