So I am graduating soon…Now what 1 Marla Meehl Manager of the Network Engineering and Telecommunications Section (NETS) Computational & Information Systems Laboratory (CISL) University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)

UCAR 2 Founded in 1960, UCAR is a nonprofit consortium of North American member universities, each of which grants doctoral degrees in the atmospheric and related sciences, plus an increasing number of international affiliates offering comparable degrees, and North American academic affiliates offering predoctoral degrees. Members of the private sector serve on governance boards, collaborate with researchers, contribute funding to specific projects, and participate in technology transfer activities. Through its Office of Government Affairs, UCAR advocates for strong federal science budgets on behalf of the geosciences community.

UCAR 3 UCAR's mission is to –support, enhance, and extend the capabilities of the university community, nationally and internationally –understand the behavior of the atmosphere and related systems and the global environment –foster the transfer of knowledge and technology for the betterment of life on Earth

UCAR 4 UCAR serves as a hub for research, education, and public outreach for the atmospheric and related Earth sciences community The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) provides research, observing and computing facilities, and a variety of services for the atmospheric and related Earth sciences community The UCAR Community Programs provide innovative services in support of the community's education and research goals

Pros 5 Benefits of nonprofit with benefits of research and government Flexible Value education and personal development Good benefits Highly educated workforce Valuable research on behalf of society Not profit driven Staff generally passionate about what they do Generally low attrition rate Family friendly National and international community – fascinating interactions and opportunities

Cons 6 Not profit driven – may motivate some Pay may be lower than for profit Government funded so subject to funding cuts Highly educated workforce so some education snobbery

What UCAR expects for employees 7 Good educational, training, and growth opportunities High performance Add value to organization Integrated into planning and decision making process Expected to work as hard as for profits –When I first started at UCAR (30 years ago as a student assistant today), I think we were less stressed, worked less hard, had a much more relaxed atmosphere, had more fun than the commercial sector –Now it seems we work as hard and are as stressed as the commercial sector – or the commercial sector has caught up with the R&E sector (more flexible, more casual, more fun (Google;-)

How employees at UCAR work interdisciplinary 8 Mix of science, administration, technology (airplanes, supercomputers, networks, radars), education and outreach My job is a mix of technology and management –Technical skills –Management skills –People skills Degree is in Interdisciplinary Telecommunications –Marry technology and management/communication of technology