So, I finally got a job offer. It's from Northrop Grumman in their integrated defense systems company. In a rare fit of unabashed enthusiasm, hooray for me!

Of course, I still have to officially accept it and fill out a bunch of paperwork. You know, the kind of paperwork that needs to exist to generate the employee that would have my name and likeness.

I know a fair number of engineers who are staying away from defense due to moral conflict with the application of their work. For example, they would not want to work on air-to-ground guided missiles or their delivery systems, such as, say, a fighter jet. Clearly, such devices are intended to be used against human targets, to extinguish life; these people object to being a part of making that happen. Certainly, this is a valid and very respectable opinion.

Of course, I, too, have such qualms about working in a division whose end products will likely be used at some point as weapons of war. But aside from the fact that I need an income, my objections are outweighed by my professional interest in the work. In other words, it sounds cool. I could embark on a meandering explanation to justify my actions, somehow linking a sense of patriotism, a desire to save lives, and argumentation about how elements of cutting edge military technologies may one day filter into everyday life. But I shall spare the world and myself the effort.

For the moment, I'll just enjoy a lingering sense of relief tinged with anxiety about what is to come.