Thursday, August 16, 2012

Great Expectations Fulfilled

Proud to work for a company that stands by our nation’s warfighters
by Ramona W.

I am a second generation Lockheed Martin employee, with 31 years of service.

Growing up, I knew that my father’s career with (then) Lockheed Missiles and Space provided a good living for our family, and I saw that he had many opportunities to do different things.

In 31 years of service, I’ve had the opportunity to work in a half dozen or more different types of environments, in three different locations in the United States, with hundreds of different people. I’ve held both hourly and salaried positions; I’ve had jobs I’ve loved and jobs I’ve liked. (I’ve been fortunate, I guess, in that I’ve never hated any of my jobs here.) I’ve had good and bad management, but the good has far outweighed the bad. I’ve watched various portions of the company go through massive downsizing; I’ve been laid off once, but that lasted only four months. I’ve seen hiring booms that made my head spin. I’ve gone from working in a department that had a few “dumb terminals” that were for the entire department, to a PC on every desk.

I’ve worked on Trident II D5 FBM, THAAD and SBIRS, and I’m proud to know that I’m working for a company that provides (among other things) products and services that help the warfighter.
On my first day of employment in Central Keypunch in 1980, I never would have thought I would still be with Lockheed Martin 31 years later, and yet here I am. And I’m glad.