Transitioning military

justus1

I was wondering if I could get some advice on what I should focus on for my last year in the military (certs, training, .etc), what positions I should be looking for, and a reasonable salary range once I separate. A little background on me: I have 8+ years of experience in the Navy, the first three in telecom/sysadmin and the last 5.5 in information security; I have served and an Information Systems Security Officer the whole time in infosec; I have a couple security certs so far; I am working on a degree in infosec; I do have a lot of managerial experience (probably 7 of the last 8 years). Any ideas what types of position and locations I should shoot for? Thank you for your time.

forbesl

When do you ETS?

justus1

I ETS in January 2009.

empc4000xl

Im in the same boat as you, I get out next year myself. But one of the things I have learned to do is to network. Meet as many contractors as you can. These people are golden. Also decide what you want to do. I worked at a Tomahawk and GCCS tech for most of my time in, so my strong areas are network admin, but I want to move to Cisco side of the house. So I have been using my networking once again, to get some OJT done which I can put on my resume. Also stay on top of your clearance, the DC/VA/MD area have a lot of jobs in IT, but I don't know if thats your cup of tea, but with a clearance and experience, you should be golden. I got more, buts been a long day, but I have been working on this transition for a while, so I can share with you what I have learned and still learning.

Lamini

dont get out.

heres who you will compete with when you get out:

A) people your age or younger with degrees, making $5-$10 per HOUR more than you. i know people (not someONE) who got out of college 3-4yrs ago (electrical engineering or the likes), making $32/hr.

retired military people who can take lower pay because they enjoy that 3rd paycheck every month.

* A tells B what to do (kinda like the officer vs nco thing). B has to do what A says. you piss off A, youre gone (this is how it is where i work)

the people like you, and me are:
C) have no degree, have no retirement. we work our butts off, but its like doing a burnout, you get nowhere. i have been the most experienced person at my workcenter, but every time they bring in a retiree, it means i get kept down, longer. they do the trips around the world, teach classes, the good stuff, i stay at work "holding it down for the home team".

dont get out guys, take it from me. suck it up little longer. not only will you enjoy a 3rd paycheck every month for the rest of your life, you'd save, in my case, at least $6,000 every year in medical bills (my retired coworkers GET PAID for having medicare). as an retired E7, they make like $1,400 every month (?) as soon as they retire, thats $17k per year, and another $5k savings in health care bills, well worthit imo. unfortunately, the air force has been overmanned since i got out and not letting people back in.

sprkymrk

You should be able to land a job with either a DoD contractor or as a DoD civilian. Without a degree, you might not get a management position, but if you finish your degree first, combined with your experience and CISSP you will be very marketable in one of the above categories I mentioned. Good luck and thanks for serving!

oldbarney

Coming from one who is retired military, yes, the monthly check and Tri-Care coverage certainly helps with survival. But seriously ask yourself if you are happy serving Uncle Sam. Staying in just for the benefits may not be the best thing.

Except for a degree, it appears you are well-positioned to leave the service. I would also recommend networking with others in the industry as much as possible. The biggest mistake I made before retiring was failing to establish networks. Luckily, everything eventually fell into place, and I was able to land a job and gain good experience.

Definitely earn your degree. A sheepskin provides one less excuse for some clueless HR rep to toss your resume. Document your security clearances, as those are in high demand at the moment. Cultivate new relationships by talking to prospective employers now. Solidify your current relationships with supervisors because you may need their recommendations later on down the road. Make sure to stay in touch with them after you leave the service.

justus1

I would like to thank all of you for your advice, and don't worry about the degree, though I may not be finished when I get out, I am all over it and should have it by the first year as a civie. To Lamini, I do love doing what I do for the Navy, but my wife made her ultimatum after all of my deployments, I am out or she is, it was an easy choice for me. I created a LinkedIn acocunt for networking if any of you are familiar check it out http://www.linkedin.com/in/justustibbetts I am not too worried about the age thing, I will only be 28 with 10 years of infosec experience, a few certs and 95% of my degree completed. Good luck to all of you out there.

wastedtime

You might be able to land a installation Information Assurance Manager (IAM) position. The CISSP falls in the DoD level 3 IAT and IAM certification outlined in DoD Directive 8570.01-M. The only other thing I have seen that they want is a 4 year degree, usually 5+ years of experience in that field, and a active secret clearance. I have seen quite a few postings for the states and middle east.

justus1

I will actually be going to ISSM (IAM) school prior to heading off to Bahrain, as of right now I have the Network Security and Vulnerability Technician (NSVT) NEC. I did read your post and our experiences do sound very similar though. Good luck with your new job!