Experiences at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Too many to name just one: the work is interesting (and always challenging), the people are wonderful, the pay is good, and the experience you'll gain here will help you get a job elsewhere if that's what you decide to do. The biggest downside would have to be the location...

I majored in Optical Physics (pretty much just a regular physics degree with a minor in math, but the optical part tacks on a minor in electrical engineering), and it's very applicable. PNNL is primarily a chemistry lab, but especially after 911 lots of their work comes from the Department of Homeland Security... so they're looking for physicists. Nuclear engineering is also very popular in my group, since our work is in radiation detection/nuclear physics....

Work hard, take the time to talk to your coworkers and establish professional friendships, and don't ever BS a question that you don't know. You'll inevitably end up working with people who are either more experienced than you or are just plain smarter than you... it's OK to not know the answer to every question, but it's not OK to lie about it. You need to build a reputation for being a trustworthy employee....

Well, I'm still an intern right now... so I haven't finished the full hiring process yet. However, it probably took about a month and a half from the time I applied for my internship until the time I was accepted into the program - PNNL looks over the applications, decides who to set up a phone-interview with, and then decides who to bring into the lab for an actual interview. Then, you're hired (as an intern... at least, that's how it goes in my particular program). However, if you want to become an actual employee - a Scientist/Engineer, in my case - you'll need to go through a longer hiring process, and you'll probably want to apply for a security clearance (Q-clearance) which can take years to come through....

I was looking online for internship programs (as an undergraduate) and found one that looked interesting: the National Security Internship Program. At PNNL, internship experiences are a really good way to increase your chances of full-time employment later on down the road.

PNNL wants people who are intelligent, and who are team-players. Working at a national laboratory means that you'll work with lots and lots of people on any given project, and if you're involved in the research end of things, almost all your co-workers will have their PhD's - so it's not enough to just have the technical proficiency... you've got to be able to play well with others, too....