# Why do people become DARPA Program managers? *From a career and money standpoint, being a program manager seems pretty rough.* There’s no promotion, no career stability ([[DARPA Program managers have a tenure of four to five years]]), you get paid a government salary ([[DARPA Employees aren’t paid very much compared to what they could be]], you need to move to Washington DC, and you don’t get to show off what you did after you’re out ([[Darpa’s aversion to people with a web presence hints at a way that the internet has eroded institutions]].) #### Possible Reasons * People get frustrated with the incremental/conservative nature of academia * Per [[Ben Mann]] in [[mervisWhatMakesDARPA2016]] * The prospect of getting to control a lot of money without a ton of oversight appeals to some people. * ==This might suggest that the profile of someone who would be a good PARPA PM may be someone who finds VC appealing [[Who will make the best SpecTech PMs?]]== * Patriotism - [[Mark Micire]] saw it as a way to serve his country. * ==Could you get people who want to serve humanity in the same way that they serve their country?== * Some people may like the explicitly temporary nature - [[DARPA Program managers have a tenure of four to five years]] * ==Speculative== Want to see some technology out in the world/ Extreme agency to make awesome happen * ==Speculative== Respect of small group of peers who will know what you did ### Related * [[What are proxy games that lead to more awesome sci-fi shit?]] [Web URL for this note](http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/Why+do+people+become+DARPA+Program+managers) [Comment on this note](http://via.hypothes.is/http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/Why+do+people+become+DARPA+Program+managers)