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Military becomming a civilian...

brotherbrown831brotherbrown831 Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
Hey every one... Im a network engineer in the Air Force I have been working on mid sized LAN(6,000+) and global WANs(100,000+) for 6 years now.. I have a CCNA and a CCDA and am just about done with my CCNP and CCDP. I am NOT a cert baby I am very comfortable working with a wide range of technologies but I am not a windows guy, I am strickly layers 1-4. I am leaveing the Air Force soon and am curious about the current market for router jocks like myself. I have an Assosiates in computer science and an active TS/SCI clearance. Is there a need for people like me out there? I can always re-enlist in the military however I would like an oppertunity to build my skills and knowledge higher and I have gone as far as the AF wants me too. Besides the salary has to be better then what im making now icon_razz.gif Any advice or inputs would be very appreciated, as this is an extremely stressful and scary transition for me.
There are only 10 kinds of people in the world, those who read binary and everyone else..

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    cbigbrickcbigbrick Member Posts: 284
    If you have any sort of Security Clearence...you are golden. Check out job fairs that only allow people with security clearences.
    And in conclusion your point was.....???

    Don't get so upset...it's just ones and zeros.
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    Orion82698Orion82698 Member Posts: 483
    cbigbrick wrote:
    If you have any sort of Security Clearence...you are golden. Check out job fairs that only allow people with security clearences.

    I second this.

    You'll probably have to do a lifestyle poly for the civilian clearence, since the military holds yours now, but that shouldn't be a big deal as long as your nose is clean.

    There are TONS of jobs in the federal sector. Big $$$'s if you're willing to work in the VA area... but there are more than just DoD as you know. DoJ, DoS, DoE... for examples.

    Good luck!
    WIP Vacation ;-)

    Porsche..... there is no substitute!
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    mengo17mengo17 Member Posts: 100 ■■■□□□□□□□
    You should find plenty of jobs man. Go to these job search engines like monster, dice, hotjobs and just put the key word security clearence and you will find TONS of big bucks jobs ! I wish I could have a Sec Clearence. I am not a Citizen. I would love to work for the government as a InfoSec professional.
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    sprkymrksprkymrk Member Posts: 4,884 ■■■□□□□□□□
    Having a clearance is not the Holy Grail. Fact of the matter is that 50-75% of Gov't IT contractors and military IT guys have a clearance. Additionally, part of the paperwork you sign when you apply for/get a clearence states that your clearence is FOUO information. Beware job fairs that advertise "only TS individuals invited". Not every vendor/contractor at these places are reputable.

    @brotherbrown831 - With 6 years on networks that size you are very marketable. Lots of contractors like to hire ex-military, especially if you have contacts in the right circles. Best of luck to you! icon_cool.gif
    All things are possible, only believe.
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    brotherbrown831brotherbrown831 Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Thanks for your inputs. icon_cool.gif
    There are only 10 kinds of people in the world, those who read binary and everyone else..
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    famosbrownfamosbrown Member Posts: 637
    I'm a veteran with a Security Clearance and I can honestly say that you are Golden. You have a TS with I.T. experience...I would be surprised if anyone would pass you up. You are marketable because of two main things. One, you have military and I.T. experience. Tehy will assume you are trained, well disciplined, and understand chain of command (government and government contractors). Two, you have a clearance already, so governement contractors will not have to pay to get you one. Your clearance is good up until it expires as long as you are using it. The governement agency or contractor signs some papers, and they strike gold. I've got friends who were either in Intel or I.T. with TS/SCI are most of them are making 90's to 110's doing either analyst or I.T. stuff with government contractors like CACI. Not everyone are so lucky to get a TS through the military since it is job specific. I only have a Secret clearance and most servicemembers are required a Secret Clearance, but not a TS. My Security Clearance was a big reason I received my job after programming as well...they could pay me BOOKOO bucks without worrying about paying for my 10 clearance.

    Good luck!!
    B.S.B.A. (Management Information Systems)
    M.B.A. (Technology Management)
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    sprkymrksprkymrk Member Posts: 4,884 ■■■□□□□□□□
    I really wish people would quit posting their level of security clearance. One of things you're supposed to know is that your clearance level is FOUO information. The paperwork you filled out stated that fact.

    People are not as anonymous on the web as they think they are.
    All things are possible, only believe.
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    famosbrownfamosbrown Member Posts: 637
    The level of clearance is irrelevant. I'm not sure what paperwork you signed for your clearance, but I didn't sign any except my fingerprints and the fact that the history I provided on the BOOKLET of questions given to me was true to the best of my knowledge. I've also processed other soldier's clearances, and the process has been the same. Has the process changed? Did you go through another process? My Security Clearance isn't a secret...it is even on my resume when I'm applying for jobs that require it, or jobs that are going to require some sort of extensive background check. In fact...the military and indutry encourages it. It stands out. If anyone really wants to find out everyone in the market with a security clearance and at what level, check out clearancejobs.com. That is a hotspot for recruiters, employers, or contractors to find individuals with security clearances.

    FOUO (For official use only.)
    B.S.B.A. (Management Information Systems)
    M.B.A. (Technology Management)
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    sprkymrksprkymrk Member Posts: 4,884 ■■■□□□□□□□
    famosbrown wrote:
    The level of clearance is irrelevant.

    Okay, to some extent you're right. But the clearence you hold is not anyone's business except those that have a Need to Know.

    famosbrown wrote:
    I've also processed other soldier's clearances, and the process has been the same.

    Do you mean you were a Gov't worker who made sure all the proper stuff was signed in the right places, or did you issue clearences as part of your job, or did you just process/hand off forms to various individuals in the chain?
    famosbrown wrote:
    In fact...the military and indutry encourages it.

    When jumping from one military position to another within or across commands, your superiors have a Need to Know and that is considered official use. I have never heard "the military" (whatever you mean by that) encourage anyone to flaunt their level of clearence. In fact it is considered bad etiquette within the military to "talk up" your clearence. It is actually a security concern. If a foreign agent can find out that you have a security clearence for something he/she wants, you become a target of anything from social engineering attacts to blackmail to the extreme of kidnapping and torture of youself or even family. This sounds extreme, but are very real threats to you and national security.

    famosbrown wrote:
    If anyone really wants to find out everyone in the market with a security clearance and at what level, check out clearancejobs.com. That is a hotspot for recruiters, employers, or contractors to find individuals with security clearances.

    And guess who else hangs out there?
    famosbrown wrote:
    FOUO (For official use only.)

    And applying for a higher paying job with another company or passing out your resume to recruiters is official in what way to your current job? If you can't do it on the clock, it ain't official.

    If you still work in the government (especially DoD) check with your IAM or your command's Security Officer if you want to check out anything I have said.
    sprkymrk wrote:
    Beware job fairs that advertise "only TS individuals invited". Not every vendor/contractor at these places are reputable.

    There are known cases where foreign government operatives have been caught frequenting these events and collecting business cards and contact information while posing as recruiters or military contractors looking to hire.
    All things are possible, only believe.
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    keatronkeatron Member Posts: 1,213 ■■■■■■□□□□
    sprkymrk wrote:
    There are known cases where foreign government operatives have been caught frequenting these events and collecting business cards and contact information while posing as recruiters or military contractors looking to hire.

    True, and these cases are heavily documented.
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    famosbrownfamosbrown Member Posts: 637
    sprkymrk wrote:
    famosbrown wrote:
    The level of clearance is irrelevant.

    Okay, to some extent you're right. But the clearence you hold is not anyone's business except those that have a Need to Know.

    famosbrown wrote:
    I've also processed other soldier's clearances, and the process has been the same.

    Do you mean you were a Gov't worker who made sure all the proper stuff was signed in the right places, or did you issue clearences as part of your job, or did you just process/hand off forms to various individuals in the chain?
    famosbrown wrote:
    In fact...the military and indutry encourages it.

    When jumping from one military position to another within or across commands, your superiors have a Need to Know and that is considered official use. I have never heard "the military" (whatever you mean by that) encourage anyone to flaunt their level of clearence. In fact it is considered bad etiquette within the military to "talk up" your clearence. It is actually a security concern. If a foreign agent can find out that you have a security clearence for something he/she wants, you become a target of anything from social engineering attacts to blackmail to the extreme of kidnapping and torture of youself or even family. This sounds extreme, but are very real threats to you and national security.

    famosbrown wrote:
    If anyone really wants to find out everyone in the market with a security clearance and at what level, check out clearancejobs.com. That is a hotspot for recruiters, employers, or contractors to find individuals with security clearances.

    And guess who else hangs out there?
    famosbrown wrote:
    FOUO (For official use only.)

    And applying for a higher paying job with another company or passing out your resume to recruiters is official in what way to your current job? If you can't do it on the clock, it ain't official.

    If you still work in the government (especially DoD) check with your IAM or your command's Security Officer if you want to check out anything I have said.
    sprkymrk wrote:
    Beware job fairs that advertise "only TS individuals invited". Not every vendor/contractor at these places are reputable.

    There are known cases where foreign government operatives have been caught frequenting these events and collecting business cards and contact information while posing as recruiters or military contractors looking to hire.


    Wehn I worked in Intell for one of my deployments, I was responsible for the soldiers portion of their Security Clearance, I.E. the papaerwork they had to fill out about their history and then having to do the same thing on the computer. NO SIGNATURES REQUIRED except that you agree that all information provided is true to the best of your knowledge. I was active duty then, now Reservists, so I wasn't a governemnt worker (civilian) processing clearances.

    I totally agree with you regarding foreign agencies acquiring this information, but it is relevant to them unless they know what you are using the clearance for. A lot of people thing that since you have a Top Secret Clearance, you have access to ANYTHING that is classified TOP SECRET. That is like saying someone has permissions to access a file on a company's network because they are an employee. If you don't have access, you don't have access. If someone would kidnap me or harm my family due to my Secret security clearance, they would be one, stupid, and two, not knowing what they are doing. Although I have a security Clearance, it doesn't mean I can access things with that level. In fact, I'm not even using my Clearance right now, although it is active through the military, so it would not apply ANYWHERE. This attacker would be better off grabbing an official or an employee of a company or government agency to access something that they actually want. Or better yet, they could grab ANY military servicemember who has access to any military installation with I.D. Maybe I shouldn't have Veteran tags on my car....

    The point I'm trying to make is that without permission the clearance means nothing. It only means something when it is being used by an employer or tour of duty in the military.

    The Top Secret clearances issued by the military are a lot more different due to the level, so I'm speaking on the Secret and below. I'm not sure how the civilian process is done for security clearances, or if this FOUO document civilians sign is employer or clearance issuer driven. I worked with civilian's with clearances when deployed and it seemed they go through a more strenuous process...
    B.S.B.A. (Management Information Systems)
    M.B.A. (Technology Management)
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    keatronkeatron Member Posts: 1,213 ■■■■■■□□□□
    I think what you really mean to say is that in addition to a level of clearance, there is -also a need-to-know filter applied. And I'm pretty sure most of us here know that, however, in most arenas, to get the need to know approval required to access a given piece of information starts with having the correct level of clearance. And I'm certainly not going any deeper into this discussion than here.
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    sprkymrksprkymrk Member Posts: 4,884 ■■■□□□□□□□
    famos -

    Yes, of course, someone with whatever level of clearence must also have a Need to Know and be granted access to whatever the classified material is. But if I know you work for Really Big Missiles Inc., and heard you bragging that you have a secret clearence, and also on your resume you state exactly what department you work in and that you are a Missile Engineering Expert, guess what? If I worked for a foreign gov't or organization that wanted to know what you know, I'm either going to strike up a "friendship" with you or as mentioned possibly something worse. The problem is that you see the security clearence in a vacuum, as if everything else about you is anonymous.

    I'm not going to belabor the point, but hopefully someone will read this and think twice before just tossing around information that others have no need to know about.
    All things are possible, only believe.
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    famosbrownfamosbrown Member Posts: 637
    sprkymrk wrote:
    famos -

    Yes, of course, someone with whatever level of clearence must also have a Need to Know and be granted access to whatever the classified material is. But if I know you work for Really Big Missiles Inc., and heard you bragging that you have a secret clearence, and also on your resume you state exactly what department you work in and that you are a Missile Engineering Expert, guess what? If I worked for a foreign gov't or organization that wanted to know what you know, I'm either going to strike up a "friendship" with you or as mentioned possibly something worse. The problem is that you see the security clearence in a vacuum, as if everything else about you is anonymous.

    I'm not going to belabor the point, but hopefully someone will read this and think twice before just tossing around information that others have no need to know about.


    I again agree with you...IF I WORKED for Missle Company. I don't, so my level of clearance is of no use to anyone. If getting into the White requires a secret Clearance, I still won't be allowed since I'm not on "The List." Plain and simple. Like others have experienced and know...having a security clearance is golden ticket to making some really good money, and I've witnessed and experienced it.
    B.S.B.A. (Management Information Systems)
    M.B.A. (Technology Management)
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    spike_tomahawkspike_tomahawk Member Posts: 43 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Oh Man.......I just flashed back to some really bad Armed Forces Television commercials from my overseas days.....
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    sprkymrksprkymrk Member Posts: 4,884 ■■■□□□□□□□
    famosbrown wrote:
    I again agree with you...IF I WORKED for Missle Company. I don't, so my level of clearance is of no use to anyone. If getting into the White requires a secret Clearance, I still won't be allowed since I'm not on "The List." Plain and simple. Like others have experienced and know...having a security clearance is golden ticket to making some really good money, and I've witnessed and experienced it.

    So you've proved you are the exception to the rule, and it's okay to forget what FOUO and Need-to-Know really mean as long as you aren't doing anything important with this golden ticket to fame and fortune.

    I just stated what I know is true, but if your military service was before 9/11 maybe the whole attitude the military had about such things was vastly different. If you want, I can try to find the information we've been talking about on the disa or nsa site or something and post back.
    All things are possible, only believe.
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    keatronkeatron Member Posts: 1,213 ■■■■■■□□□□
    famosbrown wrote:
    sprkymrk wrote:
    famos -

    Yes, of course, someone with whatever level of clearence must also have a Need to Know and be granted access to whatever the classified material is. But if I know you work for Really Big Missiles Inc., and heard you bragging that you have a secret clearence, and also on your resume you state exactly what department you work in and that you are a Missile Engineering Expert, guess what? If I worked for a foreign gov't or organization that wanted to know what you know, I'm either going to strike up a "friendship" with you or as mentioned possibly something worse. The problem is that you see the security clearence in a vacuum, as if everything else about you is anonymous.

    I'm not going to belabor the point, but hopefully someone will read this and think twice before just tossing around information that others have no need to know about.


    I again agree with you...IF I WORKED for Missle Company. I don't, so my level of clearance is of no use to anyone. If getting into the White requires a secret Clearance, I still won't be allowed since I'm not on "The List." Plain and simple. Like others have experienced and know...having a security clearance is golden ticket to making some really good money, and I've witnessed and experienced it.

    Ditto Mark. Look at it from the same perspective DoD employers look at it. The reason they are more likely to hire someone with clearance is because clearance is the hardest part and requires time to process. So let's say my company built rocket ships. Even though a person with TS might not have the need to know to see the rocket ship blueprints, they will as soon as I hire them and get approval for them to work on those rocket ships. As hard as it may seem to believe, getting need to know is much easier than getting the initial clearance level itself. This is why DoD contractors look for people who they don't have to go through the clearance process with. Now as Mark has already pointed out, it's this same concept that attracts the bad guys. Impersonating someone with TS clearance puts me 100 steps closer to getting the information I need. It also puts me in a better position to impersonate someone at the next level up. Think of hacking a system. You might begin by owning a non-privileged account (regular user account), but owning that account is the first (and biggest step) towards privilege escalation. Why? Well simply because you have a valid account on that network makes you privy to information that you wouldn't be privy to if you didn't have that account. Same goes with clearance. Mark and I had this discussion some months back. After he alerted me of the issue, I eventually asked some of the people I work for in let's say privileged positions and it turns out that Mark was dead on. And another big factor here could also be past need to know privileges. Mark might have had TS and need to know concerning the rocket blueprints because of a job he had in the past. Sure, when he left that company, they immediately deleted his active directory account which gave him access to the plans, but anyone with basic knowledge of hacking AD knows that an account is never really gone, and if you understand NTFS artifacts then you know that account can be reconstructed quite easily without even the most security savvy AD admins even having a clue. I hate for this post to be so long, but this is what I do everyday (unless I'm training). I just basically want to present the argument from the perspective of an attacker. This is exactly why I still agree with the fact that most security breaches are a result of a breakdown from within. And once you have access to Top Secret information, then from my point of view, you are ALWAYS a risk to the security of that information, whether you still work there or not. And whether you still have the need to know or not.

    As you've seen from the little cute banners some people put in their signatures (the little linux penguin that shows your IP and service provider) that obtaining your public IP is trivial at best. Getting the actual route to your DSL or Cable modem is only slightly more complex. And getting through your router is just a matter of reading some documentation on your particular router (which is probably available from on the vendors website). By this time I certainly know who you are (thanks to your ISP's horrible sense of security). Now with a Lexus Nexus account, and a fake corporate tax ID I can pay something like 40 bucks and get full credit reports on you from the three major credit bureas in the US. And guess what will show up there? Your work history. Including the rocket producing company you worked for. Now armed with this information and the fact that I own your home network, I will launch a carefully planned attack against a couple of your previous companies (all the while posing as you since I basically used your internet connection to launch the attacks). I might not ever get caught, because you're going to first have to prove it wasn't you and that you were indeed hacked (good luck cause track covering is where I excel the most). And even if they do manage to catch me down the road, they'll discover that it all started from me picking up the fact you have TS clearance as a result of you posting it on a public forum such as this. And know what the worst part is? I've also sold all of your information, ISP account information, and company history, along with everything else I've accumulated to a bunch of not so nice groups around the world. So your headaches are just beginning. It might all seem far fetched but it happens every single day at a rate you wouldn't believe if you knew.

    And this is why I now fully agree with Mark on keeping quiet about TS clearance.
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    brotherbrown831brotherbrown831 Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
    SPIKE- I still have nightmares about AFN commercials.

    Thanks to all those who responded to my original question. I am still nervous however im hopeful for the future.

    And to address the discussion about security clearances, although I'm sure there is an AFI out there some where that says clearance levels are FOUO, its takes very little deductive reasoning to figure out what clearance level a military member has... Based soley on the AFSC or MOS (JOB TITLE/CODE) you can look up the job information online and find out what kind of clearance level it requires. In truth it is probably better to not list your clearance on the internet.
    There are only 10 kinds of people in the world, those who read binary and everyone else..
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    famosbrownfamosbrown Member Posts: 637
    My Clearance experience is post 9/11 as well as my active duty tours which required the clearance due to my MOS.

    I didn't read the entire post from the other poster...it was kind of long, but again, if someone wants to impersonate me for my clearance, they are in for a rude of awakening. They mind as well steal my social security number, photo identity, get their finger prints to match mine, get all of the information for my security questions, etc., and then just wipe me out. They will need to know more than just the fact that I have a Secrecret security clearnace to pull it off...especially if they want something of importance with that level or higher of clearance required. This isn't the movies! I can honestly say that it is attempted probably everyday, but there are more steps involved. My last job still did another background check, asked me some questions, and finger printed me before finalization if hiring. Although I had a security clearance, they still had to verify that I was who I stated I was. I'm sure there are some neat technology out there to clone my 8 finger and 2 thumbprints so they can paste it to theirs for a valid thumpprint, or software out there to change the picture I have of myself on the National database that goes along with my file/social to a picture of themselves, or even masks or devices that they can wear to fool someone in thinking they are me, or maybe they can social engineer me out of all of the answers for my security questions that I'm supposed to know. I'm not doubting it's out there, but a guy with that much talent and technology shouldn't be trying to breaking into something...they should be getting a job with the CIA or FBI because they are good.

    My opinion of course.
    B.S.B.A. (Management Information Systems)
    M.B.A. (Technology Management)
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    keatronkeatron Member Posts: 1,213 ■■■■■■□□□□
    Okay. Most of us who do this for a living everyday (I thought the "this is not the movies" comment was nice), we know that the level of damage and level of severity of attacks are constantly rising while the knowledge required to execute these attacks are on the decline. 6 years ago a person had to be relatively solid with good programming skills to actually execute a buffer overflow against a host and gain control of it. Now all one needs to know how to do is type 3 or 4 commands and read instructions.

    If anybody thinks that you have to be so good that the FBI, CIA or NSA is trying to hire you, to be able to pull off what I described in my previous post, then those people who think that are in for a sudden and rude awakening. For the most part it only takes persistance, and guts.
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    sprkymrksprkymrk Member Posts: 4,884 ■■■□□□□□□□
    famos -

    Just totally missing the entire point. It's not all about you and your clearance.

    It's about respecting what FOUO and Need-to-Know mean, it's about others who may be actively using their clearance for something that could affect national security seeing someone like you encouraging them to advertise it and then they go and post that resume on dice or monster, and finally, having a clearance is good and can save a potential employer several grand, but you still must be qualified for the job. Someone who is more qualified and w/o a clearance may still beat you out for the job. Saving an employer the several thousand bucks needed to have a clearance also does not mean you'll be making 6 figures for a help desk job - in other words it's nice to have but certainly not a golden ticket to riches.

    Here is some pretty good basic information on having a security clearance. Although I think the author paints a somewhat rosy picture of the benefits, most of this article is very accurate; although a little dated based on his reference to EPSQ which is being phased out.

    http://www.taonline.com/securityclearances/

    One interesting quote is this:
    One out of every thirty Americans has some sort of security clearance. It has been estimated that one out of every thousand of these can be expected to compromise the secrets they are entrusted with. Some need money, some can be blackmailed, some are disgruntled and want revenge and some are just sloppy. American industry is a prime target for espionage as well as domestic terrorism and white collar crime.

    One out of thirty kind of makes it seem a little less special to me.
    All things are possible, only believe.
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    Mrock4Mrock4 Banned Posts: 2,359 ■■■■■■■■□□
    What was this thread about, again? Good discussion regardless..find it all entertaining, especially while working in cooperation with security guys while deployed.
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    famosbrownfamosbrown Member Posts: 637
    I know it isn't ALL about ME. I was just responding to your post following mine that states you were tired of people posting their level of clearance. If someone really wants to know, they will find out...period. This conversation stemmed from that, and if it went off point, I apologize.

    I've never stated to place your your security clearance on dice or monster, although they do ask for good reason since most employers paying to use their service will filter out the candidates by security clearnac elevel if they are looking for someone who already has a clearance.

    In MY experience, I've worked with MANY people with NO experience and hardly knew what the job was about, but since they held a high-level security clearance, the employer was willing to train them or allow them to get OJT. I got my first job because I had a degree...programming. When I decided to enter the networking/systems side of I.T., I found myself working beside people who hardly knew how to shutdown a computer correctly getting paid 25 bucks an hour for Tier 3 tech support because they had a TS. When I was deployed, I worked with civilian contractors (what they did I won't say) who had no idea what they were doing, but since they were cleared, they were given the opportunity to do the job. I'm sure anyone who works in a workplace requiring a high level security clearance, especially civilian, have seen this. It is VERY common. Some companies are hesitant to pay for a security clearance for new hires because of the risk of them leaving and having the process finished under their belt. They then become less of a financial risk to another company. I'm guessing on why they do it, but it is very common. Their are a few who are highly qualified without a clearance that companies will take the chance on with purchasing a clearance for them...most prefer you already have it, and it just take a phone call or activiation to get you in the door. This is why I call a clearance a Golden ticket to the workplace. I've been personally told when I was first applying for jobs that I met all of the qualifications for the job, interviewed well, and they liked me, but I lacked a TS, so I was risky. They went on to tell me that I was risky since I was young, and a lot of young people in I.T. don't stay at one job for too long. They would pay for my TS, then I could go elsewhere for more money or any other reason and that company wouldn't have to go through or spend the amount of money they would on the clearance. This was right before I graduated school and when I decided to change avenues of I.T. I heard the same thing from three different employers, and if I was in their shoes, I probably would have done the same thing because that is what I was planning on doing anyway icon_smile.gif.

    The above is from MY limited experience (just turned 25 icon_confused.gif )
    B.S.B.A. (Management Information Systems)
    M.B.A. (Technology Management)
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    sprkymrksprkymrk Member Posts: 4,884 ■■■□□□□□□□
    famosbrown wrote:
    I was just responding to your post following mine that states you were tired of people posting their level of clearance.

    Although your post was what prompted my initial comment, it wasn't aimed solely at you. I have seen these posts time and again and just shake my head when I do. Ask Johan and keatron. We've discussed this very thing for nearly a year and even discussed the option of removing posts where someone states their clearence level. So I apologize if you took it personal. I have no bone to pick with you, which is why I would rather stay on topic of "Is it acceptable, safe, and IAW proper handling of FOUO information" rather than "here's all the benefits I got and my friends got by disclosing it".


    famosbrown wrote:
    I found myself working beside people who hardly knew how to shutdown a computer correctly getting paid 25 bucks an hour for Tier 3 tech support because they had a TS.

    Let me know who that contractor was so I can advise my company and COTR of their incompetence. This is really scary and I hope it's not as common as you make it sound. Most contractors I have dealt with hire very skilled people (though maybe not young due to the risks you mentioned) who can satisfy customer needs. I would think a company would lose tremendous amounts of business and risk a poor reputation by having level 3 techs that can't even handle level 1 support calls. Better to risk losing 10 grand on a new hire than to risk losing a 10 million dollar contract over a bunch of TS cleared guys who bring down a network because they don't have a clue.
    famosbrown wrote:
    When I was deployed, I worked with civilian contractors (what they did I won't say) who had no idea what they were doing, but since they were cleared, they were given the opportunity to do the job. I'm sure anyone who works in a workplace requiring a high level security clearance, especially civilian, have seen this. It is VERY common.

    Scary, very scary. Please tell me you made this up. icon_lol.gif
    No, you probably didn't. Still, how did it make you feel working with these guys? Not too comfortable I bet. All a clearance says is that they probably stayed out of trouble growing up. It doesn't make them special, skilled or otherwise impart any aura of power to them. Heck, having a clearance doesn't even mean they went to school and trained or took a test or anything.
    famosbrown wrote:
    I've been personally told when I was first applying for jobs that I met all of the qualifications for the job, interviewed well, and they liked me, but I lacked a TS, so I was risky. They went on to tell me that I was risky since I was young, and a lot of young people in I.T. don't stay at one job for too long. They would pay for my TS, then I could go elsewhere for more money or any other reason and that company wouldn't have to go through or spend the amount of money they would on the clearance.

    This part I can understand. If you have to compete with other individuals who are qualified AND have a security clearance, they have an edge on you. This is why I say it's a "nice to have" rather than a "golden ticket". The same way your degree and or certs may have opened doors or given you an edge, ditto the clearance.
    All things are possible, only believe.
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    famosbrownfamosbrown Member Posts: 637
    Working with incompetent cleared professionals didn't bother me at all. As long as they didn't jeopardize the mission, was willing to learn, and work hard, they were okay with me. I didn't like the fact that they were getting paid the same top dollar as the skilled and cleared professionals, but that's another story :D .

    I will send you a PM with a list of companies both I.T. and intel/linguist company's I've worked with who hired people like this. I won't be the one putting them out there publicly. I'm not that bold icon_sad.gif !!

    Oh, and no...I didn't make any of it up icon_lol.gif . It has happend so often and still does.

    PM on the way.

    EDIT: Forgot to add...I actually asked someone who had been in the contracting business for about 20 years about the hiring of cleared professionals without the skills or knowledge to do the job. He said that the clearance is free for the company, and they are able to make more money off of that person since they can pay them less for not having the experience, education, and skills to demand more. That came from someone who had a little "rank" in the company that I listed FIRST in the list I sent you.
    B.S.B.A. (Management Information Systems)
    M.B.A. (Technology Management)
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    drpower555drpower555 Member Posts: 56 ■■□□□□□□□□
    Well Brother,
    http://federalgovernmentjobs.us/job-search/information-technology-management-specialist-supervisory-it-2210.html
    If you cant find a job here among the 600. Then you dont want a job. You're next job title will be "Corporate Drone". Ease up spidermonkey, we need someone to bait these little chumps into the open. icon_lol.gif
    Psychotic Anthropophobiac Android
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    reefreef Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
    The military hands out security clearances like its candy. Every single Military Policeman in the Army recieves a secret clearance and 90% don't really need it or ever use it to see anything sensitive.
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    brotherbrown831brotherbrown831 Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
    I most admit I am suprised at the amount of converstation the topic of security clearances has brought up. I guess in the enviroment I work in we dont even think much about as everyone has a "HIGH"(i didnt say what levelicon_smile.gif clearance... It is well known knowledge that almost all military members are required to have some sort of clearnance. For the AF an interim secret is the bare minnimum. Not becuase all AF members are involed in Secret and TS work, its more that in the event you need to go some were, or work some were that happens to be S or TS they isnt a waiting period for your clearance. I have been in the Air Force about 6 years now and on the average I would estimate it takes between 12 months to 2 years to become fully SCI cleared.
    I believe alot of this conversation stems for a dramatization about the world of security clearances... For a services troop that delivers boxed lunches to a secured satilitte terminal could be forced to maintain a TS clearance, and beleive me when I say he would never even be let in the building.. Don't believe what you see on 24. Its not that exciting...
    There are only 10 kinds of people in the world, those who read binary and everyone else..
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    reefreef Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
    I forgot to add the the Army issued me a security clearance 6 months before i got out even though the current one wasn't to expire for another 3 years and I told them I waqs getting out no matter what, but they didnt seem to care, lol.
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