Anyone ever deal with overseas jobs with the company Vectrus?

privacythrowaway

Hey Guys,

I'm working on CCNA / Security + (CE cert depending on which is needed, assuming it depends on which job I go after) to be considered for going over to Afghanistan with Vectrus.

Quick rundown of me, I ETS'd in '09 and started working in networking at a NOC in Phoenix, AZ in 2010 and am currently working at my third.

My question is how does the timeline work.

By that I mean what is the order of things in regards to interview, dental packet, clearance renewal, job offer, deployment class is it 1 or 2 weeks, and then deployment.

Does the deployment class happen right before you leave?

Or could, for example, get the offer in August, take the class in Sep and deploy in November? Kind of a little time to travel around and see family after my final 2 weeks at work and before I deploy?


From reading the thread, it seems like the time frame is a solid 3-6 months once you get your ducks in a row and apply, does that sound accurate still?

LittleBIT

The medical/clearance stuff takes a bulk of your time. Once youre approved, they call you for a ship date. You go to CRC and go straight to work. No lapse.

privacythrowaway

they call you for a ship date. You go to CRC and go straight to work. No lapse.

Ok,

Are there more than one option for CRC dates usually, or is it just take what they offer you or leave it?

josephandre

Vectrus typically presents the dates as firm. They are not. Once you clear medical and background/clearance etc and they schedule you, give them a reason as to why you're unable to make that date and when they ask you when you can tell them two weeks after, or whatever. I've dealt with them a bunch and always pushed my dates back without issue.

LittleBIT

I wasnt clear...

You tell them when you will be available to ship.

Kenny23692

josephandre wrote: »

Vectrus typically presents the dates as firm. They are not. Once you clear medical and background/clearance etc and they schedule you, give them a reason as to why you're unable to make that date and when they ask you when you can tell them two weeks after, or whatever. I've dealt with them a bunch and always pushed my dates back without issue.

ya I can co-sign this. I was able to push back for a month.

privacythrowaway

Perfect

EnderWiggin

josephandre wrote: »

I actually just got a pretty great offer from one of CSRA's subs in Germany. right at about 40 an hour, great insurance, 10k in education, obviously housing covered along with a few other perks. And they'll continue sponsoring my TS upgrade (of which i'm already > 18 mos)

think I'm going to take it instead of the Vectrus job in Kuwait i'm currently slated for

What kind of housing do they provide?

josephandre

They provide a housing allowance of (up to) 2200 a month for you to find a place on the economy.

privacythrowaway

They provide a housing allowance of (up to) 2200 a month for you to find a place on the economy.

What about on Bagram, do vectrus guys get their own room, or do you have a roomate?

josephandre

Sorry, was referring to a different company. I'm not sure what Vectrus does in Afghan, but if I recall it's a rooomate in a two man 'room'

EnderWiggin

josephandre wrote: »

They provide a housing allowance of (up to) 2200 a month for you to find a place on the economy.

Nice, that's exactly what I'd want, to be able to choose my own place. Thank you.

mikey88

What kind of cert is needed for a Sys admin position? Will MCP in Server 2012/2016 (1 exam) be enough or is MCSA required?

Microsoft is retiring a lot of certifications. Going forward, it will be MTA>MCSA>MCSE

ME777

Hello everyone. I've been reading through some of these posts and noticed that most of you have certs. I currently work for a contractor in the states and have an active security clearance but have no certs on hand. Do you have to have a cert to be considered for a position? Will experience suffice for now and work on certs once you're on the job? I was sent an email from Vectrus recruiter about a job in Kuwait and I'm considering it for career advancement (and a lil extra cash sounds good too).

xxxkaliboyxxx

ME777 wrote: »

Hello everyone. I've been reading through some of these posts and noticed that most of you have certs. I currently work for a contractor in the states and have an active security clearance but have no certs on hand. Do you have to have a cert to be considered for a position? Will experience suffice for now and work on certs once you're on the job? I was sent an email from Vectrus recruiter about a job in Kuwait and I'm considering it for career advancement (and a lil extra cash sounds good too).

unfortunately, government contract positions for the Department of Defense required baseline certifications. Checkout https://iase.disa.mil/iawip/Pages/iabaseline.aspx

LittleBIT

mikey88 wrote: »

What kind of cert is needed for a Sys admin position? Will MCP in Server 2012/2016 (1 exam) be enough or is MCSA required?

Microsoft is retiring a lot of certifications. Going forward, it will be MTA>MCSA>MCSE

Read the requirements on Vectrus.com.

Most CTR's just have Server+

Don't forget you need a minimum of Security+

mikey88

@Littlebit, Do you plan on resigning for another year? Do positions tend to open up beginning of the year or is it year round?

Anyone went through OPM recently, if so, how long in the process to get interim and active in 2017?

Ertaz

Can you get one of these jobs without having a CE cert?

anhtran35

"Ertaz Can you get one of these jobs without having a CE cert?"

You need at least a SEC + CE and a baseline MCSA or Server + to be an SA there. A+ I think is for help desk.

LittleBIT

mikey88 wrote: »

@Littlebit, Do you plan on resigning for another year? Do positions tend to open up beginning of the year or is it year round?

Anyone went through OPM recently, if so, how long in the process to get interim and active in 2017?

Idk, Im on the fence about resigning. The work is boring. The co workers where Im at are cool, but mgmt is ... Meh... Lot of shifty-ness, good boy club type stuff. I still want more money, so I might go elsewhere.

Cant believe a year has already blown by lol. Its year round.

Shuaib2016

FYI,

Submitted my e-QIP at 6/5/17. just yesterday my manager at my current job received a letter from OPM asking about me. This is a good step moving forward in my security clearance.

mikey88

Shuaib2016 wrote: »

FYI,

Submitted my e-QIP at 6/5/17. just yesterday my manager at my current job received a letter from OPM asking about me. This is a good step moving forward in my security clearance.

Are you required to provide contact info for your current employer? or is there a way to not make it known your boss that you're "looking"

Shuaib2016

mikey88 wrote: »

Are you required to provide contact info for your current employer? or is there a way to not make it known your boss that you're "looking"

I supposed to put Vectrus as my current employer but instead I put the company that I am actually working for. That was a mistake and my security officer informed me about it after I submitted my e-QIP, however, My manager is a very understanding person and he has no problem with my career aspiration!

Kenny23692

Shuaib2016 wrote: »

I supposed to put Vectrus as my current employer but instead I put the company that I am actually working for. That was a mistake and my security officer informed me about it after I submitted my e-QIP, however, My manager is a very understanding person and he has no problem with my career aspiration!

how did you like working for vectrus?

mikey88

Kenny23692 wrote: »

how did you like working for vectrus?

Can't work without being granted a clearance first!

quickman007

Shuaib2016 wrote: »

Accepted a Network Admin position in Afghanistan. Currently doing my e-QIP .....

Mind if I ask how much that job pays? I was looking at the same exact thing and considering it. It looks like we have similar credentials, though I've only been in IT for about 3 years.

Thanks

LordQarlyn

For US citizens, these days, DoD (and other US government agencies for that matter) contract jobs are the easiest way to break into IT. By government procurement rules, the vast majority of them have to be filled by American citizens, not even green card holders can take them because of clearance requirements. They usually have shorter working hours for stateside positions (overseas is another matter but in those cases you're paid by the hour anyway) leaving time to focus on your professional development. I've known peers who started with companies like Vectrus, used their job to get the experience and knowledge, got the appropriate certs, then moved on to companies such as Google and Amazon.

LittleBIT

quickman007 wrote: »

Mind if I ask how much that job pays? I was looking at the same exact thing and considering it. It looks like we have similar credentials, though I've only been in IT for about 3 years.

Thanks

Everyone is payed the same rate for their spots (Sys Admins, Help Desk, ADPE, IA's, Net Admins, etc) unless you've been with the company 5+ years (And even then they won't care).

They don't care if you have a masters degree in applied computing science or an associate degree. Hell, they don't even care if you've got 10 years experience working as a Engineer for Microsoft with a degree from MIT or 1 year entry level for a helpdesk.

Do you have a Secret Clearance?
Do you have a CE cert (Security+, CASP, CISSP?)
Do you have a Baseline cert (A+, Server+, Win 7, Win 10, Server 2012?)
Got a pulse?

Ok cool, you are applicable for these jobs and your pay is $XX.XX, when can you fly out? (assuming oversea's)

Afghan pay from what I heard was $26ish/hr
Iraq pay is $30ish/hr

To echo what LQ was saying --

Use the time oversea's wisely. Lots of people come here with the right intentions and get sucked up into the daily life and spend 1 year and walk out with nothing, gained nothing and didn't reach their fitness goals.

There are a lot of bright people that work for vectrus, who go the extra mile, do the extra work, focus on customer success, and equally a lot of people who game the system and do the bare amount of work and just collect a check.

Vectrus offers $1500 a year for education (Free certs if you pass), spend it all or it goes away, plus you get a free subscript to SafariBooks, Skillport, CBT Nuggets through VectrusU, FedVTE (With @mil address)

quickman007

@LittleBIT Thanks for the info. Do you have to already have a Secret Clearance before applying? Part of my interest in the position is to obtain a clearance.

LordQarlyn

It really depends on their current situation and how badly they need to fill the position (not just with Vectrus, with all contracting companies). Before Snowden, it was fairly easy to get a secret clearance and not too hard to get a top secret, so for the right people companies were more willing to sponsor investigations. It's become harder now after Snowden leaked all those documents, OPM and other clearance agencies tightened the standards for adjudicating a security clearance, they went the other extreme.
Talking to colleagues recently they seemed to relax a little.

Just apply anyway, highly why you would do the job well, and see what happens.

quickman007 wrote: »

@LittleBIT Thanks for the info. Do you have to already have a Secret Clearance before applying? Part of my interest in the position is to obtain a clearance.