Paul Kim

Paul Kim, Applied Physics Lab, Johns Hopkins University

Paul Kim

Information Systems

phone: (303) 371-2535 ext 332

fax: (303) 373-4643

email : PKim@GOLDBUG1.COM

Paul Kim
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Paul Kim
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For Paul Kim, a lead engineer in Intelligence Applications in 1991 and a six-year MITRE veteran, the opportunity to grow a company from the ground up was irresistible."I wanted to manage, in the sense of running a company, not being a middle manager.I wanted to write business plans and help a company grow.They also offered me a lot of money," he says, adding after a pause, "I mean orders of magnitude higher."

Kim ended up working for Ampersand, Inc., a software consulting firm in Billerica, Mass., as the managing director.Later he was the director of a software engineering for River Delta Networks, a telecommunications manufacturing company.After eight years, he returned to MITRE as the principal information systems engineer in Aerospace Planning and Execution, saying he had become disenchanted with the start-up world."Essentially, I thought the focus of the industry was more and more about making money rather than about doing quality work or creating quality products," he says.
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Paul Kim, principal systems engineer, came back to MITRE after leaving to manage start-up companies.He laughs when asked whether flex time is important to him.After working 100-hour weeks at his former jobs, simply working a straight 40-hour week feels a little like heaven.

Photo of Paul KimThe new mobile workforce, created in part by dot.com startups and failures, and by serial downsizing by corporate employers, has led to worker dissatisfaction and a sense of distrust between many employees and employers.If the loyal employee is an anachronism, it is in no small part due to the disappearance of the loyal employer.At MITRE, however, there remains an old-fashioned commitment on the part of the employer, and it has generated renewed loyalty by numerous employees – particularly those who left MITRE to pursue other interests, only to return as rehired employees with a renewed appreciation for the work culture at MITRE.

In the end, some of these employees say, it is the culture of a workplace that creates job satisfaction.While compensation is always an important issue, money is not the primary factor in determining job satisfaction.
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For Paul Kim, a lead engineer in Intelligence Applications in 1991 and a six-year MITRE veteran, the opportunity to grow a company from the ground up was irresistible."I wanted to manage, in the sense of running a company, not being a middle manager.I wanted to write business plans and help a company grow.They also offered me a lot of money," he says, adding after a pause, "I mean orders of magnitude higher."

Kim ended up working for Ampersand, Inc., a software consulting firm in Billerica, Mass., as the managing director.Later he was the director of a software engineering for River Delta Networks, a telecommunications manufacturing company.After eight years, he returned to MITRE as the principal information systems engineer in Aerospace Planning and Execution, saying he had become disenchanted with the start-up world."Essentially, I thought the focus of the industry was more and more about making money rather than about doing quality work or creating quality products," he says."I think, in general, MITRE has a much better culture.The focus of what MITRE is about is that it attracts people who are interested in doing good, interesting work, working in the public interest.Money is not the main attraction."

Balance is important

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Paul Kim, principal systems engineer, came back to MITRE after leaving to manage start-up companies.He laughs when asked whether flex time is important to him.After working 100-hour weeks at his former jobs, simply working a straight 40-hour week feels a little like heaven.

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