Navy Transition to Civ/Govt

amicmanzo

Little background:
- 1 year left (6 year contract)
- BA in Cybersecurity at UMUC
* MA in progress (May 2017)
- Navy CTN
*3 years of Digital Forensics and Malware Analysis
*2 and half years of Red Team

Certifications:
- Sec+
- Linx+
- C|EH
- VMware
- GCFA
* I plan on attempting CISSP after I finish my Masters

I know that both of my experiences are specialized niches outside of the Navy but I do know that I want to stay within the realms of Cybersecurity. I just don't have a firm grasp of what route to take. Any advice on what some of ya'll would do in my shoes? I'm constantly researching and reading new materials on different aspects of cybersecurity in which pulls me back and forth.

Much appreciated!

beads

Look at USAjobs.gov for government jobs in general. At least get a feel for what the civilian government is looking. Corporate jobs/positions are really dependent on locale and local demand. Large cities are going to be more target rich than small towns, etc. Yeah, either read this on Tech-Exams or someone contacts me through, say LinkedIn with these questions weekly.

Be open about where to search and what to search for in the open market. Always something that sounds more interesting than the last positing.

- b/eads

the_Grinch

Send me a private message. In regards to the CISSP my buddy teaches a course for the Navy (he did 12 years active Navy and is currently in the Reserves) so that might help you out.

BillHoo

Do you plan to settle near a military base or government office?

I know after your tour, you may just want to go home and hang with family and peeps. But if you want a little more adventure and $$, take your skills to where they will be of use - Big city with financial institutions (LA or NYC), or government or military centers (DC or any military post).

Send me an IM if you want to look at DoD contracting. My company is hiring in cyber.

amicmanzo

I gladly appreciate the help! I can't seem to private message you yet due to inefficient privileges. I'll definitely message you when I get the chance

amicmanzo

@BillHoo
I do plan on going back home which is San Diego. Whether it's government or not, I know I have more options to seek. I'm just trying to prep as much as I can now cause I know time will definitely fly. I'm the type of guy that likes to have not only a plan A or B but a C as well

josephandre

you'll have ZERO problems finding work in Diego.

path of least resistance is probably booz

Gadfly

Yeah, you're main problem is going to be fighting off recruiters. You might want to look into posting a resume on Clearance Jobs to get an idea of what's out there. After that you'll also want to post directly to the major defense contractors: Booz, Northrup Gruman, Raytheon, etc. One year out is probably a little too much time but it won't hurt to get an idea of what's out there.

thomas_

I don't know how much a CCNA would help out with cybersecurity, but I think a CCNA could help with any "option c" that you may have in mind. I would get in TAP class as soon as possible. I would also draft up a resume at work and submit it for prepublication review depending on how specific you are trying to get on your resume(sooner than later.)

If you have anything wrong that you haven't been to medical for I would start going and getting it documented especially if it's chronic and you haven't gone. If it's not in your medical record or you went once and never went back, the as far as the VA is concerned you don't have that issue.

Pmorgan2

If you're interested in joining the U.S. civilian service, all the jobs go through usajobs.gov. You are eligible to apply for jobs in the USCS up to 120 days prior to separating. The most prevalent duties for a USCS INFOSEC job are in compliance; i.e. - keeping organizations in regulations and passing blue team inspections. These are typically partnered with a secondary duty, such as System Administration, Network, or Application Software. So expanding your knowledge in a system environment and going after a certification such as CCNA, MCSA, or RHCE can help you wear that second hat.

However, USCS does has blue and red teams for you to join. You're an obvious fit for those, but I don't see the very often outside a select few locations. I have looked at California at large a few times and haven't seen any CND jobs. You'd have the best chances of getting on one of those teams if you were located in Virginia or Georgia. What I see in San Diego right now is an InfoSec/SysAdmin (GS-12), InfoSec/CustSpt (GS9), and an InfoSec/Appsw (GS11). So there's hope that you'd be able to find a job rather quickly.

There's also the Department of State Foreign Service program, which sounds like an awesome gig. But, you'd travel around the world and wouldn't likely focus on Cyber.

Send me a PM if you'd like more details on how to transition from Active Duty to USCS. I'm always happy to help.

I've been keeping track of job postings in some areas, trying to get a feel for what skills I should be brushing up on. Here's some rough data, which is admittedly biased towards my personal goals.

- I am a System Administrator. That said, I still tallied every job regardless of job title.
- My judgement on what makes a certification helpful is probably horrible.
- Security+ is assumed, since it's pretty much a requirement for any federal IT job.
- CAPM / MCSA / CCNA are enough for most jobs I read. However, managers will pick a PMP / MCSE / CCNP if they apply.
- Sample size: 112
- Sample duration: June - September
- Jobs were selected from only 6 metropolitan areas

Federal Jobs


Job Title
#
Desired Skills
#
Helpful Certs
#


Information Security
26
Compliance
41
ITIL Series
56


System Administration
21
Project Management
32
CAPM / PMP
42


Policy Planning
17
Windows Server
28
CISSP
33


Customer Support
16
Networking
26
CCNA / CCNP
33


Network Technician
13
Policy Planning
24
MCSA Server 2012
33


Application Software
8
Customer Service
22
MCSA Windows 10
24


Operating Systems
6
Windows 7/10
20
Risk Management (CRISC?)
22


Program Management
6
Governance
19
CGEIT
22


System Analysis
6
Hardware
18
Auditing (CISA?)
17


Project Management
4
Risk Management
17
A+
17


Enterprise Architecture
4
Program Language
14
DAWIA
12


Data Management
3
Documentation
14
CCNA Security
9


Internet
2
Business Processes
14
Lean Sigma Six
6

kiki162

@amicmanzo You def have a good background! Are you at UMUC for your Masters? I've done both gov't contracting, gov't and private, and I can tell you private is the way to go.

Once you can PM, I can send you some links to 2 potential companies who have remote spots available, and are HQ in the Baltimore/DC area.

Contract jobs are great...don't get me wrong, but they aren't forever. Just make sure that whatever you get yourself into make sure they have benefits for training/obtaining additional certs, AND give you the time to use/do it.

amicmanzo

Amazing! I greatly appreciate all the feed back everyone has given.
@kiki - Yes, i'm stilll at UMUC and have 2 more classes left. Will definitely be in touch when the time comes
@Pmorgan - I appreciate that data table, i'll take more look into each of those fields
@Thomas - CCNA was definitely on my "to-do list" because it'll help strengthen my network knowledge
@Gadfly - Haha, that's what I have been told, but you're right, it doesn't hurt to dip my toe to test out the waters
@Joseph - Thanks for the reassurance!

Moldygr33nb3an

If you are going to seek a civilian job, I recommend getting ahold of Military One Source and requesting federal resume help. The resume format for civil service is different than private sector.

BlackBeret

You'll have no problem getting a job. 1 year is a little far out, no company would commit to me until I was 3 months out. If you're looking for work in San Antonio and don't mind gov contracting send me a PM, I'd accept the recruiting bonus. Seriously though, clearancejobs.com and take your pick.

amicmanzo

@Black - I understand a year out is out of reach at this point in time, I just like to prep as if I was getting out within months reach. I still have school to finish and some certs and more OJT to get. Mentally, I have already broken down certain time goals I need to accomplish within a year. Thanks for the advice though!

NavyMooseCCNA

Thank you for your Service, shipmate!

Verities

I know a lot of people in DoD IT in SD, PM me when you're closer to getting out. Lots of opportunities available here doing what you want to do.

Cyberscum

FYI OP just be careful... a lot of orgs in DoD are backlogged in C&A and compliance and will bait and switch tech jobs for IA jobs....

....it happened to me twice and I specifically ask the question in interviews now....

You won't have a hard time finding work. But just be careful, a lot of gov jobs are looking for scape goates right now.

amicmanzo

@Verities - Thanks for the hand! Will continue to try and beef up my resume till then
@Cyberscum - AH, that's definitely good to know. Thanks for that tidbit