Network Engineer.....Week One

xenodamus

I just thought I'd give an update to those who were following my situation the past month or so. Monday was my first day with the Army Corp of Engineers NOSC. This is the first "network only" gig I've ever had, so I didn't know what to expect really.

Apparently it's going to take 2-4 weeks for them to get my AD, TACACS, and email access setup, lol. So....I have between now and then to do nothing but shadow people and study for the CISSP. On the subject of the CISSP, they are also having a big 2 week CISSP boot camp at the end of July for EVERYONE on the site who still needs to take it. This all makes me feel much better about taking the exam. I basically have 40 hours/week to read and study, and then I'll get to take a 2 week boot camp AND take the exam on site. I still have to pay for it, but it sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me.

I did find out that my Secret will have to be upgraded to a Top Secret, so that puts yet another contingency on my keeping the job. I'm hoping that will go smoothly. The stuff I will be putting my hands on is unbelievable, though. We have about 20 guys between 2 sites that support 5000 devices nation wide. Once all my access is setup, I basically have the go ahead to grab any tickets I think I can handle. It's going to be an AMAZING experience opportunity. We support 50 sites that EACH have everything from Nexus switches on down. I am a bit overwhelmed at the moment, but I'm ready to sink my teeth in and learn some stuff! We have a good group of Engineers that are used to regular turnover so they are always in teaching mode trying to bring new guys up to speed.

I may not have a guaranteed 10 year plan or pension, but I think the experience I'm about to gain will be worth it in the end. Hopefully I can stick around for a while....

Armymanis

Which Military is this through? Can you get job opportunities without going to war?

rogue2shadow

Nice. Is this 8 hour or 12 hour shifts? (random I know)

xenodamus

Armymanis wrote: »

Which Military is this through? Can you get job opportunities without going to war?

Which military, as in, which country? I'm in the US, and my office supports the US Army Core of Engineers. It's a division of the Army, but more focused on scientific research. So, no I don't have to go to war .

rogue2shadow wrote: »

Nice. Is this 8 hour or 12 hour shifts? (random I know)

8 hour...I work 8-5.

instant000

Armymanis wrote: »

Can you get job opportunities without going to war?

Yes, I work with lots of fat contractors who couldn't survive day one of basic training.

If you have the skills, you can get a job anywhere.

Xenodamus wrote:

I did find out that my Secret will have to be upgraded to a Top Secret, so that puts yet another contingency on my keeping the job.

That shouldn't be a big issue, unless you've done some bad stuff in the past. As long as you're not in regular contact with relatives named Yeltsin or Li, you should be OK. (Edit: I basically meant foreigners from Russia or China, hope this doesn't offend people, but foreign contact can hurt your government clearance chances.)

xenodamus

instant000 wrote: »

That shouldn't be a big issue, unless you've done some bad stuff in the past. As long as you're not in regular contact with relatives named Yeltsin or Li, you should be OK. (Edit: I basically meant foreigners from Russia or China, hope this doesn't offend people, but foreign contact can hurt your government clearance chances.)

I'm wondering if I'll have problems because they initially denied my interim-secret. After the normal investigation it was approved, though. I don't have any foreign contacts and I have perfect credit. I do have a couple of things that look bad, but I was totally honest about. They were all over a year ago as well.

instant000

xenodamus wrote: »

I'm wondering if I'll have problems because they initially denied my interim-secret. After the normal investigation it was approved, though. I don't have any foreign contacts and I have perfect credit. I do have a couple of things that look bad, but I was totally honest about. They were all over a year ago as well.

It's an entirely separate clearance process, totally different investigation. Interim-secret would be granted by someone in authority, pending completion of the full investigation process. So, whether or not you get that depends on if they feel like taking that chance on you, after the quick agency database checks come back. The full investigation that requires calling people all over the place and/or interviewing direct if required is what takes a bit longer.

Being totally honest about any issues is a big help. No one is perfect.

The point of the background investigation is to make sure that you do not have any hints at being someone who can be compromised, such that you would seek to sell secrets, give away secrets, or sabotage something. Having ties to foreign nationals, committing crimes, or having bad credit makes a person a security risk.

Off the top of my head, these are reasons I would deny a clearance, if I was the granting authority: (this is not an all-inclusive list)
- political interests (burns the flag, protests military funerals, etc.)
- financial interests (bad credit or behind on bills, or just plain greedy. likes to live above means)
- family interests (have relatives in China, talk to them about your job)
- national interests (strong allegiance to an enemy of the United States)
- love interests (in love with a Russian spy, friends with the Mexican mafia, dating one of Kim Jong Il's daughters, etc.)
- personal beliefs (regular posts on a blog called anti-unclesam.org)
- high on something (Cocaine is a helluva drug)
- untrustworthy (person cannot be relied on for anything)

DISCLAIMER: I am not a clearance granting authority, but if I was, I would use criteria like those above, in making my decisions.

Xcluziv

instant000 wrote: »

It's an entirely separate clearance process, totally different investigation. Interim-secret would be granted by someone in authority, pending completion of the full investigation process. So, whether or not you get that depends on if they feel like taking that chance on you, after the quick agency database checks come back. The full investigation that requires calling people all over the place and/or interviewing direct if required is what takes a bit longer.

Being totally honest about any issues is a big help. No one is perfect.

The point of the background investigation is to make sure that you do not have any hints at being someone who can be compromised, such that you would seek to sell secrets, give away secrets, or sabotage something. Having ties to foreign nationals, committing crimes, or having bad credit makes a person a security risk.

Off the top of my head, these are reasons I would deny a clearance, if I was the granting authority: (this is not an all-inclusive list)
- political interests (burns the flag, protests military funerals, etc.)
- financial interests (bad credit or behind on bills, or just plain greedy. likes to live above means)
- family interests (have relatives in China, talk to them about your job)
- national interests (strong allegiance to an enemy of the United States)
- love interests (in love with a Russian spy, friends with the Mexican mafia, dating one of Kim Jong Il's daughters, etc.)
- personal beliefs (regular posts on a blog called anti-unclesam.org)
- high on something (Cocaine is a helluva drug)
- untrustworthy (person cannot be relied on for anything)

DISCLAIMER: I am not a clearance granting authority, but if I was, I would use criteria like those above, in making my decisions.

Sounds like you know the routine for how people are granted authority pretty well...future clearance supervisor in the making