Navy Transition to Civ/Govt

amicmanzoamicmanzo Member Posts: 27 ■■■□□□□□□□
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!

Comments

  • beadsbeads Member Posts: 1,533 ■■■■■■■■■□
    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_Grinchthe_Grinch Member Posts: 4,165 ■■■■■■■■■■
    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.
    WIP:
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  • BillHooBillHoo Member Posts: 207 ■■■□□□□□□□
    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.
  • amicmanzoamicmanzo Member Posts: 27 ■■■□□□□□□□
    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
  • amicmanzoamicmanzo Member Posts: 27 ■■■□□□□□□□
    @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
  • josephandrejosephandre Member Posts: 315 ■■■■□□□□□□
    you'll have ZERO problems finding work in Diego.

    path of least resistance is probably booz
  • GadflyGadfly Member Posts: 7 ■□□□□□□□□□
    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_thomas_ Member Posts: 1,012 ■■■■■■■■□□
    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.
  • Pmorgan2Pmorgan2 Member Posts: 116 ■■■■□□□□□□
    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

    2021 Goals: WGU BSCSIA, CEH, CHFI | 2022 Goals: WGU MSCSIA, AWS SAA, AWS Security Specialist
  • kiki162kiki162 Member Posts: 635 ■■■■■□□□□□
    @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.
  • amicmanzoamicmanzo Member Posts: 27 ■■■□□□□□□□
    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!
  • Moldygr33nb3anMoldygr33nb3an Member Posts: 241
    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.
    Current: OSCP

    Next: CCNP (R&S and Sec)

    Follow my OSCP Thread!
  • BlackBeretBlackBeret Member Posts: 683 ■■■■■□□□□□
    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.
  • amicmanzoamicmanzo Member Posts: 27 ■■■□□□□□□□
    @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!
  • NavyMooseCCNANavyMooseCCNA Member Posts: 544 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Thank you for your Service, shipmate!

    'My dear you are ugly, but tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be ugly' Winston Churchil

  • VeritiesVerities Member Posts: 1,162
    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.
  • CyberscumCyberscum Member Posts: 795 ■■■■■□□□□□
    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.
  • amicmanzoamicmanzo Member Posts: 27 ■■■□□□□□□□
    @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
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